Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP) first declared to be the wildlife reserve in 1935 by the Dutch East Indies government, and started to become a national park in 1982. BBSNP covers 355.511 ha area with mountainous landscape in the northern area and peninsula in the southern area. BBSNP covered by montane and lowland tropical forest in the central area and mangrove forest in coastal area. It is home for some iconic species such as Sumatran elephant, Sumatran rhino, Sumatran tiger and sun bear. BBSNP is also included in Tropical Rainforest Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with Kerinci Seblat National Park and Gunung Leuser National Park.
Conservation Challenges
BBSNP is facing some potential threat to the sustainability of forest and their iconic wild animal, like habitat loss from due to forest fire, illegal logging and poaching which leads to trading of wildlife parts (ivory, skin, etc). The rate of deforestation reaches 0.158% per year. Through years squatter encroachment by locals for agricultural purposes like coffee plantation lead to the habitat loss and it implicates to the increasing number of human-animal conflict. WCS recorded that there have been 49 cases in 19 villages in 2015.
Conservation Approach
WCS-IP supports BBSNP management unit in mitigating frequently occurring human - tiger conflicts in villages around the park. In collaboration with BBSNP, WCS-IP also facilitates self-reliant mitigation training and initiates village forum establishment aimed at independently mitigating human - elephant conflicts. Facilitation process is conducted to build the resilience of the community and stakeholders in tackling human wildlife conflicts, as well as growing public awareness and tolerance towards wildlife. WCS-IP also supports the national park in establishing Way Canguk Conservation Research and Training Centre as a site for research activity.
Activities
- WCS, through Wildlife Response Unit (WRU) mitigates conflict between human-tiger which frequently happen in villages around BBSNP. WRU initiates Tiger Proof Enclosure (TPE) to protect livestock. Currently, some villagers outside the village which mentored by WCS also inspired to build their own TPEs independently. It proves that TPE is considered effective to tackle bad impact of human-tiger conflict.
- Supporting the implementation of Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ) policy for rhino conservation in BBSNP. IPZ formed to decrease threat level on rhino population as well as increase their population. We have already deliver IPZ implementation from concept to operational level.
- Protecting the conservation area through SMART Patrol. Patrol activity started in 2011 with only two teams and in 2015 we have six teams to secure the park. They have been patrolled in 11 resort and cover 1.454,4 km inside the area and have been identify dozens of poacher access in outer border of BBSNP.
- Established Way Canguk Conservation Research and Training Center as a site of research activity to improve the understanding of dynamics vegetation and ecology in BBSNP.