Community patrols are out day and night protecting the forest from encroachment
Illegal activities would lead to damaging fragmentation of the forest
The Living Rubber project is seeking to protect a 2,700-hectare area in the north of Hutan Harapan which links with a larger forest block in the south, to prevent “forest fragmentation”.
To help with enforcement, 42 community wardens, including eight women, have been recruited and trained to patrol and monitor the forest. Day and night patrols work across a grid system to monitor activities and counter threatening and illegal behaviour, with the timing of these patrols constantly changing to increase their efficiency.
Data from cameras that have been installed to monitor wildlife help inform conservation strategies. So far, the cameras have confirmed the presence of a number of critically endangered species including the Sumatran tiger, the agile gibbon, the helmeted hornbill and the greater green leafbird, reinforcing Hutan Harapan’s status as a biodiversity hotspot.
