This site is built and managed by Auriga Nusantara as part of fulfilling one of its missions: promoting action to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. It documents the conservation work Auriga carries out in Way Kambas National Park. Inside this national park, Auriga and the Way Kambas National Park Office are working to restore degraded land by returning today's cogon grass cover to the forest cover of a few decades ago.
Initially, from 2013 to 2016, Auriga's ecosystem restoration in Way Kambas was part of the ALERT – Unila Consortium: the restoration of 100 hectares in Rawa Kadut, an area within Toto Projo Resort, Section 2 of Way Kambas National Park, with funding support from TFCA Sumatera. After the consortium ended, through a cooperation agreement with the Way Kambas National Park Office, Auriga expanded the restoration area to cover 1,250 hectares, funded entirely from internal resources.
Karena api menjadi ancaman terbesar keberhasilan pemulihan, Auriga menaruh perhatian sangat besar terhadap pengendaliannya. Sekat bakar selebar 30 m dibangun baik di batas luar area restorasi juga di dalamnya. Sekat bakar di batas luar dirancang sebagai benteng utama penghalau api dari luar, sementara di bagian dalam dirancang sebagai "pengelolaan" bahan bakar sehingga kalau pun api bisa masuk, atau ada kebakaran di dalam area restorasi, tidak menghabiskan seluruhnya karena telah terisolir oleh sekat-sekat bakar yang ada.
Because fire is the greatest threat to successful recovery, Auriga pays very close attention to controlling it. Firebreaks 30 m wide have been built both along the outer boundary of the restoration area and within it. The outer firebreaks are designed as the main barrier against fire from outside, while those inside are designed to "manage" fuel — so that even if fire gets in, or breaks out within the restoration area, it does not consume everything, because it is isolated by the firebreaks.
This restoration is not only about planting, but also about protecting the area from threats — above all fire, which is relatively frequent. One of the main activities is therefore fire control, including building firebreaks to stop fire from entering the restoration area, or, if it does, to keep it from destroying the regeneration under way. Beyond that, education and public participation outreach are also carried out.
All of this is what we call Kadut Restoration. Besides restoring forest cover, the restoration is expected to build forest connectivity in Way Kambas and so expand the habitat of its flagship species.
Field Team
Petrus Basuki
After nearly two decades doing restoration around Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, this Mulawarman University Faculty of Forestry graduate joined Auriga Nusantara in 2019. His reason at the time was to be closer to his family, as he had begun to worry his children would start calling him "Uncle".
But spending time in the forest seems to be in his DNA. When he learned Auriga had a restoration project in Way Kambas, he volunteered without a second thought. One of the figures in the film Kinipan by Watchdoc Documentary, he went on to become Team Leader of the Kadut Restoration Team.
"The forest is my religion, planting is my worship," he replies when asked what he loves about being in the forest.
Arum Mutasim
When Auriga built a camp at Kadut in 2012, he was the contractor. (That camp is now gone, after a herd of elephants knocked it down.) Drawn to restoration work deep in the forest but without a motorbike to get there as often as he liked, he asked his mother's permission to sell their cow — just to buy a motorbike for the trips to Kadut. Arum joined Auriga Nusantara's Kadut Restoration Team in 2013.
Arum's skills, from carpentry to tinkering with engines, are a tremendous asset for innovative approaches in the field — as is his persistence, especially when facing obstacles on the ground.
Pak Surya
Although he lives in a village on the edge of Way Kambas, Pak Surya, 61, had never been inside the national park's forest. He was captivated by Arum's stories about the restoration work.
After consulting a kyai (religious teacher) he respects, Pak Surya — formerly a local transport-rental owner — sold his vehicles and joined Auriga Nusantara's Kadut Restoration Team in 2014.
Pak Surya's seniority, especially his ties with many local figures, is a tremendous asset to the team. His calm nature balances Basuki and Arum, who often act like Tom & Jerry.
Others
Many others have contributed sweat and ideas to Kadut Restoration, including previous team leaders Wito Dwi Prawiro (2013–2014), Gatot Maulana (2014) and Fajar Sandhika (2014–2018).
So have dozens of local community members, such as Endro, Gurit, Tohari, Pendi, Zaini, Joni, Amri, Tarjo, Sahid, Sukris, Purwanto, Ali, Irul, Galih, Bangkit, Budiono, Budi, Wito, Iwan, Nuryanto, Arsyad and others.
And of course many staff of the Way Kambas National Park Office, such as Handoko, Prapto, Ipen, Yudi, Ponidi, Yadi, Prayogo, Asep, Bambang, Sabar, Edi, Aris, Rustanto, Tumino, Muslimin, Ica, Sugianto and others.
Restoring the Way Kambas ecosystem into a safe and comfortable habitat for local wildlife, such as elephants, tigers and rhinos.
