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Research and Conservation

Setting camera trapHarapan Rainforest has an active research and conservation program to support the management objectives of Harapan Rainforest in the restoration, rehabilitation and conservation of this forest. Currently, the research programme is focusing on biodiversity surveys and training forest patrol staff. The UK government's Darwin Initiative has provided specific funds which are being used to undertake biodiversity baseline surveys of a wide range of taxa across the variety of habitats in the forest and to establish a monitoring system for the conservation of this threatened habitat. In time, this programme will be sustained and developed in the form of a permanent research and training centre that will be of benefit to researchers throughout the region. This centre will hold museum collections of invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians recorded at Harapan Rainforest, while an on-site herbarium has already been established.
 
Wrinkled HornbillSurvey work has so far focused on hornbills and mammals. Hornbills, of which all nine Sumatran species are found in Harapan Rainforest, are surveyed along transects walked by either the research team or forest patrol teams. Local hornbill populations are being supported by a nest-box scheme, previously funded by The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and currently supported by the Seaworld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. Surveys of all bird species will begin later in 2009 and it is likely this work will add to the 295 species already recorded in Harapan Rainforest. Mammal surveys, using camera traps and occupancy transects, are being carried out to continue the inventory of this group, assess species presence-absence across the site and begin relating these data to species abundance. So far 54 mammal species have been recorded in Harapan Rainforest. This number largely excludes bats and rodents for which future surveys are planned. A specific camera trap study is being conducted on Malayan Sun Bear to assess their abundance and distribution across the site and is being funded by the Bear Conservation Fund of the International Association for Bear Research and Management.
 
Climbing trainingAn important aspect of this programme is to provide training to project staff, and other regional participants, in a range of survey and monitoring skills to ensure local sustainability. Forest patrol staff are seconded on rotation to the research and conservation team for short periods to train them in aspects of field research. A number of patrol staff have so far received training in plant collecting and herbarium techniques led by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK) and Bogor Herbarium (Indonesia), mammal survey methods assisted by the World Conservation Society-Indonesia, hornbill surveys, data entry, map reading and using global positioning systems (GPS), and tree climbing with IndoRope. A permanent research team including forest patrol staff has now been established. 
 
LATEST NEWS:

In the last month camera traps have recorded two new mammal species for Harapan Rainforest - Long-tailed PorcupineTrichys fasciculata and the globally threatened Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata.

During this time we have also added two new bird species to the Harapan Rainforest species list - Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos and Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis.