SBI Terima Kalpataru

Banjarmasin – Penyelamtan bekantan yang terancam punah di Kalimantan Selatan oleh Yayasan Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) berbuah Kalpataru 2022 yang merupakan penghargaan tertinggi di bidang lingkungan dari Pemerintah Republik Indonesia.

“Alhamdulilah Kalpataru ini untuk semua orang yang peduli terhadap pelestarian bekantan sebagai maskot fauna Kalimantan Selatan,” kata Ketua SBI Amalia Rezeki di Banjarmasin.

Menurut Amel, sapaan akrab Amalia Rezeki, menyelamatkan bekantan tidaklah mungkin tanpa menyelamatkan habitat alaminya. Untuk itu, dia memulai dengan program wakaf lahan melalui aksi beli kembali lahan.

Sejengkal demi sejengkal lahan bekas habitat bekantan yang telah beralih fungsi, dibeli kembali oleh SBI kemudian direstorasi melalui penanaman pohon mangrove (bakau) reparian jenis rambai yang jadi pakan utama bekantan.

Selain sebagai habitat bekantan, kata Amel, hutan mangrove rambai mampu menyerap karbon empat kali lipat lebih besar dari hutan tropis lainnya. Hal ini penting bagi mitigasi pemanasan global yang memicu perubahan iklim dan bencana iklim.

“Untuk itulah kata kunci kami adalah selamatkan bekantan selamatkan peradaban manusia,” tuturnya.

Amel menyebut apa yang pihaknya lakukan selaras dengan program pemerintahan Presiden Joko Widodo di bidang pemulihan ekonomi nasional melalui program restorasi mangrove yang diharapkan meningkatkan pendapatan masyarakat dengan kegiatan pembibitan dan penanaman mangove, budi daya perikanan, ekowisata, dan pengelolaan produk buah yang bisa menjadi kuliner khas daerah setempat.

Makanya selain fokus pada upaya konservasi dan penelitian terhadap primata unik endemik Kalimantan yang keberadaannya terancam punah di Stasiun Riset Bekantan di Pulau Curiak, Kabupaten Barito Kuala, tim SBI yang dikomando Amel juga membangun Taman Buah Lokal Mekar Lestari di Desa Wisata Muara Kanoco, Kecamatan Anjir Muara, Kabupaten Barito Kuala.

Di lokasi ini, ditanami aneka jenis buah lokal lahan basah dan pesisir sungai termasuk buah kasturi yang merupakan maskot flora Kalimantan Selatan dan telah dinyatakan punah status konservasinya oleh Lembaga Konservasi Dunia IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Wakil Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan (KLHK) Alue Dohong menyerahkan penghargaan Kalpataru tahun 2022 kepada 10 orang penerima dan penghargaan Nirwasita Tantra tahun 2021 kepada 42 orang kepala daerah.

Salah satu penerimanya Yayasan Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) di Kalimantan Selatan. SBI berawal dari komunitas yang memberikan perhatian serius pada program perlindungan dan pelestarian bekantan dengan misi “Save Our Mascot” dan tahun 2018 melalui program “Bekantan Goes Global”.

Amel mewakili seluruh tim SBI menyampaikan terima kasih kepada Pemerintah Republik Indonesia melalui Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan yang telah memberikan penghargaan Kalpataru.

Dia menyatakan Menteri LHK Siti Nurbaya telah memberikan dukungan serta binaan dengan baik, sehingga menjadi inspirasi dan semangat timnya untuk terus bergerak dalam memuliakan alam dan planet bumi ini, dengan cara yang sederhana.

“Kepada Gubernur Kalimantan Selatan Sahbirin Noor, semangat beliau melalui revolusi hijaunya telah merasuk dalam jiwa kami. Capaian ini tidak lepas dari peran gubernur Paman Birin,” tuturnya.

Terima kasih juga disampaikannya kepada Walikota Banjarmasin Ibnu Sina serta Hj Noormiliyani AS, Bupati Barito Kuala atas kolaborasi serta dukungan yang luar biasa selama ini.

Dukungan penuh Rektor Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) Prof Sutarto Hadi dan seluruh civitas akademica terhadap pelestarian monyet hidung panjang itu juga sangat berjasa bagi perjuangan SBI, sehingga Amel dan timnya begitu terbantu.

SBI hanya sebuah perjalanan panjang dari komunitas kecil yang peduli lingkungan dan planet bumi ini. Bergerak dari sekumpulan mahasiswa yang cinta akan negeri ini dan memilih mengabdi di bidang lingkungan dengan cara memuliakan alam.

Kemudian kepada yang warga Desa Marabahan Baru, Anjir Serapat Muara 1 dan Anjir Serapat Muara, Amel sangat berterima kasih.

“Mari kita bangun desa kita dari desa tertinggal menjadi desa maju dan makmur serta lestari. Bersama kita bisa. Salam lestari Indonesiaku,” ucapnya. (Ant)

Read More

Baby Proboscis Monkey Born in Sanctuary in South Kalimantan

TheIndonesia.id - A baby proboscis monkey was born outside the conservation area of Curiak Island, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan (South Kalimantan), which is managed by the Indonesian Proboscis Monkeys Foundation (SBI) with Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) and the local government.

"Born in the Proboscis Monkey Research Station area from an alpha adult female proboscis monkey," said the founder of the Indonesian Proboscis Monkey (SBI) Foundation Amalia Rezeki in Banjarmasin, Saturday, April 9, 2022.

She said that this rare event was the first birth of a proboscis monkey in the Proboscis Monkey Research Station area throughout 2022. Previously, in 2019, seven proboscis monkeys were born, bringing a total of eight proboscis monkeys born since the research station was inaugurated in 2018.

According to Amel, Amalia Rezeki's nickname, the birth of a baby proboscis monkey is an extraordinary achievement. Small island areas managed and guarded by SBI and local fishing communities have succeeded in contributing to the increase in the proboscis monkey population in Indonesia.

Amel hopes that all stakeholders can help each other save proboscis monkeys in the area by maintaining their remaining habitat so that they do not change functions that can damage the proboscis monkey habitat and the rambai mangrove forest ecosystem. Not only for proboscis monkey rescue efforts but also for the fate of traditional fishermen who depend on rivers and mangrove forests as a place for freshwater fish that make a living for local fishermen.

To save the remaining proboscis monkeys in the Curiak Island area, Amel and the team at SBI carried out three important and strategic programs in the field of conservation. First, building a "greenbelt" (green belt) as a buffer zone for proboscis monkeys. Second, the "buyback land" program or buyback land that has changed functions. Third, restoration of the rambai mangrove by replanting mangrove trees, especially the rambai tree species which is the main stand and feed for proboscis monkeys.

The Proboscis Monkey Research Station is a role model for the management of proboscis monkey habitat areas outside the conservation area that has succeeded in restoring proboscis monkey habitat and increasing the population of orange and long-nosed monkeys naturally by more than 100 percent within 5 years.

In 2016, the population of proboscis monkeys which is the fauna mascot of South Kalimantan on Curiak Island was around 14 individuals. Then until April 2022, this has increased to 31 individuals.

This article from theindonesia.id

Read More

Meet the Indonesian woman who dedicates her life to saving South Kalimantan’s proboscis monkeys

BANJARMASIN: With a huge nose and reddish-brown skin, the proboscis monkey is not everyone’s favourite animal.

But Indonesian Amalia Rezeki, conservationist and founder of the friends of proboscis monkey voluntary group, has made it her mission to save the endemic species.

The proboscis monkey is native to Borneo and scattered throughout all five of Indonesia’s provinces on the island it calls Kalimantan.

However, it is in South Kalimantan, whose provincial mascot is the proboscis monkey, where the animals could in the past be found in large numbers. They thrived around the mangroves, swamps and coastal forests.

While there are several conservation centres for endangered animals in South Kalimantan, they mostly take care of other animals like orangutans, said Rezeki.

“That is why we are focusing on the proboscis monkeys, and also because I am a native of South Kalimantan,” she told CNA.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, the proboscis monkey is classified as endangered. 

Its population has decreased by more than 50 per cent in the past 50 years due to ongoing habitat loss and hunting. 

It is estimated there are less than 20,000 proboscis monkeys in the world, surviving mainly on leaves, mangroves and seeds.

According to Rezeki, there were only about 3,200 proboscis monkeys in South Kalimantan two years ago, compared to about 5,000 in 2013.

Concerned with the monkey’s declining numbers, she founded the volunteer group Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) in 2013 while studying biology for her master’s degree. 

Sahabat Bekantan means friends of proboscis monkeys. Bekantan is the Indonesian name for the primate. 

SBI’s goal is to save proboscis monkeys from going extinct. 

“It is our responsibility as citizens. We know there are many foreigners in NGOs (Non-governmental organisations helping in the conservation efforts). 

However, it is our (Indonesia’s) biodiversity, so we should do something,” said Rezeki. 

DEFORESTATION AND CRIME

When SBI first started, Rezeki and other volunteers had to use their own money to run their programmes. Today, the group operates as a foundation.

It has a full time staff of 20 people and up to 200 volunteers who help out at the foundation periodically.

Programmes run by SBI include educating the public about the monkey through visits to schools, short courses, internships and volunteering programmes.

The group also has a proboscis monkey rescue centre in Banjarmasin, the former capital of South Kalimantan.

Speaking to CNA at SBI’s Banjarmasin rescue centre, Rezeki said that the centre helps to rehabilitate proboscis monkeys rescued from forest fires, illegal trade, and conflict with local population who live near forested areas. 

Since 2015, SBI’s volunteers have handled nearly 50 such cases, usually through tip-offs from the public when the monkeys needed to be rescued.

According to Rezeki, there were instances when the monkeys were hit by vehicles, poisoned by local indigenous people who believe their meat is good to consume or to be rescued from people who keep the animal as pets.

“There are many cases. Some suffered from burns, some from physical injuries and trauma.”

If the injury is not too severe, they will be treated at SBI’s rescue centre by a volunteer vet and then released to the wild in a few months, she said.

But when the wound is too severe, they will be treated at an animal clinic.

“Once there was a monkey with a gunshot wound and 11 bullets on his body. So there are various conflicts.

"We also try to educate people that if you keep a monkey as a pet, it is illegal and they can be imprisoned,” Rezeki said.

At the moment, there are four proboscis monkeys at SBI, reflecting a lower number of incidents involving the species. 

“So it is a good indicator because once there were 14 proboscis monkeys here being treated,” she said. 

WELCOMING A BABY

In March, the rescue centre even welcomed the arrival of Hanny, a baby proboscis monkey whose name was given by Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar. This was a rare event at the centre.

Hanny’s parents Pedro and Mimin are both being treated at the centre after being kept as pets by locals in separate places.

“Coincidentally we evacuated an adult male monkey and a female adult. They got together, then both had a baby,” said Rezeki.

According to Rezeki, this showed that the centre helped to reduce the trauma experienced by both monkeys, so that they did not feel too stressful to have a baby. 

The family of three is now still there with another rescued proboscis monkey, not part of their family.

There are 12 conservation centres for endangered animals in South Kalimantan but Rezeki believes the proboscis monkeys are still threatened because there are not enough shelters to protect them. 

"The threat to the proboscis monkey population comes from the change of land use, forest fires and others.

“So we are trying to protect the buffer zone here because the threat is very high," said Rezeki, who is now also a biology lecturer at Lambung Mangkurat University in Banjarmasin. 

She said that SBI has set up a research centre at Pulau Curiak, a small island in South Kalimantan, where they can release the monkeys into the rainforests.

When they first started the centre in 2018, there were only 14 proboscis monkeys there. Now, there are 33.

The group has also been restoring mangroves at Curiak island since 2015.

“The key to saving the proboscis monkeys is to save their habitats,” she said.

Rezeki said that the group will try to restore any mangroves where they find proboscis monkeys in the wild.

“Our dream is that humans can live with proboscis monkeys. Don't let them be considered pests.

"Because many people think they are pests when they enter their garden, even though they are just passing through."

ECOTOURISM TO SUPPORT CONSERVATION

When the group realised that it was not sustainable to rely on their own pocket money to run their programmes, Rezeki and her team developed a proboscis monkey ecotourism programme in 2018.

Under the programme, three villages on Curiak island have been developed as tourist destinations which involve the participation of local villagers. 

As proboscis monkeys are sensitive to outsiders including foreign tourists, SBI limits the number of tourists to a maximum of 100 daily. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many foreign tourists who were interested in learning about the monkeys, especially from Australia, Europe and the United States. 

But the programme had to be stopped due to the pandemic in 2020 and when all Indonesia’s borders were closed.

When the borders reopened at the end of 2021, SBI decided to pick up where it left off. 

The proboscis monkey, scientifically named as Nasalis larvatus, is a unique creature known to be a prolific swimmer and can dive in the water. 

They are also believed to have many interesting ways of life, including a unique family system which is almost similar to humans, said Rezeki. 

“They have a babysitter system. So when a mother is busy, a younger female will help babysit the baby,” she said.

According to the biologist, a proboscis monkey can live up to 30 years, grow up to around 75cm and weigh 25kg.

Rezeki, however, said there are many aspects of the proboscis monkey that need to be studied further.

She hopes that more people would show their concern for the fate of the monkeys and would want more efforts to be taken to protect the animals. 

This includes efforts to conserve their habitat and surroundings by protecting the environment as a whole.   

“We have to show that Indonesians also have great concern for the environment. 

Don’t let other people label us as environment destroyers,” said Rezeki.   

This artikel from Channelnewasia

Read More

4 Ekor Bayi Bekantan Lahir di Pulau Curiak Bertepatan Kedatangan Mahasiswa Summer Course Dari Australia

BANJARMASIN - Stasiun Riset Bekantan di Pulau Curiak, Anjir Muara Kabupaten Barito Kuala, kembali sambut 4 kelahiran bayi bekantan dari 4 indukan betina dari kelompok alpha.  Menurut Founder Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI), Amalia Rezeki, kemunculan bayi bekantan tersebut, terlihat disaat kunjungan 20 mahasiswa Summer Course 2022 dari Australia.  Hal itu tentunya membawa kabar gembira bagi konservasi, tidak saja di Indonesia, tetapi juga di dunia.  “Kelahiran bayi bekantan ini, merupakan sebuah capaian yang luar biasa. Di kawasan pulau kecil yang dikelola dan dijaga oleh Yayasan SBI, serta masyarakat nelayan setempat telah berhasil menyumbang penambahan populasi bekantan di dunia,“ ungkap Amalia  Perempuan yang sering disapa Amel itu pun berharap, semua pemangku kepentingan bisa saling membantu satu sama lain menyelamatkan bekantan di kawasan tersebut.  "Yakni dengan menjaga habitatnya yang tersisa agar tidak beralih fungsi yang dapat merusak habitat bekantan dan ekosistem hutan mangrove rambai. Yang juga sangat penting bagi mitigasi perubahan iklim akibat pemanasan global yang melanda dunia saat ini," ujarnya.  

Sementara itu, Prof. Timothy Roberts Kilgour pimpinan rombongan kegiatan Summer Course, menyambut gembira kelahiran bekantan dikawasan Stasiun Riset Bekantan Pulau Curiak. “Sungguh mengagumkan menyaksikan perkembangan stasiun riset bekantan yang empat tahun lalu saya hadir pada pendiriannya. Ekosistemnya sangat terjaga, sehingga bekantan bisa berkembang biak dengan baik," jelasnya disela kegiatan Summer course.  Dilanjutkannya, pihaknya turut mengapresiasi kerja keras Amalia Rezeki dan tim dari SBI dalam menjaga dan merawat kawasan habitat bekantan yang berada diluar kawasan konservasi.  Untuk itu ia juga membawakan donasi dari mahasiswa alumni Summer Course 2018, berupa perlengkapan medis satwa serta uang tunai untuk membantu kegiatan konservasi SBI.  

Diketahui, untuk menyelamatkan bekantan yang tersisa di kawasan Stasiun Riset Bekantan, Pulau Curiak, Amalia Rezeki dan tim di SBI melakukan 3 program penting dan strategis di bidang konservasi.  Pertama, membangun "greenbelt" (sabuk hijau) sebagai kawasan penyangga habitat bekantan. Kedua, program "buy back land" atau membeli kembali lahan yang telah beralih fungsi.  Dan terakhir yakni, restorasi mangrove rambai dengan menanam kembali pohon mangrove, khususnya jenis pohon rambai yang merupakan tegakan dan pakan utama bekantan.  

Artikel dari Hallo Banua

Read More

Hanny' The Name Given By Minister Siti For Baby Proboscis Monkeys In Banjarmasin

BANJARMASIN - Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya Bakar gave the name "Hanny" to the baby proboscis monkey who was born at the Proboscis Monkey Rescue Center Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan on March 10, 2021.

"Alhamdulillah, the LHK Minister is pleased to give a name for the birth of this new proboscis monkey," said Amalia Rezeki, Chairperson of the Indonesian Proboscis Monkeys Foundation (SBI), in Banjarmasin, as reported by Antara, Wednesday, March 30.

The name "Hanny" was officially stated on the certificate of naming signed by the Minister of Environment and Forestry for the female proboscis monkey.

According to Amel, Amalia Rezeki's nickname, the minister appreciated SBI's performance in efforts to conserve proboscis monkeys in South Kalimantan.

Moreover, the birth of a baby proboscis monkey in a proboscis monkey care center this time is a rare event and is an achievement in itself for the conservation world, especially for SBI and BKSDA South Kalimantan.

Why not, in the midst of the threat of the proboscis monkey population due to land conversion, forest fires and poaching, it turns out that there is still hope for an ex-situ increase in the proboscis monkey population, especially those deposited that can give birth.

The Minister of Environment and Forestry previously released a female proboscis monkey named Lola Amalia on Bakut Island, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan on February 18 2017. The name Lola Amalia was given by Siti Nurbaya as a form of appreciation for the dedication of Amalia Rezeki as the chairman of the Indonesian Bekantan Friends who have been carrying out efforts to save proboscis monkeys in South Kalimantan.

Amel was even sent by the Ministry of LHK to attend a meeting of the environmental youth forum among ASEAN countries and at the same time won the 2019 ASEAN Youth Eco-champions Award (AYECA) which was held in Cambodia.

Amel also explained that Hanny was born to the mother pair of Mimin (female) and Pedro (male). The two animals were handed over from the community which were kept since they were babies and when they were adults they were handed over to SBI to be rehabilitated because their natural behavior had disappeared. During treatment, the two proboscis monkeys showed symptoms of lust until they were combined to mate and finally gave birth.

Read More