Judul: Wildlife conservation strategy: an assessment of wildlife hunting activities in Sulawesi
Abstrak: Located in the transition zone of the Asiatic and the Australasian biogeographic regions, Sulawesi is remarkable for endemic species richness. In the same time, it is acknowledged also as a biodiversity hotspot. Some people, especially in the northern part of the region were identified had a strong interaction with wildlife by consuming them. Yet little information is available on wildlife hunting on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, despite many reports suggesting consumption and trade are partly responsible for declining population and extinction of certain species in some regions of the island. The research was conducted to acquire an understanding of hunting practices and patterns. The method used Snowball sampling for selecting wildlife hunters as respondents; data were obtained using structured questionnaires surveys. A total of 598 hunters were interviewed in 179 villages across six provinces in Sulawesi and Buton. It results, wildlife hunters are generally farmers with low levels of education and income. Regardless their ethnic groups or religions in Sulawesi, all respondents are hunting the wildlife. The only differences in motives for hunting, the intensities and the target species. They primarily use traps for catching animals. The minimum wild biomass harvested during one year was 742.4 tonnes, 90% (10 611 individuals caught) of which was composed of Sulawesi warty pig, followed by anoas (4%; 283), rusa deer (3.7%; 420), babirusa (1%; 89), and Sulawesi macaques (0.5%; 327). Minimum eleven of the captured species are protected by national law. Over the island of Sulawesi, minimum wildlife harvesting was predicted about 8 300 tonnes/year, or the average bushmeat supply was about 2.1 kg/year per household. The highest hunting rate was registered in North Sulawesi (34%), Southeast Sulawesi (30%), and Central Sulawesi (22%) provinces. In these provinces, the certain species are hunted as commodities to yield income. The most frequent uses of wildlife were for consuming and selling, while some of the respondents also kept as pets/livestock. The research found that hunting had a significant contribution to the hunters’ household economies. And it also identified that majority of the hunters’ respondent collecting other forest products. The hunting and gathering activities provide protein and fulfill other needs from the forest products, additionally gaining income from selling the products. This research has revealed that in average annual income earned from selling the caught animals and other forest products about IDR 11.09 million and IDR 2.3 million respectively. It is about 63.4% of the Island minimum wages, on top of the main income. Or it is equal to 103% higher than average income from the main income on average. Within the Island of Sulawesi, the estimated total income made from a hunting and gathering activity reached IDR 151.38 billion/year (~US$ 11.3 million). It is about (4.24x10-4)% compared to the Island agriculture sector. At present this informal activity is barely recognized and acts as a silent/hidden contribution to household incomes calculation. Although for the hunters’ respondents, these activities are more alike as an economic-safety-net. Nevertheless, the study found that more than 75% respondents hunted the wildlife from the protected area i.e. the conservation areas and protected forest. The three-quarters of
Keyword: Sustainable hunting, wild biomass harvested, protected animals, collaborative and adaptive wildlife management, wildlife conservation