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Forest Protection

One of the most important parts of the forest restoration process is to protect the forest area from any further damage. This is not an easy task when you are trying to protect an area of 1000km2, (two thirds the size of Greater London or one and half times the size of Singapore). We have 72 forest patrol staff employed by Harapan Rainforest, the majority of these are indigenous people or from local communities. Some previously hunted in this forest. These are often the people with the best knowledge of the forest area and they are invaluable in the work to protect it.
 
For monitoring activities, the patrol staff are split into eight teams. Of these, one team will be undergoing training and capacity building, the other eight teams are stationed in different parts of the forest for three weeks at a time. During this period they are constantly monitoring for any signs of illegal activity (illegal logging, encroachment, poaching), for possible fire outbreaks and also recording any important wildlife sightings
 
Climbing trainingIn order to be effective, patrol teams need to be able to handle a variety of situations as they arise. These range from wildlife sightings and community awareness, to incidents of illegal logging and dealing with forest fires. Building such skills has required a large investment from Harapan Rainforest but has also shown an extra ordinary commitment and enthusiasm from the team members, the majority of which are from the local communities. As well as developing physical fitness, training has included map reading and use of GIS, first aid skills, forest law and community policing and developing off-road motorcycle skills. More recently selected patrols have received rope climbing and species identification training, related to biodiversity monitoring.
 
Fire fighting training Fire is an ever present hazard. Our patrols work actively to reduce the risk of fires occurring but inevitably are faced with situations where they must be extinguished. To improve our ability to respond rapidly and effectively forty two forest patrol staff have recently received a second round of training in fire fighting techniques. From these participants, two rapid response teams have been selected to go through a third round of more advanced training, making use of recently acquired protective clothing and fire fighting equipment.
 
In order to identify priority areas for fire prevention, our GIS officer uses the Forest Information Resources Management System (FIRMS), which provides coordinates of hotspots in Harapan Rainforest that may relate to fires. This information is then given to the forest patrol so these areas can be checked and monitored.
 
In the 19 months that the forest patrol teams have been carrying out this work, the amount of illegal activity has significantly decreased within Harapan Rainforest and they have successfully put out 82 forest fires.