The motorbike I was riding sped away from the ALeRT Camp in Bungur, in the forest area¹ of the national park² of Way Kambas³, Lampung Province. Cogon grass soon closed in around me. Shrubs pushed up through it, and bare tree stumps jutted toward the sky.

But Suprapto, the forest police officer giving me a ride, handled the motorbike nimbly. As if untroubled, this man from Cilacap, who has worked in Way Kambas for two decades, deftly cut his way through the grass.

Drowning in cogon grass

This is the other face of Way Kambas National Park. A face that will never show up in any tourist brochure. Way Kambas is, after all, far better known for its elephants. Here, the largest land animal in the world is an icon.

Yet the elephant is also the source of a long-running conflict in Way Kambas. It is ironic. On the one hand, it is the number one attraction, even a symbol of Lampung Province⁴. On the other, it causes thorny problems because it often raids the community's farmland. Here, the struggle between wildlife and people for living space is laid bare⁵.

This conflict between residents and elephants is closely tied to the near absence of a buffer zone around Way Kambas. Most of the

¹ A forest area (kawasan hutan) is a specific area designated and/or established by the government to be maintained as permanent forest. By this definition, a forest area is not always covered by forest, and that is not uncommon. Indonesia's forest area totals 129,023,378.15 hectares. Of this, only 21,448,000 hectares (16.62% of the total forest area) have been fully gazetted or established.

² A national park is a nature conservation area with an original ecosystem, managed through a zoning system and used for research, science, education, support for cultivation, tourism and recreation.

³ Way Kambas National Park (TNWK) is a conservation forest area designated by Minister of Forestry Decree No. 670/Kpts-II/1999 of August 26, 1999, covering 125,631.31 hectares. Administratively, TNWK lies in East Lampung Regency, at geographic coordinates between 40⁰37' – 50⁰16' South latitude and between 105⁰33' – 105⁰54' East longitude.

Figure 2. Elephants at the Elephant Training Center (PLG) in Way Kambas National Park. It was first set up as one way to resolve human–elephant conflict, but later grew into a tourist attraction. The conflict itself, however, has never died down. @ Timer Manurung / SILVAGAMA

national park's edge borders directly on villages⁶, so the moment an elephant leaves the park, it walks straight into people's farmland.

Because forest police⁷ patrols are few and far between, people can enter Way Kambas fairly freely. They gather wood, fish, hunt, graze livestock and even farm. This is tied to people's lingering memories of roaming the area freely back when it was a logging concession (HPH)⁸.

FOREST FIRES (OR FOREST BURNING?)

The absence of large stumps seems to say that the trees were wiped out. Perhaps that is what the logging concession did back then. With the trees gone, the area opened up and cogon grass easily took root. On top of that, El Niño followed by La Niña brought massive fires in 1997/1998 that devastated the forest vegetation. The cogon grass took over⁹.

Unfortunately, cogon grass burns easily. It is fuel that catches at the slightest spark. Worse, Way Kambas is so dry in the dry season that even a spark from a cigarette butt can easily set off a huge fire. With no trees and vast open areas, fires are often hard to control, because the wind blows hard and from unpredictable directions.

In fact, fire triggers the growth of fresh grass that animals love. Soon after a burn, animals arrive to graze on the new shoots. Unfortunately, that is exactly what hunters want. A squeeze of the trigger almost always means a dead animal. So perhaps what often happens in Way Kambas is not forest fires but forest burning¹⁰. And the practice has gone on for a long time. “Hunters are used to trapping animals by burning the forest. After a fire, hunting activity usually goes up,” said Suprapto. No wonder cogon grass seems to be permanent in Way Kambas National Park.

Judging by its size, TNWK may not seem a major conservation priority. But that changes when you look at Sumatra as a whole. The enormous pressure to convert land, whether into industrial timber plantations (HTI), estate crops or other farmland, falls above all on Sumatra's lowland forests. And Way Kambas is one of the largest lowland forests left in Sumatra.

Lowland forests are clearly extremely rich in biodiversity, flora included. So is Way Kambas National Park. Apart from the orangutan, all of Sumatra's charismatic megafauna are found in Way Kambas, such as the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and tapir (Tapirus indicus). There is even an animal that today survives nowhere else in the world but Way Kambas: the white-winged duck (Asarcornis scutulata).

Its isolated location, cut off from farmland and bordering directly on the sea, keeps it relatively safe. The same kind of position is what keeps the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) stable in Ujung Kulon National Park. It is the opposite of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS) in Lampung, which is larger but riddled with encroachment and has even been proposed to be “split” by a highway. Yet the Ministry of Forestry classifies TNBBS as a major park office (balai besar), headed by an echelon II official. So it is no surprise that Way Kambas, headed only by an echelon III official, has more and better-quality wildlife of the same species than Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, and that is exactly why conservation programs in Way Kambas, including protection, should be a priority.

Figure 3. A fire in SPTN II Bungur in October 2013. It took a week to put out. The fire burned some of the forest plants painstakingly planted under the Gerhan program in 2012. @ Wito Dwi Prawiro / SILVAGAMA

RESTORATION

Regular fires are not only a problem for the managers of Way Kambas National Park, but also for wildlife, as they destroy food sources and disrupt the animals' movements.

Firefighting is of course needed, above all to stop the burned area from spreading. But that alone is not enough. The growth of the cogon grass must be held back, and the grass must even be replaced with trees that support the wildlife and ecosystem of Way Kambas. Once trees grow, their canopy will shade the grass and slow its growth. Little by little, the grass will be pushed out and the land will turn back into wild forest.

Tackling the fires, shrinking and eliminating the cogon grass, and then turning the land back into forest is no easy matter.

First, because it is not only about the technical side of reforestation¹¹, but also about the human factor: people actively setting fires. This calls for an effective strategy to monitor and detect people coming in to burn the grass.

Second, because cogon grass is inherently hard to kill. Even fire does not kill it. Soon after a fire, its rhizomes and roots sprout again. Meanwhile, the ash left behind actually helps fertilize the soil.

Way Kambas National Park's management area is divided into several SPTNs (National Park Management Sections). Each SPTN is further divided into several resorts.

⁴ Forest areas in Lampung Province have been designated since Dutch colonial times. But they have shrunk year after year. In 1991, Lampung's definitive forest area was 1,237,268 hectares; it shrank to 1,144,512 hectares in 1999 and again to 1,004,735 hectares in 2000, with Minister of Forestry Decree No. 256/Kpts-II/2000 of August 23, 2000. Besides TNWK, conservation areas in Lampung include Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (356,800 hectares), Krakatau Nature Reserve (13,735.1 hectares) and Wan Abdul Rahman Grand Forest Park (Tahura) (22,244 hectares).

⁵ Every year there are conflicts between residents and elephants around Way Kambas. As an indication of how frequent they are, the Way Kambas Buffer Village Forum (FRDP) recorded 274 elephant incidents between January and May 2012 alone.

Figure 4. One of the massive cogon grass areas in Way Kambas National Park. Consistent reforestation and adequate fire control are the keys to restoring the area to its original state. Digitized with Google Earth Pro by Timer Manurung, 2013

Third, cogon grass grows faster than forest trees, which makes it hard for tree seedlings to survive. Without intervention, the grass quickly smothers the seedlings, leaving them little sunlight or room to grow.

Fourth, the growth of forest seedlings can also suffer because, on open land, animals move and see more freely and tend to strip the shoots off young trees. The seedlings never get the chance to grow big. Or they grow so slowly that the grass greedily swallows them up.

Aware of these challenges, the Silvagama Foundation¹² deliberately chose Component 1 (Thematic Reforestation, Forest Fire Control and Safeguarding Natural Succession)¹³ in the joint program¹⁴ of the ALeRT-Unila Consortium. This component makes the most of funding from TFCA-Sumatera¹⁵. To complement it, Silvagama has also tapped other sources of support, including making the most of its own internal resources.

We call this whole set of activities restoration. It is not just reforestation, but also restoring the Way Kambas ecosystem as a refuge for wildlife while ensuring ecological support for the surrounding area. That is why, besides anticipating fires through the planting scheme, planting lines and the choice of fire-resistant species, the trees to be planted will also be matched to local species and to wildlife food, especially for Sumatran elephants and rhinos.

⁶ There are 36 villages bordering directly on Way Kambas National Park. This number may well grow, since villages can still be split into new ones even when the original village boundaries are not yet clear.

⁷ Polisi Hutan (forest police). The unit responsible for securing the area within the Way Kambas National Park Office.

⁸ Short for Hak Pengusahaan Hutan (forest concession rights). An HPH is a timber harvesting (logging) concession in a state forest area. Before it was designated a national park, part of Way Kambas was an HPH concession area.

⁹ A rapid digitization by the Silvagama Foundation found a massive expanse of cogon grass covering 40,780 hectares in Bungur Resort and its surroundings. This expanse alone covers 32% of TNWK's total area. And there are still several other patches of cogon grass inside TNWK.

Figure 5. One of the massive cogon grass areas in Way Kambas National Park. Consistent reforestation and adequate fire control are the keys to restoring the area to its original state. Digitized with Google Earth Pro by Timer Manurung, 2013

This restoration is designed to work hand in hand with the programs of the Way Kambas National Park Office. It will also involve local communities in its implementation as much as possible. In the long term, it is meant to serve as a model for drawing up a grand design for ecosystem restoration across all of Way Kambas.

Figure 6. Scorching the tops of the cogon grass does not kill it entirely. Once the fire dies down, new shoots quickly sprout, drawing in wild animals. @ Wito Dwi Prawiro / SILVAGAMA

RAWA KADUT

Near the end of that small, furrowed ridge, the cogon grass suddenly ran wild, dense and tangled with thorny shrubs. Their stiff, dangling branches clawed at our faces and hands. Grass leaves wound around the wheels. Hendra, a Way Bungur resident working on restoration for the Silvagama Foundation, had to step in and hack through the shrubs with his machete. Our four motorbikes lurched and stumbled through the thick grass.

But once we broke free of the giant grass and climbed a small ridge, another oasis lifted our spirits. A small river flowed calmly behind a thicket of trees. Its clear water was full of small fish and snakehead fish swimming freely. The locals call it Rawa Kadut.

Figure 7. Elephant dung scattered along the banks of the Kadut River, a sign that wildlife around the restoration area is still healthy. @ Koen Setyawan / SILVAGAMA

The river curves like the letter U through the grassland, lined on both banks by large trees. Everywhere else, the cogon grass grows mercilessly.

We checked the map: Rawa Kadut lies in the middle of the grassland. This is where we would set up a post. The Rawa Kadut Post, as it would be called.

“The site is protected by a river with dense vegetation. Only the end of the river bend is open. All we have to do is draw a straight line about half a kilometer long and turn it into a firebreak,” said Wito Dwi Prawiro, Silvagama's Restoration Coordinator.

Interestingly, Rawa Kadut was not chosen without reason. Starting restoration in the middle of the grassland, even though it is relatively far from villages and management posts, is expected to make it easier to steer and expand later restoration. There are also ponds inside the chosen plot, one fairly small and the other larger. Both can supply water for the plants, and for putting out fires. What's more, its location far to the north of Bungur Resort should make it a point for spotting intruders entering the national park from the north.

¹⁰ According to the Way Kambas National Park Office database, fires occur almost every year, over areas of varying size. The worst fire, causing the most extensive damage, was of course in 1997/1998.

Chart of forest fires in Way Kambas National Park

¹¹ Besides the National Forest and Land Rehabilitation Movement (GERHAN), which plants the grasslands with various species every year, another organization, ALeRT (Aliansi Lestari Rimba Terpadu), is also carrying out reforestation in TNWK.

¹² A non-governmental organization working on natural resource conservation. Founded on November 12, 2009, with the aim of achieving sustainable natural resources and environmental balance for the continuity of human life. To that end, Silvagama carries out activities intended to: (i) promote concrete, positive action to conserve natural resources and the environment; (ii) eliminate actions that destroy natural resources; (iii) develop activities that improve long-term well-being as the main tool for conserving natural resources and the environment; (iv) bring about policies that favor conservation and better well-being; and (v) build a cadre of conservationists who, individually and/or together with others, take part in conserving natural resources and the environment.

¹³ This joint program has 4 components: Component 1 (thematic reforestation (especially elephant food), forest fire control and safeguarding natural succession), Component 2 (monitoring and protecting the population distribution and vital resources of tigers, rhinos, elephants, tapirs, bears and white-winged ducks), Component 3 (developing a management model for special-interest ecotourism) and Component 4 (developing the creative economy and raising awareness to support the handling of human–wildlife conflict).

¹⁴ The consortium consists of ALeRT, the University of Lampung (UNILA), the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program (PKHS), the Way Kambas Buffer Village Forum (FRDP), the Sajogyo Institute (SAINS), the SILVAGAMA Foundation, Saka Wana Bakti Way Kambas and Save Indonesia Endangered Species (SIES).

Figure 8. The small bridge we built takes us across Rawa Kadut, though it is only 30 cm deep. The amount of elephant dung we found shows that herds of elephants often visit this river. Just 50 m from here, we set up the Rawa Kadut Post. One day, we dream, after a hard day of restoration work we will be able to watch elephants drinking at the river. @ Koen Setyawan / SILVAGAMA

We also mapped the outer boundary of the restoration plot. Our planting design, alternating 30-meter strips of planted land and land left to the cogon grass, was quickly adjusted to fit the original landscape. The post will be staffed in rotation by forest police, Silvagama staff and local residents. It will also be equipped with a plant nursery, water tanks, an irrigation system for both plant care and firefighting, appropriate-technology electricity and other supporting facilities.

Figure 9. Reforestation plants killed and stripped bare by fire in SPTN II Bungur, Way Kambas, in October 2013. Fires like this, which happen almost every year, are one of restoration's main enemies. Effective monitoring and protection are needed so the plants can grow freely. @ Wito Dwi Prawiro / SILVAGAMA

Still, it will take hard work before all this comes true. Just getting there, we had to stumble our way through the dense grass. And the vision of thick trees growing back into forest in place of the grassland grew ever stronger in our minds.

¹⁵ TFCA-Sumatera is a debt-for-nature swap program agreed between the Government of the United States and the Government of Indonesia under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA), a 1998 United States law on tropical forest conservation. The scheme is designed to protect and restore tropical forests in forest-rich countries by funding forest conservation work by civil society, including non-governmental organizations and universities. In Indonesia, the funding scheme, called TFCA-Sumatera, is administered by the KEHATI Foundation, which channels grants for activities including forest restoration and conservation in 13 priority landscapes in Sumatra. These priority landscapes or areas [including buffer zones, corridors and connecting areas] are: (1) Seulawah Heritage Forest, (2) Leuser National Park and the Leuser Ecosystem, (3) Batang Gadis National Park, (4) the Angkola Ecosystem, (5) Batang Toru, (6) the West Toba Watershed, (7) Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, (8) the Siak Kampar Peninsula, (9) the Tesso Nilo Ecosystem, (10) Kerinci Seblat National Park, (11) the Siberut & Mentawai Islands, (12) Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and (13) Way Kambas National Park.

Figure 10. Morning at the ALeRT restoration site in SPTN II Bungur, Way Kambas. The trees are turning green. If they are spared from fire (some already burned in September 2012), these trees will restore Way Kambas's role as a refuge for wildlife and ensure ecological support for the surrounding area. @ Koen Setyawan / SILVAGAMA

“Never give up before you've even tried,” Hendra quipped. He said it as a joke, but it captured our determination exactly. At Rawa Kadut, our hopes are taking shape.

This English version was translated from the original Indonesian text using AI.