Fidelis E. Satriastanti Jakarta Globe 8 Sep 10;
Jakarta. An international partnership is seeking to raise $300,000 in a race against the clock to ensure the survival of the last estimated 48 Javan rhinoceroses in Indonesia — all found within Ujung Kulon National Park in Banten.
Operation Javan Rhino started on June 21 and is an initiative of the International Rhino Foundation and Indonesian Rhino Foundation (YABI).
Its goal is to create 4,000 hectares of expanded habitat to encourage population growth in the national park, a rare patch of wilderness on the western tip of one of the world’s most densely populated island.
“Having all the eggs in one basket isn’t a good thing for any species,” Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, told the Jakarta Globe.
“With the help of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Save the Rhino and the Indonesian government, we have committed to improving the available habitat for Javan rhinos to increase and spread out the population.”
The project is supported by the Ministry of Forestry, which allocated land for it inside the national park.
However, all the improvements needed for the expanded habitat — specifically to help protect the species from the threat of extinction by a single natural disaster or introduced disease — will be shouldered by the nongovernmental organizations.
Widodo Ramono, executive director of YABI, told the Globe that $650,000 was needed for the two-year project, with $350,000 so far having been secured from the NGOs’ own resources.
“This funding is all purely coming from the NGOs; there is no special allocation from the government,” he said. “But they have already provided the land and the human resources, so everybody is doing their bit.”
Widodo said it would take two years to physically prepare the rhinos’ habitat near Mount Honje. The money for the project will be used to improve water and food sources, build guard posts and electric fencing, construct patrol routes and hire rangers to patrol the area.
Additionally, 60 camera traps donated by the Aspinall Foundation in January will be used to gather data about how many rhinos remain in Ujung Kulon.
Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi, site manager for WWF Indonesia’s project in the park, said the cameras were crucial to keeping track of the rhino population.
“So far, from the videos we have analyzed, we’ve identified 27 individual rhinos and extrapolated a maximum of 47 animals in the park, which still needs to be confirmed by surveys on the ground,” he said.
