Who are the poachers?
A large proportion of the rural population in Indonesia is affected by poverty and has no access to health services or education. These socio-economic insecurities lead to dependence on illegal wildlife trade or illegal logging.
The poachers and woodcutters are therefore primarily local villagers. Local middlemen (traders) take advantage of poverty and the lack of income opportunities to persuade villagers to poach for relatively high sums of money.
Forest patrols in the fight against poaching
In the Gunung Naning Protected Forest and the Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan, Borneo, patrols roam through the dense rainforest. They serve as a deterrent to illegal activities. The forest patrols cover over 300 km every month in random order. This prevents poachers or loggers from being aware of the patrol activities.
The patrols are equipped with satellite phones, smartphones for data collection, GPS devices, supplies and hammocks. Their task is to document and map all illegal activities and to find and deactivate snares and other types of traps. The patrol units also survey the presence of various priority species that serve as indicators of the health of the ecosystem.
Each unit consists of one park ranger and three local residents. The local residents belong to the indigenous Dayak people. The Dayak earn a living from their work in the forest patrol and are no longer dependent on poaching or illegal logging.
Cooperation with authorities
The forest patrols compile a monthly report with all the data collected. This report is sent to the relevant government officials, law enforcement agencies and local communities.
The reports allow the communities to measure, evaluate and continuously improve the effectiveness of their efforts. As a result, patrols become more effective over time, as the spatial and temporal analysis makes it possible to prioritize areas where illegal activities repeatedly occur. This is extremely important as the regions are difficult to access.
All patrols are approved in advance by the government. The park rangers are employed by the Indonesian government. Under Indonesian law, park rangers are not allowed to detain people on site. However, they are authorized to issue official warnings. After three of these warnings have been issued, the offending person can be arrested and prosecuted. The patrol reports then serve as official court evidence.
Successes of the Forest Patrols
Since the program began in 2016, deforestation of primary rainforests has decreased by 56%, and the overall loss of forest cover at project sites has dropped by 77%. Additionally, illegal activities have decreased by 25% due to the presence of the forest patrols.
The work of the forest patrols is incredibly important, as Borneo is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Indonesia is home to the highest number of mammal species globally and the third-highest number of bird species. Furthermore, many of these species are found only here.
