Lake Sentarum National Park

Lake Sentarum National Park in the upper Kapuas Basin of West Kalimantan (Borneo) consists of a series of seasonal lakes, freshwater swamps and forested peatlands - probably representing the only remaining intact peatland forest on Sunda Land. This Ramsar site is located in Kapuas Hulu District, in the upper Kapuas Basin of West Kalimantan Province, about 700 km away from the estuary of Kapuas River. The park has been listed as a Ramsar site since 1994. There are many endemic species found in the park, which also provides habitats for proboscis monkey and orang-utan.

The degradation of Danau Sentarum National Park has been occurring at an alarming rate. The underlying causes of this degradation are over-fishing, rampant illegal logging, and wildfires. It is urgent to manage the current impact of human activities on this important site. Government policies play a significant role in accelerating the rate of destruction. The government of Kapuas Hulu District planned to convert the remaining natural forests within the park boundary. Their major aim is to attract as much as foreign investments, particularly from Malaysian businessmen and possibly other foreign agencies. It is clear that the plans would have socioeconomic development potentials but also damage the environmental health of the region.

The destruction of Danau Sentarum National Park must be stopped. Efforts to accomplish this objective have been taken. Yayasan Konservasi Borneo, together with collaborators, conducted a series of workshop in 2001 – 2003 to formulate appropriate solutions and action plans in order to protect the park. It is strongly realised that the management of Danau Sentarum National Park must address needs of local communities, and other relevant stakeholders. It is very important that local stakeholders, i.e. local communities and the district government have a larger influence on how to manage resources and protect the park from destruction. In 2002, the Deklarasi Merpati was drawn up by local communities of Lake Sentarum National Park. In this declaration, these local communities have agreed to control their unwanted impact on the park. A booklet aimed at the general audience was published. It is the first booklet about the Lake Sentarum National Park written in Bahasa Indonesia. Many issues related to natural values and community based conservation management were presented on local television on Word Wetlands Day 2002. Through workshops government support for wiser use of the resources of Lake Sentarum National Park was finally found. In 2003 the Head of Kapuas Hulu District declared Kapuas Hulu “conservation district.” This political statement needs a lot of support and bears many practical consequences.

A workshop was held in Bogor on 15 October 2003 with participants from governments, NGOs, universities, and individual experts. The workshop highlighted two major issues. The first issue is the management of the park. Under the present management scheme, the Department of Forestry in the central government has the authority to control the park. In reality, the park is administratively under the sovereignty of the district government. The decentralisation processes since the year 2000 have stimulated debates on how to manage national parks in Indonesia. This workshop strongly suggests forming a forum in order to facilitate communication, participation, and collaboration among stakeholders. The management of Danau Sentarum National Park must be fully designed to take into account all of the many stakeholders, including local communities, the District Government of Kapuas Hulu, NGOs, universities, research centers, the Departments of Forestry, Ocean and Fishery, and others.

The second issue dealt with how to select priority action plans that would help to combat anthropogenic impact on the park. These action plans were already formulated by local communities. The workshop has called stakeholders to implement action plans on fishery, forestry, tourism, education, and public health. In addition, action plans on customary laws have been formulated by local communities. It is expected that the Government of Kapuas Hulu will recognise the application of customary laws in Danau Sentarum National Park. It is realised that the present action plans are dominated by community concerns on how to fulfill economic needs. Natural values and functions of Danau Sentarum as an important national park are not properly acknowledged.

A report on the Workshop was published elaborating sectoral priority action plans. This report highlights the importance of collaborative network formation for the management of Danau Sentarum National Park. This workshop has opened an opportunity and drawn commitments from stakeholders to realise future collaborative work. Major stakeholders, i.e. the Departments of Forestry, Ocean and Fishery, the Ministry of Environment, the Government of Kapuas Hulu District, NGOs, and local communities have shown a great interest and will to improve the management of Danau Sentarum.

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