The Ecology of Rawa Aopa a Peat-swamp in Sulawesi Indonesia

by

ROBERT ZWAHLEN Dr phil nat (Bern)Ecosens AG Environmental Management Consultants

PO Box 121 Fabrikweg 2CH-8306 BruttisellenlZurich Switzerland

INTRODUCTION

In contrast to the neighbouring Kalimantan the mainlymountainous Sulawesi (the former Celebes) is not rich inwetlands and according to Whitten et al (1987) RawaAopa is the only peat-swamp in Sulawesi Although theswamp is still intact it is coming under pressure as thesurrounding forests are cleared to make way for newsettlements as part of Indonesias transmigration pro-gramme

The information presented here stems mainly fromfield-work cf Zwahlen 1989) and from a series ofunpublished and therefore not readily accessible reportsThe paper aims at giving some indications for the sus-tainable development of this area

GENERAL SITUATION

Location

Rawa Aopa lies in South-east Sulawesi around 70 kmwest of Kendari the capital of the province (Fig 1) TheAopa Depression is a part of the drainage basin of theKonawehaLahumbutiSampara Rivers system

FIG 1 Location of study area in South-east Sulawesi

Topography

The swamp lies at about 20 m above sea-level and issurrounded by hills and mountains Except in itssouthernmost parts the limits of an ancient lake and itssurrounding terraces are quite conspicuous being markedby both a changing slope and a distinct change in thevegetation The southern and the northern parts of RawaAopa are connected by a very narrow gap near Motaha cfFig 1)

Hydrology

The study area is part of the river basin of the mean-dering Rivers Konaweha and Lahumbuti which join atWawolemo to form the Sampara The Aopa catchmenthas a total area of approximately 1700 km2 of whichapproximately 300 km2 are seasonally flooded Occa-sional floods of the Konaweha River cause damage to thenewly-created irrigations in the Wawotobi plain Duringthe period of record of river flows (1981 to 1987) threesuch events have occurred

There is some exchange of waters between the Riversand the swamp either as floodplain flow ie spilling overthe rivers banks at high water-levels) or through the threemouths of Rawa Aopa There is no sufficient database toquantify the amount of these flows and therefore the roleof Rawa Aopa in relation to the floods but it can beassumed that at least under certain circumstances theflows have a flood-attenuating effect For 1983 - the oneyear of records of all the three existing gauging stations mdashthe net outflow from Aopa to the Konaweha is estimatedto have been 510 million m3 This corresponds to anaverage outflow rate of 16 m3sec throughout the year

Soils

The Konaweha River-banks are higher than theadjacent parts of the plain and are mostly cultivated Theydo not seem to be flooded every year but only duringextremely high floods The silty or clay soils of theWawotobi plain are not easily percolated This leads towater covering the ground in slight depressions evenduring the dry season In parts of the swamp the mineralsediments are overlain by peat

Climate

Southeastern Sulawesi is characterized by a slightlyseasonal climate with a wet season lasting from Januaryto July and a drier season extending from August toDecember The annual precipitation is approximately1400 mm and the average yearly temperature is 261degCwith little daily or yearly variation

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Vegetation

a Existing Information

A series of reports (Anon 197819831985a 1985ft)give some information about the vegetation of the RawaAopa-Watumohai National Park However these reports

226Environmental Conservation Vol 19 Nr 3 Autumn 1992 mdash copy 1992 The Foundation for Environmental Conservation mdash Printed in Switzerland

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Zwahlen The Ecology ofRawaAopa a Peat-swamp in Sulawesi Indonesia 227

are concerned predominantly with vegetation-typeswhich do not occur within the swamp itself namelymontane forest savanna and mangrove forest Appa-rently only one botanical study of the Aopa swamp itselfhas been carried out so far Unfortunately only a preli-minary report emanated from that study (Jacobs 1978)giving very summarized information about the vegetationof Rawa Aopa

b Distribution of Vegetation Types

The vegetation map shown in Fig 2 was drawn from1982 aerial photographs on the scale of approximately1100000 Field trips served to verify the identification ofthe vegetation types At the scale given here it has to be a

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1FIG 2 Vegetation map of the study area Only a few of the villagesshown in Fig 1 are mentioned here for orientation Encroachmenton primary forest is clearly visible SP 5 andSP 6 are newly-createdtransmigration villages A description of the vegetation-types is

given in the text

rather generalized map mdash especially because of the verysmall-scale mosaic of different vegetation types present inmany areas In certain places most obviously in theregion south of Rate-Rate and close to the southwesternborder of the swamp large parts of the forest have beencleared recently to make way for new settlements andareas of cultivation Therefore the map does not alwaysreflect the actual situation A short description of thevegetation types follows

Open watermdash Open water forms narrow passages orsmall shallow lakes up to a few hectares in extent Theirbeds are covered by a thick layer of litter forming thecharacteristic peat This indicates anaerobic conditions inthe water adjacent to the bottom Only the larger lakeswhich are visible in the aerial photographs are shown inFig 2

Swamp vegetationmdash This characterizes all parts ofthe open swamp There are two main vegetation-typesOne is dominated by plants that are rooted in the ground

and of which the leaves float on the waters surface Thedominant species are Nymphoides indica and the LotusNelumbium nelumbo Some submerged plants are alsofound eg Utricularia sp) as well as floating plantswithout roots in the ground Eichhornia and Pistia) Largeparts of the swamp are covered by thick mats of floatingvegetation (Fig 3) Three unidentified plant speciesdominate a grass forming low but very dense mats asedge cf Cyperus sp) 1 m or more in height and a largefern cf Stenochlacna sp) These mats are mixed withreeds rooted in the ground and a large grass of thePhragmites type

FIG 3 Mats of floating vegetation a typical aspect of the swampSouthwestern part of Rawa Aopa view from the observation towernear the bridge over the swamp looking westward The hillsbordering the swamp are covered with forest the white patches arestands of Alang-alang (Imperata cylindrical This section of Rawa

Aopa is part of the National Park

Swamp-forestmdash Different types of swamp-forestdominate towards the edges of the swamp where thewater is less deep (generally much less than 1 m) butwhere the soil is waterlogged or covered by water for anextended period every year Climbers are very abundantand include rattan palms Calamus spp) and a pitcher-plant Nepenthes sp) Large pandans are frequent At theouter edges of the swamp or along swampy creeksleading to it there are Sago Palms Metroxylon sagu)although this palm is very rare in the southwestern part ofthe swamp In some places the talipot palm Corypha cfelata) is found In the northeastern part of Rawa Aopathere is less swamp-forest mdash formed predominantly ofsmaller trees with a quite open canopy and thick under-growth (Fig 4) in the southwestern part the forested areais much more extensive and the forests are composed oflarger trees In this area it is not always possible to makea clear distinction between swamp-forest and uplandforest as there is a gradual merging of one into the otherThe boundary between them has therefore been drawnrather arbitrarily

Primary upland forestmdash The transition of lowlandinto montane forest is too gradual to be shown on our mapbesides it has not been of prime interest for the purpose ofthis study In some places this so-called primary forestmay actually be composed of older stands of secondaryforest Lowland primary forest is not subjected to thedirect influence of the swamp although some parts of itmay be flooded irregularly for short periods ofexceptionally high water-level Large trees form a closed

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228 Environmental Conservationoi

FIG 4 Typical aspect of the swamp-forest in the northeastern part ofthe swamp close to Puriala The trees are only about 8 m high anddo not form a closed canopy Large pandans (top centre) and rattanpalms (Calamus sp centre) are abundant The soil is covered by

thick stands of a sedge about 2 m in height (foreground)

canopy shading out the undergrowth which is thereforeless dense There are many climbers here among themdifferent kinds of rattan palms (species of CalamusKorthalsia and probably others) together with variousother small palms Livistona rotundifolia Caryota mitisand the very frequent Licuala celebensis) Only smallpatches of this forest type remain intact large areashaving already been cleared to make way for agriculturalland either in the form of shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn) or for irrigated fields Montane forest on gentlerslopes has also been destroyed by slash-and-burn prac-tices but especially on steeper slopes and at higherelevations large areas of forest still remain intact

Secondary forest predominantmdash This constitutes avery small-scale mosaic of different types of uplandvegetation with secondary forest in different stages(bushland bamboo thickets and snatches of forest ofdifferent ages) Interspersed with this secondary forest aresettlements and cultivated areas see below) though smallscattered patches of primary forest still remain Alongsmall creeks there is swamp vegetation often dominatedby Sago Palm This mosaic types is very extensiveespecially along the eastern edge of the Aopa Depression

Cultivated areas predominantmdash This mosaic con-tains much less forest or bush vegetation than the pre-ceding one Settlements with the typical house-gardenscharacterized by Coconut Palms Cocos nucifera) rain-fed cultures (ladang) and irrigated cultures (sawah)occupy the larger part of the surface Shifting cultivationssurround Rawa Aopa and are especially frequent to thesouth-east of the swamp (Mowila-Motaha-Horodopi)Permanent cultures occur eg on the levees of the Kona-weha though there is no gallery forest left along thisRiver within the study area Irrigated cultures are presentmainly to the north and west of the study area (Wawotobiplain Lambuya Rate-Rate and southwards) Furtherirrigation projects are being realized or studied eg on theKonaweha Rivers right bank (EWI 1988a) Smallpatches of secondary forest and of Alang-alang seebelow) occur

Alang-alangmdash Large stretches of land especially hillslopes that are too steep for cultivation where the originalforest has been cleared are covered by a vegetation-typemade up practically of one grass species the Alang-alangor Lalang Imperata cylindrica) This coarse grass iseaten when young by cattle so surfaces covered withAlang-alang are kept in that state by regular burning Asyoung trees are killed by these grass fires naturalreforestation is impeded

Fauna

Whereas the fauna of Sulawesi as a whole is reason-ably well known there is very little specific informationavailable about the Aopa Depression Some observationshave however been made in the area in relation to thecreation of Rawa Aopa-Watumohai National Park(Anon 1978 1983) though not specifically for theswamp

a Mammals

A list of the most important mammal genera andspecies of Sulawesi is given by Groves (1976) Nomammals were observed during my field trips Accordingto the above-mentioned reports the following species oflarge mammals are present in the Aopa DepressionBabirousa babyrussa (Babirusa endemic) Susverrucosus (Wild Boar or Wild Pig introduced to Sula-wesi) Anoa (Bubalus) depressicornis (Lowland Anoaendemic) Bubalus bubalis (feral Water Buffalo intro-duced) Cervus timorensis (Deer introduced) Tarsiumspectrum (Tarsius indigenous) and Macaca ochreata(Black Macaque endemic)

b Birds

There is no field guide for Sulawesi available and sofor indentification of birds I had to rely on J MacKinnon(1988) and Stresemann (1939) Forty-four differentspecies of birds were identified during my field trips 27of them in the open parts of Rawa Aopa (Table I) This listis certainly not complete thus some smaller species ofrails were seen but not identified and some of the speciesmentioned in various reports (Anon 1978 1983) egFulica atra Gallicrex cinerea Ardea cinerea and

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Zwahlen The Ecology of Rawa Aopa a Peat-swamp in Sulawesi Indonesia 229

Pelicanus conspicillatus were not seen by me Howeverit is obvious that Rawa Aopa is a wetland with aninteresting and diversified avifauna (Fig 5)

TABLE I

List of Bird Species Observed During Field-work

FIG 5 Great Egret (Egretta albaj in the northeastern part of theswamp The water is largely covered by floating mats of a low-growing grass Lotus (Nelumbium nelumboj leaves are veryconspicuous This part of Rawa Aopa is not within the National Park

c Reptiles

Three large reptile species are reported to occur in thestudy area namely Crocodylus porosus (EstuarineCrocodile) Python retkulatus (Reticulated Python) andHydrosaurus amboiensis (Sailfin Lizard) Neitherpythons nor crocodiles were seen during the field-workfor this study but the Sailfin Lizard (Fig 6) is quitefrequent and can easily be observed from a boat on theKonaweha River On one occasion eight adult and fivejuvenile Sailfin Lizards were seen during a boat-ride fromWawotobi weir downstream to SP E (cf Fig 1) and asimilar number on another occasion between SP E and themouth of Lawe Aopa In spite of its still quite largenumbers the Sailfin Lizards habitat is obviouslyshrinking It does not occur in the vicinity of humanhabitations and it needs intact vegetation along the river-banks preferably with trees hanging over the water whichare used for basking However there are not many treesleft on the river banks and much of the remaining naturalvegetation along the rivers is burned during the dryseason The Sailfin Lizard appears to be absent from theswamp itself

Group andName of Species

Phalacrocoracidae CormorantsPhalacrocorax melanoleucusP sulcirostrisAnhinga melanogaster

Ardeidae HeronsArdea sumatranaA purpureaArdeola speciosaBubulcus ibisEgretta sacraE albaE intermediaE garzettaNycticorax nycticoraxIxobrychus sp cinnamomeusButeroides striatus

Ciconiidae StorksMycteria cinerea

Anatidae DucksDendrocygna spAnas superciliosa

Accipitridae Hawks and EaglesElanus caeruleusHaliaetus leucogasterAccipiter spHalidstur Indus

Rallidae RailsAmaurornis phoenicuraGallinula chloropusProphyrio porphyrio

Jacanidae Jacanaslrrediparra gallinacea

Scolopacidae SnipesActitis hypoleucus

Columbidae PigeonsCrytophaps poecilorhoaGeopelia spDucula bicolor

Cuculidae CuckoosCentropus bengalensis

Apodidae SwiftsApus sp

Alcedinidae KingfishersAlcedo atthisA menintingHalcyon chloris

Meropidae Bee-eatersMerops superciliosus

Bucerotidae HornbillsRhyticeros cassidix

Passeres SongbirdsHirundo tahiticaOriolus chinensisCorvus encaAcrocephalus arundinaceusCinnyris sericaC jugularisCoracias sp

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FIG 6 A large male of the Sailfin Lizard (Hydrosaurus amboiensis)basking on the bank of Konaweha River

Locations 1 = Konaweha River 2 = Wawotobi plain 3 = RawaAopa northeastern part 4 = Rawa Aopa central part (near bridge atDesa Aopa) 5 = Rawa Aopa southwestern part (National Park) 6 =Swamp-forest north-east 7 = Swamp-forest south-west (NationalPark)

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230 Environmental Conservation

d Fishes

No inventory of fish species of the rivers and theswamp is available The most abundant species within thestudy area (or at least those species that are normallycaught by fishermen) are Puntiusjavanicus Trichogasterpectoralis Channa (Ophiocephalus) striatus (Snake-head) and Clarias batrachus (Walking Catfish) All thesespecies are not native to Sulawesi but have been intro-duced by Man The Puntius is fairly abundant in therivers and the three other species occur in the swamp Notsurprisingly these three have additional respiratoryorgans that allow them to breathe atmospheric oxygenwhen the oxygen content in the water is low which islikely to be the case during most of the year at least insome parts of the swamp and is definitely so in the stag-nant low water in the dry season

e Other Fauna

Insects are very frequent and occur in large numbersDragonflies and butterflies are the most striking the latterespecially in the forests

Two freshwater molluscs have been recorded asconsumed by the local population One is a large snail(Vivipara type with a shell height of 6-8 cm) heaps of theshells of which have been seen close to houses on theKonaweha River banks The other species is a freshwater(or possibly brackish water) clam that is caught in theSampara River downstream of Pohara

CLU (1989a 1989ft) has recorded some zooplanktonspecies from the study area Otherwise the invertebratefauna of Rawa Aopa is scarcely known at all

Threatened Species and Conservation

According to Whitten et al (1987) Goodwin ampHolloway (1978) and Honegger (1968) the followingspecies that have been observed or reported to live in thestudy area are considered as being rare and endangered- Tarsius spectrum (Sulawesi Tarsier)- Babirousa babyrussa (Babirusa)- Anoa depressicornis (Lowland Anoa)- Anoa quarlesi (Mountain Anoa)- Mycteria (Ibis) cinereus (Milky Stork)- Macrocephalon maleo (Maleo)- Crocodylus porosus (Estuarine Crocodile)

This clearly supports the view expressed by J amp KMacKinnon (1986) that Rawa Aopa is one of the priorityareas for the protection of Nature in Sulawesi

Rawa Aopa-Watumohai National Park

The Rawa Aopa-Watumohai National Park wasdeclared in 1987 (Anon 1985a 1985ft 1987) it was anextension of the already existing Watumohai NationalPark bringing it to a total surface of 105194 ha By thisextension the proposition made by FAO (1982) has beenat least partly followed The Park contains a variety ofdifferent habitats and vegetation-types namely montaneand lowland forest wetlands swamp-forest savanna and

Species reported to live in montane forest close to AopaDepression

mangrove forest According to Ledec amp Goodland(1988) lowland primary forests especially in thesouthern peninsulas of Sulawesi need special protectionas only relatively small undisturbed patches of theseforest types remain Rawa Aopa is considered as being themost important area for conservation purposes insoutheastern Sulawesi and one of the six most importantareas in the whole of Sulawesi (J amp K MacKinnon1986) The existing Rawa Aopa-Watumohai NationalPark includes only the southern part of the swamp (seeFig 1)

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT

Population

Indonesia has made great efforts to reduce the overallpopulation growth-rate and at the same time to improvethe health condition of the population (DEH 1989) Asuccessful family planning programme was started in1982 and Indonesia participates in the WHO-basedproject Health for all by the year 2000

The total population in the project area which includessix Kecamatan (sub-districts) of Kabupaten (district)Kendari and one Kecamatan of Kabupaten Kolaka was147821 in AD 1988 554 of the population are withinthe productive age-class (15 years and older) and 446are younger than 15 years of age only 14 are older than64 (Kantor Statistik Kendari 1989) Annual populationgrowth in the project area has been 40 over the last 5years This is clearly above the nationwide average whichwas 24 in 1988 An especially high population growthhas taken place in Kecamatan Ladongi of KabupatenKolaka (102 on average) This reflects the populationdevelopment due to the creation of new transmigrantsettlements

Agriculture

Approximately 80 of the population in the projectarea work in agriculture (EWI 1988ft 1988c CLU1989a 1989ft) Rice is the most important subsistencecrop along with maize Other cultivations (of clovescocoa coffee cashew and pepper) are cash-crops Coco-nuts bananas (Musa spp) and a variety of other fruits areproduced and partially sold on local markets Livestock(cattle Water Buffaloes and goats) is an importantresource (of draft animals income and food)

Fishing

Only a few people in the area depend on fishing as theirmain source of income However many people do somefishing for their own consumption Yields in the Aopaarea seem to vary greatly from year to year but areroughly between 100 and 280 tonsyear The reasons forthis variation are not clear though different factors mightadd to it (eg fluctuations in fish populations differencesin catching effort and incomplete reporting of catches)This total catch is quite low (see Table II) compared withother lakes elsewhere but with the low nutrient-contentthat is characteristic of peat-swamps only a lowproductivity is to be expected

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Zwahlen The Ecology ofRawa Aopa a Peat-swamp in Sulawesi Indonesia 231

TABLE II

Catch of Fishes Area and Catch per Unit Area in Some IndonesianReservoirs (Welcomme 1979) as Compared with Reported Catch

for Rawa Aopa

Reservoir

JaitiluhurPeningDormaJomborPacalPrijetanSentirKalen

Rawa Aopa

Catchin Tons

18070911138

1381132

100-280

Areakm2

830220401939230705

90-240

CatchAreakgha

2173225277520213566491491391

11

Other Natural Resources

Huntingmdash Anoa and Babirusa are said to be huntedbut due to their rareness and secretive habits thesespecies probably do not play a major role in the localeconomy The most frequent game species is the Wild Pig(Sus verrucosus) which is also likely to cause damage tocrops During field-trips captured or shot Wild Pigs wereseen on several occasions This animal however is eatenonly by the non-islamic minority of the population

Sagomdash Sago Palms (Metroxylon sagu) have beenintroduced to Sulawesi being frequent in the project areamdash especially along small swampy streams flowing to theswamp In some places they also grow along the edges ofthe swamp itself and they are numerous along thebackswamps behind the Konaweha River banks In thesouthwestern more densely forested parts of Rawa AopaSago Palms are quite rare The densest stands can befound close to villages whence sago is exploited Sago isutilized by the local Tolaki population (Levine 1981)

The Sago Palm is a very useful plant although itsutilization is declining It grows in swampy areas that arevery often not suitable for cultivation One mature SagoPalm stem yields 150 to 300 kg of crude starch with astarch content of about 50 (Corner 1966 Whitmore1977 Franke 1981) The yield from one or two palmstems is sufficient to cover the carbohydrate needs of afamily of four for one year The life-span of an individualpalm is approximately 15 years and it has to be cut justbefore flowering ie at an age of 11 to 15 years to obtainthe maximum yield

It can be estimated that a stand of Sago Palms of about01 ha would produce the necessary starch for a family ona sustained basis without requiring any input of fertilizersor pesticides and with a minimum of effort Most sagoexploitation is done for subsistence Along the lowerSampara however Sago is exploited on a commercialbasis the product being sold on local markets Besidesstarch Sago Palms provide a very good thatching mate-rial which will last for up to seven years

Woodmdash Timber can be found in the different types ofupland forest The swamp-forest according to Davidson(1987) contains no valuable timber species However atleast three kinds of rattan palms (species of CalamusKorthalsia and possibly other genera) grow in the

swamp-forest and are exploited As opposed to timberextraction harvesting of rattan does not seem to havemajor negative impacts on primary forests Thereforerattan can be considered as a permanently exploitableregenerating natural resource According to Myers(1988) revenues obtained from rattan in Indonesianforests amount to 90 million US$ annually Secondaryforests are the main producers of firewood which is themost important fuel in the villages of the project areaMost people seem to gather their own firewood althoughthere is a small-scale trade in this resource

There is a fair variety of other products obtained fromforests and other natural vegetation-types in the areastudied Many different plants are utilized mostly forlocal consumption or use However some products aresold or even exported In 1981 the total value of non-timber forest products of Indonesia attained 200 millionUS$ Up to now only a fraction of possibly valuable plantspecies are being exploited and further research is likelyto reveal a large variety of other potentially useful plantsmdash especially for drugs and Pharmaceuticals (Haryono1985 UNEP 1987 Whitmore 1987 Myers 1988)

Tourism

Currently tourism plays a very minor role in theeconomy of south-east Sulawesi However there seems tobe a potential for developing it Besides culturalattractions it is mainly natural richness and beauty thatattract tourists Therefore these factors have to be consi-dered as a potentially important resource The swamp(bird-watching etc) could become a tourist attraction ofthis region

Water-supply

Contaminated drinking-water is a cause of diseasesespecially of the gastro-intestinal tract Diarrhoea is a veryfrequent disease and an important cause of mortality In asurvey of 43 local water-supply facilities (Setiady 1979)17 proved to be contaminated with Escherichia coli andall of them contained coliform germs This is an indicationof inadequate disposal of human wastes

Food

The nutritional status of the local population seems tobe good A wide variety of foods are eaten especiallydifferent kinds of vegetables and fruit in addition to thestaple diet which is rice in most cases The main proteinsource is chicken but fish other meat and soybeans canbe important

Health

Malaria water-borne diseases (gastro-intestinal infec-tions and diarrhoea) and infections of the respiratorytract are very frequent and are the main causes of mor-tality Diarrhoea is closely related to hygienic conditionsits prevalence is therefore influenced strongly by thequantity and especially the quality of the drinking-water

Intestinal parasites are a major health-problem Somecan be very harmful or even fatal such as hookworms orEntamoeba histolytica Most of these parasites are trans-mitted indirectly from one person to another by means of

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232 Environmental Conservation

drinking-water or food being contaminated by humanwastes The figures in Table III indicate a high prevalenceof some of these parasites in Sulawesi

TABLE III

Frequency of Important Intestinal Parasites in Sulawesi(Setiady 1979)

Parasite

Entamoeba histolyticaE coliEndolimax nanaAscaris lumbricoidesTrichuris trichiuraHookworms (2 genera)Oxiuris vermicularisHymenolepis nana

Total people examined

Indigenous popPositive

Total

74153

1858308234

41

5812101

6762431840301

1270

No Taenia saginata or T solium has been reported

TransmigrantsPositive

Total

85178

6864257312

70

6313104

636189230

050

1353

Malaria

Malaria is the most important water-related vector-borne disease and has a high mortality-rate As it is trans-mitted by mosquitoes Anopheles spp) that depend onstanding water for their development malaria is closelyrelated to irrigation floods and drainage problems

General situationmdash Prior to mosquito eradicationprogrammes in Indonesia as many as 30 million casesoccurred per year with 1 million deaths caused by mala-ria annually (Kondrashin amp Rashid 1987) The overallsituation has improved since then as large-scale malariacontrol programmes have been established The mostdangerous of the malaria parasites Plasmodium falci-parum causes less than 10 of the malaria cases reportedin Indonesia (Stuerchler 1981) Cases of chloroquinine-resistant P falciparum have been recorded from Kali-mantan Irian Jaya and South Sulawesi Populationmovements and other activities linked to transmigrationprojects have in some cases led to malaria outbreaks

Situation in the project areasmdash In Kabupaten Kendari20 of the malaria cases are caused by Plasmodiumfalciparum and 80 by P vivax A malariometric surveyin transmigration villages in 1989 showed a generally lowinfection-rate but in one case no fewer than 25 of theinfants and 5 of the children up to 9 years of age wereinfected (Division of Health Planning Kendari)

In a survey carried out in 1978 14 species of Ano-pheles were found in the transmigration areas aroundKendari (Setiady 1979) Swamps (and in this case theAopa swamp) are breeding places for mosquitoes mdashespecially their borders where there is shallow waterMost villages in the study area are far enough away fromthe swamp to prevent a major malaria risk from thissource (a distance of 15-2 km between settlements andmosquito breeding-places is adequate to reduce theincidence of malaria) Poor drainage of irrigated fields (amajor problem in Wawotobi plain) is probably a moreimportant source of malaria infection The borrow-pitscreated for the construction of the flood-dykes which are

very numerous and contain water all-year-around presenta special problem as they are normally not connectedwith the drainage system Fig 7 presents some indicationsfor the relation of malaria with the drainage problem in theWawotobi plain in 1987

Malaria 1987New cases in Kabupaten Kendari

260

200

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Deo

tB Unaaha E M VMgwotob I S POnaidana bull UmOuya

pound53 Sempera bull Lanaono

FIG 7 Monthly distribution of new cases of malaria in the Keca-matan (sub-districts) close to Rawa Aopa The high incidence inWawotobi and especially Pondidaha Kecamatans which sharebetween them the so-called Wawotobi plain between the RiversKonaweha and Lahumbuti shows that the poor drainage of thenewly-created irrigation schemes provides suitable breeding places

for mosquitoes

Other Vector-borne DiseasesA number of further diseases are related to water as

the agent is carried by andor develops in aquatic inter-mediate hosts

Schistosomiasis (Bilharziasis) is absent from Indonesiawith the exception of a focus in Central Sulawesi(Stuerchler 1981 Whitten et al 1987) In fact the para-site (Schistosoma japonicum) and a species of interme-diate host snail (Oncomelania hupensis) have been foundin the Napu valley and in Lake Lindu A further spreadingof the disease seems to have been prevented by the factthat this intermediate host does not live below approxi-mately 1000 m above sea-level

Filariasis another parasitosis carried by mosquitoes israther widespread and frequent in the project area Thereare two microfilarian parasites present Brugia malayi andWuchereria bancrofti causing elephantiasis Only theformer species is rather frequent within the study area

INTERACTIONS

The main interactions of the swamp with its surround-ings are illustrated in Fig 8 The human population plays amajor role as its activities are responsible for environ-mental changes occurring nowadays at an ever-more-rapidpace Until very recently the native Tolaki populationseems to have lived in balance with its environmentUpland and montane forests as well as the different parts ofthe swamp were utilized on a sustained basis Sago was thestaple food and rice seems to have been of minorimportance There was enough space for allowing shiftingcultivation without complete exhaustion of soils

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Zwahlen The Ecology ofRawaAopa a Peat-swamp in Sulawesi Indonesia 233

Rawa AopaInterrelation with surroundings

upland and montane primary forest

eutrophlcatlon fishother products

swamp

FIG 8 Interrelations between Rawa Aopa and its surroundings Thetransformations brought about by the expanding human populationaffect the forests surrounding the swamp and lead indirectly to an

increased pressure on the swamp

The increasing population and mainly the creation oftransmigrant villages inhabited by Javanese and Balinesehave now changed the system The destruction of primaryforests is increasing and steeper slopes than formerly arebeing cleared Large surfaces are kept open by regularburning and use as pastures for cattle The surfaces whichare not covered by forest are prone to erosion mdashespecially the steeper ones In different parts particularlybetween the Rivers Konaweha and Lahumbuti and on theright bank of River Konaweha irrigation systems for thecultivation of rice have been constructed and others areplanned or under construction

All the above activities lead to an increase in the siltingup of Rawa Aopa Fertilizers brought to the swamp bydrainage water from irrigated areas of cultivation lead toeutrophication of the still rather oligotrophic water Anincrease in plant production within the swamp willprobably lead to a still lower oxygen content in the waterand add to the accumulation of litter All these influenceslead to acceleration in the naturally occurring process ofthe swamp that is being filled in In contrast to upland andto a lesser degree montane forest however there are littlein the way of direct threats to the swamp as it is notutilizable eg for agriculture

and at least punctual recordings of water flowing intoand out of the swamp are required for betterunderstanding of this system

- Vegetationmdash The vegetation map given in this reportonly shows a rough distribution of the main vege-tation-types in the swamp As it has been drawnmainly from aerial photographs dating from 1982before the recent influx of settlers it already needsextensive updating Furthermore detailed botanicalstudies are needed as the species present in this areaare only very incompletely known

- Faunamdash With the exception of the avifauna theanimal life in the Rawa Aopa is virtually unknownMuch detailed investigation of different animal groupsneeds to be done to obtain a detailed picture of theecological role of this swamp

Field-work for this report revealed some importantdifferences between the two main parts of the swampOnly the southwestern part belongs to the National Parkwhile the northeastern part has no protection statusHowever the distribution of habitats is very unequalbetween these two parts While in the south-west there arelarge surfaces of swamp-forest of types that are absentfrom the other part this latter in turn seems to be moreimportant as a wetland and for instance as habitat ofwater-birds If Rawa Aopa is considered as a part of apossible touristic development of south-east Sulawesi(and there is undoubtedly a potential for such a develop-ment) the northeastern part of the swamp would probablyprove to be more attractive for visitors Therefore it isrecommended to consider the inclusion of this part of theswamp in the National Park

However the most urgent need lies in the establish-ment of a comprehensive inventory and management planfor the whole catchment area Demographic aspects andagricultural development have to be taken into consi-deration together with the abiotic and biotic conditionsin order to attain the development of this interestingregion on a sustainable basis But even without planningit is obvious that conservation of the forests on the sur-rounding hills is the most important prerequisite togetherwith (and indeed for) protection of the villages andcultures and the long-term conservation of the swamp

SUMMARY

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

An effort has been made to collect and collate as muchof the existing data on Rawa Aopa as has proved possibleThis effort also clearly revealed large gaps in the availableknowledge of this unique and interesting part of SulawesiAs development in the areas surrounding the swampmakes rapid progress it seems important to fill these gapsAs the present Author sees it there are three major direc-tions of research to be followed

- Water regimemdash Water input water regime and rela-tions with the rivers of the same catchment area arenot yet fully understood Monitoring of water levels

Rawa Aopa is a large swamp in South-East SulawesiIndonesia mdash the only major peat-swamp in this mainlymountainous island Its vegetation and fauna are still quitepoorly known The existing information is summarizedhere With the creation of new villages as part of Indo-nesias transmigration programme the human populationin this area has increased very rapidly Pressure on naturalresources mdash especially soils and forests mdash is increasingand primary forests are dwindling rapidly This in turnincreases the threats to Rawa Aopa as erosion in its catch-ment area inevitably leads to a rapid silting up of theswamp The swamp has a potential as a source of food(fish and sago) and income (rattan and other products)and it might to some degree become a tourist attraction

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234 Environmental Conservation

From a scientific point of view the gaps in the know-ledge about water-regime vegetation and fauna ought tobe remedied In order to attain sustainable utilization ofthis area a thorough plan ought to be made for the wholecatchment of Rawa Aopa The most important measure totake is the protection of the forests covering the hills andthe surroundings of the swamp Also important verywidely is the protection of soils Furthermore it isrecommended to include the northern part of the swamp inthe already-existing Rawa Aopa-Watumohai NationalPark

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