1. Contributors: ElyanUmamy,JerryQ.Mentang,Sutarno,CiptantiPutri,AdventusPanda,AdjiSantoso,MuhammadRidhaHakim,RosendaChandraKasih,Dede
Suhendra,MayaBellina,Azhar,JobCharles,ElisabetPurastutilEditors:DudiRufendi,LarasLarasati,NefaFirmanlGraphicsandDesign:TryHartaWibawanto
Copyright WWF-Indonesia 2014
©WWF-Indonesia
e - N e w s l e t t e r
NEW
A WWF
INITIATIVE FOR
REFORESTATION
IN INDONESIA
TREES
WWF-Indonesia
GRAHA TB SIMATUPANG
Jl. Letjen TB Simatupang Kav 38
Tower 2 Unit C, 7th floor
Telp +62 21 782 9461
Fax +62 21 782 9462
Email: corporate_partnership@wwf.or.id
https://www.wwf.or.id
start grow benefit
NEWtreesUPDATE
April2014
Farmer Groups
as new hope for BBSNP
Sustainability
Bukit Barisan Selatan, Lampung
“Ruwat Bumi”, A Thanks-
giving Celebration
Ujung Kulon, Banten
The Beauty of NEWtrees
Babah Krueng Watershed
Landscape
Krueng Sabee, Aceh
Geotagging Activity
to Increase Tree Growth
Monitoring in Joben,
Rinjani
Mount Rinjani, Nusa Tenggara Barat
CORPORATEPARTNERSHIP
NEWtrees Program provides a
new opportunity for community to
assist in the process of reforestation
and protection of conservation
areas and forest areas as well as
in monitoring the growth of trees
through geo-tags (labels of the
trees with the spatial coordinates
of the exact location). the public
can check easily and directly how
the trees planted are growing.
UPDATEAPRIL2014 www.wwf.or.id/newtrees
a meeting which attended by aide
representative of BBSNP and WWF.
Some of the points that usually
discussed are maintenance schedule
and task division. The members
should record the number of
perished plants, prepare the seedling
replacements for replanting, prepare
planting holes, condition the planting
ground, fertilize, and perform the
replanting.
Although formed informally, the
existence of group such as Wana
Lestari and Tunas Karya hold an
important role in supporting forest
management. The strong bond and
willingness to provide environmental
service give new hope and solution to
environmental degradation problems
in BBSNP
Putri Nidyaningsih
Communication and Education Officer
Bukit Barisan Selatan Program
©WWF-Indonesia/PutriNIDYANINGSIH
Curvy roads and hilly lands
accompanied our journey to
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park
(BBSNP). It was a long drive from
Bandar Lampung, but we were quite
content with the view along the road.
The scenery of dense forest were
something that we are grateful for.
Sadly, in some areas, we saw lands
that had been cleared for agriculture.
NEWtrees nursery area in Sukaraja
Village, BBSNP, was our destination.
In this location, WWF, BBSNP and
local farmers, cooperatively managed
the restoration program. It only took
15 minutes walk from Field Office
in Semaka to the NEWtrees nursery
area. But after a rain fall, it will take
longer because the dirt trail get very
slippery. Along the road, we could
smell the fresh air of forest and new
trees that were grown.
Two men, in a complete field attire,
were already standing by in the
nursery. There was a dagger on their
belt –a common handy and usefool
tool to be carried to the field. The
two men are members of NEWtrees
farmer group of Sukaraja Village.
One by one, the other members of
NEWtrees farmer group came and
gathered. The groups has understood
their duties. That day they need
KruengSabe
NanggroeAcehDarussalam
BukitBarisanSelatan
NationalPark
Lampung
SebangauNationalPark
CentralKalimantan
MountRinjaniNationalPark
WestNusaTenggaraUjungKulonNationalPark
Banten
NEWtreesSites
to replace perished seedlings with
new seedlings from the nursery. The
farmers ought to grow the new ones
until they strong enough to be planted
in planting area. Few minutes later,
two women and a man who wore a
helmet arrived. These women came to
substitute their husbands whom did
not able to attend.
All farmers replaced and watered the
seedlings. They enjoyed the work;
some were chatting to catch up with
each other’s stories. Good spirit and
commitment have brought them to
this planting area. The farmers were
not only nursing the seedlings, but also
creating trays made of bamboo and
paranet for it and organized it neatly.
NEWtrees farmers group in Sukaraja
Village is a bud for the continuity
of TNBBS sustainable forest. Wana
Lestari Group of Wonorejo Village
and Tunas Karya Group of Wonosari
Village are also part of NEWtrees
group. These farmers groups had been
active in managing aid cattle from
BBSNP, cultivating coffee and cacao
naturally, managing microfinance
activities, ecotourism, and providing
environmental services (sanitary water,
micro-hydry electricity generator).
Toimprovetheirplantingmanagement,
these farmers groups regularly held
FarmerGroupsasnewhopeforBBSNPSustainability
©WWF-Indonesia/LaluAZHAR
TheBeautyofNEWtreesBabahKrueng
WatershedLandscape
Story told that in the past is that
water of Krueng Sabee river was
clear as crystal. In Aceh language,
Krueng means river, while Sabee is
same. The water of Krueng Sabee
used to be so pellucid that Sultan
Iskandar Muda, the famouse king of
Aceh Sultanate, repotedly said “le nyo
sabee ngon ie Krueng Daroy” which
means “the water of this Krueng is as
sabee(same) as Krueng Daroy where
the king, queen, and royalties of Aceh
Sultanate take their baths.
Krueng Sabee Watershed’s main
stream is Krueng Sabee river. This
waterway runs more than 30 km.
The river’s upstream located in
montainous area of Krueng Sabee
Sub-Disctrict. Aside being the estuary
of several channels, Krueng Sabee
upstream is the mouth of three big
rivers: Krueng Teungoh, Krueng
Gasuy, and Krueng Kusi. As many as
170 tributaries with length between
65-1,700 meters are part of Krueng
Sabee waterway. Hidrograph test
categorized Krueng Sabee watershed
has wide time basis and small runoff.
Since it is surrounded by forest,
Krueng Sabee watershed is listed as
forested watershed, which consist of
protection and production forests.
Alongside the river, our eyes are
pampered with beautiful scenery of
natural forest. It’s no doubt that Babah
Krueng Sabee is very potential for
ecotourism activity.
NEWtrees area in Babah Krueng
is located inside Krueng Sabee
watershed area. In this 20-hectares
area, Krueng Sabee Watersheed
Forum together with WWF-
Indonesia managed the planting
of thousands of endemic trees. The
total size of protected area in Babah
Krueng itself is 181 hectares. The
establishment of this restoration
land is assigned by the government
of Aceh Jaya Regency in Regency
Decree number 58 D year 2011.
Babah Krueng then become pilot
area for reforestation program in
Aceh Jaya.
Restoration program in Babah
Krueng Sabee hopefully could
preserve the quality of water
resource for the people of Krueng
Sabee Sub-District and Aceh Jaya
Regency. It may seemed impossible
to make the water as clear as the old
times, but if trash and pollution are
kept away, the water will definitely
bring hygiene and health to the
people around.
Azhar
Watershed Management Coordinator
Nangroe Aceh Darussalam Program
Post-cultivation monitoring and
maintenance are the chalenges
when implementiong restoration in
Indonesia. These challenges could be
solved by NEWtrees restoration scheme
with geotagging method. By using
camera smartphone, GPS, and certain
application, plants in NEWtrees area
is now recorded with their latitude and
langitude coordinates. The coordinates
give the exact spot of where the plants
are grown. Through this method, public
could directly monitor the existense of
their tree donations through internet.
Geotag is applied to trees that planted
for 1 year. The growth of the tree will be
reviewed periodically every six months
time. The first geotagging activity of
2014 in Resort Joben, Rinjani, has been
executed in April. Community groups
from around Joben participated in this
process.
and could be accounted for,” said
Karti, head of Joben farmers group.
The other is the weather on the field.
“Geitagging is a quick process, but
sometimes it took longer during
rainy season. We have to wait for
rain to stop,” said Malwi, one of the
participants.
For the society, geotagging also bring
several benefits. Other than a complete
plant database, the community
felt inspired by being involved in
the activity. They get to know new
knowledge on monitoring technology
and tree growth average. The four
NEWtrees farmers groups that were
directly participated in the activities
are excited to share their experience
and knowledge to other community
groups.
Karti is very enthusiastic to know that
the information of the trees planted
could be uploaded on the internet and
public could access it. “I think this
technology is very good. We can share
the documentation of the growth to
the public,” said Karti.
In the end of the geotagging activity,
the groups managed to document
453 trees, representing nearly 1% of
the 50,000 trees planted in the 125
hectares NEWtrees site.
Lalu Abdi Wirastami
Forest Restoration & GIS Officer
Nusa Tenggara Barat Program
GeotaggingActivitytoIncreaseTreeGrowthMonitoringinJoben,Rinjani
First, several plants are used as sample
plants for the geotag. The sample
plants are chosen based on their
physical condition and endurance
towards pests. The groups then
determine 2 groups of trees: the fixed,
and the random. The fixed is trees that
will be marked with coordinate labels
and to be monitored regularly twice a
year. Meanwhile, the random group
will be used the base data: one tagged
tree will represent as one hectare of
land.
Geotagging is easy and simple to do in
recording data than other monitoring
methods to be implemented in the
field. Weak signal is the main challenge
when completing the process. “It
took a long time to determine correct
coordinate. We have to wait to verify
the data. Insha’Allah (God willing)
all the uploaded datas are correct
©WWF-Indonesia/LaluABDIWIRASTAMI
©WWF-Indonesia/IntanAGISTI
Dozens of people gathered in
Pematang Gebang field of Kertamukti
Village, Sumur. They wore polo shirts
of light and dark green, just like the
lush foliage of the forest. A simple logo
with “NEWtrees” titling was printed
on their shirts. They looked busy.
Some of them set banana leaves in the
center of the field. Meanwhileanother
were roasting chickens and boiling
water for drinking. On the other side
of field, in a 4x3 meters-size saung
(wooden gazebo), a group of middle-
aged ladies were busy pouring mineral
water into crystal glasses and some
unique containers made of bamboo.
Next to them, some younger ladies
were tidying up a bamboo table.
Their hands worked deftly, and the
ambience was filled with laughter and
jokes. The hot weather that day did
not dampens their spirit to prepare a
big event to be held in that day.
In mid-February 2014, the NEWtrees
planting process in Cirabak and
Pematang Gebang have been
completed. In order to appreciate
and celebrate the completion, WWF-
Indonesia together with member
of NEWtrees group of Kertamukti
and local governments held a
”Ruwat Bumi” or thanksgiving. This
traditional event was held on Thursday
(27/2) morning.
“On January 2014, the farmers have
finished planting 18 hectares of
NEWtrees site in Resort Ketapang,
Cirabak and Pematang Gebang,
Kertamukti Village, Sumur, Ujung
Kulon National Park,” said Ngatiman,
area coordinator for NEWtrees in
Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP).
“The planting process got many help
from different parties, including
UKNP-Resort Ketapang, WWF, and
the working group from Kertamukti,”
he continued.
Ngatiman explained that as many
as 7,200 seedling stems have been
prepared. The seedlings consist of 5
types of local vegetation in UKNP,
such as Putat (Plachonia valida),
Salam (Eugenia polyanta), Katapang
(Terminalia catappa), Kijahe (Croton
auypelas), and Padali (Radermachera
pinnata). Only local plants are allowed
to be planted.
“RuwatBumi”,AThanksgivingCelebration
The Ruwat Bumi processions, rituals
and prayers were held by the local
community before and after doing
activities in the forest –as a symbol
of respect to nature. Men dug a hole
with 30 cm diameter on the ground
to place offerings consist of incense,
a plate full of uba rampe (grilled fish
and chicken, rice, cigarettes hamper),
and a few drinks (coffee, tea, mineral
water, soft drink). Bapung Uwit, the
shaman that lead the ritual, walked
slowly towards the pit while deeply
smoking a clove cigarette. Then two
roosters delivered to the shaman. It
floundered and tried to escape, but
Bapung Uwit swiftly took the roosters
while chanting in Sundanese. Then
he perform a sacrifice to the roosters
with sharp machete. Fresh rooster
blood then flowed to the ground.
The audience shudder and move away
from the shaman, but still excited to
attend the ritual. The roosters then
were placed to the right side of the
shaman,while the head of the roosters
were placed into the pile of blood in
the hole. The offerings, including
canned soft drinks, were inserted
one by one into the hole. In the back,
Bapung Uwit recited the incantations
slowly. The audience silent during
the moment. After the incantations
finished, the hole then buried with
soil. It marked as the end of the
Ruwat Bumi ritual.
The purpose of Ruwat Bumi in
Kertamukti is similar with rituals
performed by the Dayak tribe in
Borneo and the ritual of the cleaning
of the ocean Sigofi Ngolo performed
by the people of Jailolo in West
Halmahera. These rituals aimed
to maintain respect between men,
the spirits, and nature – how men
should remember his obligation to
respect and preserve nature. They
gave their respect to the force that
guards the forest. Through Ruwat
Bumi, community of Kertamukti
showed their gratitude to The Creator
for the blessings they received. The
activity then closed with a symbolic
tree planting by representatives
of all participating members and
institutions. A feast, or known as
bacakan by the locals, served on the
ground, on a large banana leaf filled
with rice and various side dishes. All
participants should eat using their
hands. A very simple togetherness.
Intan Agisti
Communication and Awareness Officer
Ujung Kulon Program