Achievements and Ongoing Initiatives in Mutis Timau
Mount Mutis Strict Reserve & Mount Timau Protected Forest (Timor island)
The conservation status of these forest areas formally limits the access for human interaction, but the villagers living inside and at the border of the area use the forest for cattle grazing, fire wood collection and farming. These human interactions resulted in deforestation and erosion which in turn presented threats to the watershed function of this area. WWF-Indonesia introduced cattle and agriculture intensification in order to reduce the negative effects of traditional farming techniques and improve local welfare. An environmental education program was conducted for grade school level. At the end of 2002, the community groups with village level motivators run the program, and the government managed the program expansion to other districts in West Timor, outside the WWF-Indonesia work site.
This initiative has been the longest and core initiative of WWF Indonesia in West Timor. It was started in 1994 and aims to: 1) Reduce threats and maintain biodiversity of Mutis Nature Reserve, 2) Improve community participation in conservation activities of Mutis Nature reserve; and 3) Improve community welfare.
The above agriculture and cattle livestock intensification program are concentrated in villages in and adjacent to Mutis Nature Reserve (e.g, Fatumnasi, Koanoel, Nenas, Tune, Nunbena, Bonleu, Tutem and Tune, all in Sub District Fatumnasi, District Timor Tengah Selatan)’ During the program implementation other villages such as Nuapin, Leloboko and Neopesu were following the program voluntarily because the communities in those villages have witnessed the benefits of the program in improving income.
One of the impacts program intervention in NT is stakeholders support for integrated watershed management in West Timor (i.e., Benain and Noelmina Watersheds). The initiative for integrated watershed management started in 2003, as an alternative since the extension and change of status of Mutis Nature Reserve to a National Park was rejected and to handle various problems threatening the sustainability of the proposed area for national park (area consists of the existing Mutis Nature Reserve and Protection Forest and Limited Production Forest adjacent to the reserve).
As a response to the case of forest destruction threat, WWF Indonesia in West Timor performed collaborative activities with government, NGOs and local universities in West Timor in order to develop effective management of West Timor River Basin. The main strategies of WWF Indonesia in this collaboration are as follows:
- To support the district regulation of NTT province to formalize the policy on the integrated watershed management in West Timor.
- To facilitate the capacity building of the river basin management forum. This kind of forum constitutes the first forum in Indonesia supported by 4 (four) districts and relevant stakeholders on watersheds management.
- To facilitate the forum in developing the program and strategy of river basin management plans in Timor;
- To identify of exixting community groups that potentially can function as community conservation groups.
Recent important developments are:
- Signed MoU between four districts in West Timor and the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara regarding integrated watershed management in West Timor;
- Local Regulation regarding natural resources management in East Nusa Tenggara province (Perda No 5 Tahun 2008);
- Government budget supports the implementation integrated watershed management (including to cover activities of the Watershed Forum);
- The Watershed Forum successfully completed Strategic Plan for Integrated Watershed Management for Benain and Noelmina Watersheds.
