Succesful Javan Rhino conservation benefits future human development

Currently efforts are being done to increase the population

of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus,

Desmarest 1822), which lives in the lowland tropical forest

of the Ujung Kulon peninsula. The reproduction of the

rhino population depends on the condition of its habitat.

Furthermore, the best approaches are not yet known. It is

increasingly difficult to encounter rhinos, because the

forest is growing to a climax condition since the area was

destroyed by a tsunami in 1883. This fast forest

succession possibly complicates rhino movement and reduces the availability of rhino food

plants, because it’s a browser and suitable undergrowth is getting less abundant. Thus, the

condition develops towards communities of Arenga palm (Arenga obtusifolia), in which the

forest floor is bare, without undergrowth. The current forest condition with the growth of Arenga

palm communities is thought to be a cause for the lack of growth of the Javan rhino population.

The issue of the Javan rhino population has come to the attention of many stakeholders. The

Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia has decreed a national target for an annual

Javan rhino population growth rate of 3%. This target requires the support of all stakeholders.

The meeting for conservation of Sumatran and Javan Rhino in South-East Asia in Bogor,

Indonesia, 2-3 March 2009, reaffirmed the joint support of Javan rhino conservation through

several concrete actions, based on knowledge and a spirit of collaboration.

There is a need of establishing a second Javan rhino population outside its current habitat in

Ujung Kulon National Park. Suitability analyses of several locations on the island of Java have

been carried out. The southern part of Mount Honje, which is included in Ujung Kulon National

Park but rarely used by the rhinos, has been chosen as a location to expand the current rhino

habitat, because of its lowland forest where rhino food plants are suitably available. The habitat

of this area is being prepared (in terms of food plant and water availability) in the hopes of

stimulating natural migration of some rhinos from the peninsula into this location, where they will

be retained for easy observation and possible reproduction. The location at Mount Honje is

referred to as the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA), where disturbance from

Figure 1 Launch of the JRSCA with the Governor of Banten Province and the Minister of Forestry, June 21st 2010

humans and livestock is minimized. To secure the location, an electric fence will be erected

along part of the perimeter adjacent to a patrol trail, and guard posts will be built to further

prevent human and livestock disturbance as well as poaching. If reproduction of the rhino

population in the JRSCA proves to be successful, conservation action will be taken to establish

a second population in another protected area outside the national park.

The construction of the JRSCA has recently begun with the erection of electric fencing, habitat

preparation and socialisation with the local communities and governments. An Ecological Risk

Assessment of the JRSCA plans was carried out some time ago, and the declaration of JRSCA

by the by the honourable Governor of Banten took place in Ujung Kulon National Park on 21

June 2010. The concept of this development is not only an effort to acquire more knowledge of

Javan rhinos and to support their reproduction, but also contributes to the improvement of the

livelihoods of local communities in terms of mutual understanding and participation, as well as

their economy. Thus it is increasingly being recognized, that the history of human development

around Ujung Kulon National Park shows an ever increasing pressure on the national park’s

biodiversity, whereas both peninsular Ujung Kulon and Mount Honje have been free of human

inhabitation since their designation as protected forests during the Dutch reign.

The local communities and governments have expectations from the development of JRSCA. Its

construction creates job opportunities in the form of habitat preparation, creating a patrol trail

and building guard posts, as well as electric fence construction. Social activities seek the

support of local communities and governments for the operation of JRSCA as an attempt to

conserve the presence of Javan rhino in the national park. On the other hand, the local

government also takes part in increasing efforts for community life, through the improvement of

the community’s economic efforts and their institutionalisation. The area of JRSCA, where

Javan rhino can easily be observed is expected to become an eco-tourism object, but this

requires in-depth assessment. Another expectation from the success of JRSCA is that Ujung

Kulon National Park may become a source of Javan rhinos to be translocated to other areas

outside the Province of Banten and even to foreign countries, as the Javan rhino is a pride

symbol for the Pandeglang Regency and the Province of Banten.