Revitalisation of ancestral cultural weaving arts
The objective is to help Dayak ethic communities restore and maintain their ancestral cultural weaving arts. At present, our focus of attention is in the Kapuas Hulu region of West Kalimantan, where we work with women weavers in several villages to help organize training on traditional weaving methods, including the use of traditional symbols, natural dyestuffs. As we helped establish in the Sintang region of West Kalimantan over ten years ago, we foresee working towards the setting up of a weavers cooperative Kapuas Hulu, to help with the marketing of contemporary weaving products, facilitate availability of weaving raw materials, and to channel training needs to the community. An envisioned component of this program is to help the Kapuas Hulu Dayak community establish a repository and catalogue of ancestral Ikat weavings, to avoid the loosing of valuable antique weavings to brokers and tourists. The weaving repository would be established as a form of museum, where visitors would be able to view and photograph ancestral Ikats, and perhaps be able to order weaving replicas from the local weavers.
Marketing promotion
An important aspect of the program is to help women weavers market their contemporary Ikat products, for which we promote tourism visitation to the cultural villages and help bring contemporary Ikat weavings to international expositions and markets. The proposed women weavers cooperative will help standardize fair market prices in the community, and assist with the selling of new weavings outside the region.
Ikat artistic design and symbolism research
One of the main features in Dayak Ikats is the cultural symbolism imbedded in their design. We encourage weavers to maintain and use traditional symbols to retain the cultural significance of the Ikat weaving tradition. The propose Ikat weavings repository will help maintain samples of ancestral weavings, depicting traditional symbols and their organized arrangement to convey respect for the ancestors and a sequence of events in a “dreamed story”.
Tomistoma crocodile conservation
Tomistoma is a globally threatened crocodile that can be found in lowland swamp forests of Sarawak and Kalimantan, eastern Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. Still, information on the distribution, abundance, and status of the species is absent of deficient from many regions, and thus conservation priorities are unclear. Our initial focus has been to conduct surveys on the population status of Tomistoma in the Danau Sentarum region of West Kalimantan. Survey work is complemented with conservation awareness towards the species, and to involve local communities in conservation measures.
Tomistoma populations research
Since 2004, we have conducted several Tomistoma surveys in West Kalimantan, including crocodile distribution and abundance surveys. The latter, in particular, carried out since 2010 in the landscape of Danau Sentarum National Park. Surveys have helped to document the status and distribution of Tomistoma, and to describe current threats to the species and its habitat, and potential follow-up conservation management actions at the site.
Conservation of Tomistoma crocodile
On the basis of research results, our survey work has led to prescriptions for conservation management of the species, with the likely establishment of collaborative management programs in the Danau Sentarum landscape. The site includes a healthy environment for the crocodile and interested villagers who present a good potential to further community-based conservation of the species in the landsacape.
Tomistoma conservation awareness
Through ongoing generous funding by Artis Magistra, since 2014, we are engaged in conservation awareness and education measures towards the Tomostoma crocodile, working with local grade-level schoolchildren and teachers in the landscape of Danau Sentarum. Conservation talks, discussions, and essay and drawing competitions help schoolchildren increase their appreciation for their own environment, and support protection of a flagship conservation species in their region.
Mueller’s Gibbon conservation status review
The Mueller’s gibbon has only rarely been studied, both in the wild and in captivity. It has been said that it is the least known gibbon species of the genus Hypoblasts. To help increase the knowledge base for this gibbon, we engaged in research and conservation planning at Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan, including a population assessment of Mueller Gibbon, to be followed with management prescriptions to help the protected are in its conservation.
Research
In late 2008 we conducted a survey at Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve regarding the known location of Mueller Gibbon in the reserve landscape, and to assess what threats, such as hunting and habitat destruction, pose the greatest risk to the gibbon population. Our subsequent objective was to identify the conservation status of the gibbon in the reserve and to prepare a Conservation Strategy and Action Plan to address the needs.
Conservation Planning
The Strategy and Action Plan includes measures to protect primate species within Gunung Nyiut. We will carry out participatory resource-use planning to help define Village Development Plans in three pilot villages in the reserve landscape. These activities will help involve local communities in collaborative management options to protect local populations of gibbons and other endangered primate species.
Paloh Beach endangered sea turtle conservation
Society has long exploited the Green, Hawksbill, and Olive Ridley sea turtle populations coming to nest in the sandy beaches of Tanjung Belimbing National Park through uncontrolled hunting and poaching of their eggs. The inability to find good nesting grounds, free of disturbance, further threatens future sea turtle populations. PRCF helps to protect breeding sea turtles and their nesting habitat in liaison with local communities if Sebubus village, and empowers villagers to engage in conservation by providing education and awareness, carrying out monitoring, assessing the conservation status of nesting sea turtle populations, and by providing training to stakeholder villages in conservation measures.
Conservation education and awareness
PRCF Indonesia engages local villagers in conservation education and awareness through workshops, field camps for students, public awareness campaigns, and by establishing Sea Turtle Conservation Groups. Through these activities, we educate the community about their impact on sea turtle survival rates and the importance of maintaining and increasing sea turtle populations. We also engage local people in conservation planning and ongoing sea turtle conservation activities.
Monitoring and assessing sea turtles
We survey and monitor the sea turtle population through regular patrolling, assessing nesting areas and threats, and protecting nests from wildlife predators such as snakes, lizards, and mammals. PRCF engages the local Melayu community in these activities, empowering them to take ownership of sea turtle conservation.
Community training
We provide awareness on conservation needs and training on monitoring and protection of sea turtles and their nests. This includes to help villagers engage in nest and hatchling protection. To facilitate field efforts, we work with villager to establish Sea Turtle Conservation Groups, to participate in conservation activities. Efforts present concentrate in the Paloh Beach of Sambas District in West Kalimantan, but we plan ti expand efforts to the sea turtle nesting beaches of Gunung Palung National Park.
Community-based forest management and conservation
Our community-based forest management and conservation program has focused on helping local Melayu and Dayak communities in West Kalimantan establish Hutan Desa programs, through the allocation of community forests directly from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. To date, we work with seven Hutan Desa in West Kalimantan, and we are looking at establishing a Hutan Desa network to safeguard the high conservation value forests of the Dolok Simalalaksa/ Hadabuan Hills of North Sumatra.
Participatory planning
We currently work with seven Dayak and Melayu communities in West Kalimantan to support their efforts to establish Hutan Desa programs in their villages. Thus far, we have helped to secure five Hutan Desa ordinances from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and we are now working to secure similar allocations to the other two villages. At the Dayak village of Tanjung, we are facilitating for this Hutan Desa, become a (see Nanga Lauk below) Plan Vivo Project to secure carbon credit certificates from the international voluntary carbon market.
Sustainable forest management
The aim is to establish a sustainable form of forest management for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods development, in a manner that benefits the immediate stakeholders. Starting in West Kalimantan at the village Nanga Lauk, we now propose to establish a Hutan Desa Landscape in the Mueller Schwaner area between Bukit Baka/ Bukit Raya National Park and Betung Ketihun/ Danau Sentarum National Park. Three villages are targeted initially, Tanjung (2,520 ha.), Nanga Jemah (4,160 ha.) and Sri Wangi (345 ha). We propose a similar initiative in North Sumatra.
Nanga Lauk Hutan Desa (Plan Vivo Project)
At Nanga Lauk village’s Hutan Desa, we have facilitated the establishment of a Plan Vivo Project to secure sustainable carbon credit certificates from the international carbon market. Thought the approach, the community has secured a 25-year contract for the retirement of carbon credits to its forests, securing funding for conservation management and community development needs. Descriptive publication.
