Gede Pangrango Mountain National Park (Taman Nasional Gunung Gede Pangrango: TNGGP) and the Harapan Maju and Cilondong Jaya farmers’ groups have made theory into reality

Jakarta. The Island of Java, with its population of 120 million people is a matter of irony. Of an area of 13 million hectares of forest which is important for its affect on water supplies, production of fresh air and other eco-system functions, only 11 percent remains. In these kinds of conditions, anything that could possibly be done to restore the environment would be significant indeed.

So what Husna, the head of the Harapan Maju Farmers Group in Ginanjar, Sukabumi, West Java, is doing is important. This father of one child, who just a year ago still worked as a motorcycle taxi driver along Jalan Raya Bogor in Sukabumi, would often hear saddening reports of what was happening around Gede-Pangrango Mountain National Park (TNGGP), a forest not all that far from his home. He heard about the cutting of trees fro making charcoal or for use as fire wood, and also about the theft of all kinds of plants to be sold in the city.

“It was really sad hearing about how the forest, which is our source of clean water, was being damaged. Once the forest is gone, we are the ones who will suffer,” Husna said.

Husna couldn’t just stand by and let disaster come, so he did what he could to make things better. He grouped together 20 Ginanjar farmers in an organization they named Harapan Maju. At that time, most of these farmers planted cassava in the TNGGP and were able to make from Rp 10 million to Rp 15 million from yearly harvests.

“But cassava can only be harvested once a year, and the money from that would go to pay off debts,” Husna said.

Not just that, cassava is also considered unfriendly to the ecosystem because it does not help retain groundwater from rainfall. The land areas of TNGGP used for the cultivation of cassava were prone to landslides.

Little by little the Harapan Maju farmers learned how to cultivate more eco-system friendly crops, and eventually stopped raising cassava. In fact some of them have even put cattle out to graze on the land they now plant with trees such as rasamala (Altingia excelsa), puspa (Schima wallichii) and manglit (Manglieta glauca).

The efforts of Husna and friends did not go unnoticed by TNGGP officials. A mutually beneficial cooperative agreement was drawn up. Along with the farmers from the Cilondong Jaya farmers group in Cihanjawar village, they all signed a memorandum of understanding with the management of TNGGP on February 28, 2008, that will allow them to carry out their farming and cultivating activities on 30 hectares of land in the national park for a period of three years.

During that period of time, Husna and friends will be allowed to plant all kinds of crop plants considered to be helpful to conservation and to use the funds collected for their own needs. “My friends have suggested planting orchids or cat’s whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus). There are a number of plant merchants who are ready and willing to take what we produce,” Husna said.

“This cooperative agreement is part of TNGGP’s forest conservation efforts that can also assist people living in the area around the park with improving their livelihoods,” said Bambang Sukmananto, the head of the TNGGP, after the signing of MoU with the two farmers groups.

Primatmojo Djanoe, ESP Jakarta