Indonesia: Jumping to the rescue of the proboscis monkey

Antara 17 May 19;

Every effort is not easy, but if we are serious, it can never be in vain. Save Bekantan - save our forests. Let us together become agents of change to save the planet,
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Amalia Rezeki, a lecturer at the Faculty of Biology Education, University of Lambung Mangkurat, was never one for whiling away time, and spent most of it doing things for others and for the environment.

As a biology lecturer, Rezeki's love for the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), the sharp-nosed animal, was not surprising. The extent of her love, however, was.

She spent most of her life preserving and protecting the Bekantan, which is also an icon in South Kalimantan, and went on to become the first woman in Indonesia to dedicate herself to protecting the Bekantan from extinction, having founded the Indonesian Bekantan Foundation (SBI) as part of her mission to save the Proboscis monkey.

Dedicating her life to preserving the proboscis monkey was never about appreciation, but more a form of responsibility for Rezeki. "As a key species, for us, saving the Bekantan is like saving planet earth," said Rezeki who is completing her final semester in the environmental doctoral program at the Lambung Mangkurat University.

The recipient of the 2015 "She Can Award" in the field of preservation of the Bekantan, Rezeki, in collaboration with her alma mater, not only established a rescue center, but also built a research station for the Bekantan and a wetland ecosystem in the area of Curiak Island - Barito Kuala.

This simple research station was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. H. Sutarto Hadi, M.Sc., M.Sc, the Chancellor of Lambung Mangkurat University, and Prof. Timothy Roberts Killgour from the University of New Castle Australia in 2018.

Rezeki, an only child, along with her friends, also set up the Bekantan research laboratory which now offers internships for veterinary students from various universities not only from within the country, but also from abroad.

Since 2014, she has been carrying out the Mangrove Forest Restoration (Sonneratia caseolaris) movement by releasing land that was once the habitat of the proboscis monkeys, and then reforesting the area.

This effort received support from various stakeholders, wherein along with her friends and students, as well as the local community, Rezeki planted thousands of rambai trees, the main food and resting place of the proboscis.

In this region, she also founded the world's first Mangrove Ramble Center (MRC) as an information center, the Rambai mangrove nursery, and a mangrove arboretum, which is an area for typical wetland plants.

Her efforts received appreciation from universities abroad, and in fact, every year, several students from foreign universities visit Indonesia to learn about the conservation of the proboscis monkeys and wetland ecosystems.

Despite all the bouquets, Rezeki's struggle to preserve the proboscis monkey did not come without its share of brickbats. Perseverance and patience are what kept her going. "Our tears may get exhausted, but our sweat will not stop dripping in our efforts to save the proboscis monkey and planet earth," she said.

Her hard work along with the team at SBI is now starting to bear fruit, as it has garnered attention from both the government and the community.

Likewise, the regional government too has begun issuing regulations for saving the Bekantan, including developing sustainable tourism development based on the conservation of the proboscis monkey as a vehicle for recreation and education.

For her tireless efforts to preserve the proboscis monkey, the biology education lecturer, along with the team at SBI, won yet another award from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry through the South Kalimantan BKSDA which was given to her by H. Sahbirin Noor, the Governor of South Kalimantan.

"Every effort is not easy, but if we are serious, it can never be in vain. Save Bekantan - save our forests. Let us together become agents of change to save the planet," said the environmental doctoral candidate.

Reporter: Eliswan Azly
Editor: Suharto