Butterflies in the Rain Forest of Irian Jaya, Indonesia

by World Wide Fund for Nature - Indonesia Programme

Partners:

World Wide Fund for Nature - Indonesia Programme (WWF-IP) Yayasan Bina Lestari Bumi Cenderawasih (YBLBC)

1997 Update

In the past year, the local NGO -- Yayasan Bina Lestari Bumi Cenderawasih (YBLBC) has become a stronger force working with and for the Arfak communities. While we now realize that the butterfly farms alone cannot and never will be capable of totally sustaining the Arfak population of about 15,000, the organization of the butterfly farms has served as a catalyst for other income opportunities and techniques that support farmers earning cash without encroaching further upon the forests. The average cash income generated from butterfly farming is roughly an average of Rp 50,000 ($20US) per member family per annum. Although this does not sound like much, in aggregate, across the community, it represents a significant proportion of the cash income. The butterfly farming enterprise will have approximate sales in 1997 of $75,000 US. So the butterfly farming is a piece of a larger movement towards biodiversity conservation.

Monthly meetings of group leaders to discuss problems and other income generating activities are held regularly and are well attended. Improved and cooperative vegetable farming is bringing higher economic returns without encroaching on more land. As the vegetable farming enterprise has grown (taking on the organization developed for butterfly farming) women are more obviously in evidence and come to the Manokwari office regularly. While non-butterfly farming activities are strictly outside of the BCN-funded project it is important to the sustainability of the foundation and its conservation aims, that all activities protect the primary forest and the Arfak Nature Reserve. Furthermore, it has encouraged women to come to the office, thus increasing their contact and their awareness of conservation aims.

As is becoming clearer from our monitoring, participation in butterfly farming varies considerably from group to group and most groups have a core of 5 to 6 members who usually have pupa to sell. Only twelve of the eighty-nine groups currently on the register are very active and another fifteen are moderately active in butterfly farming.

Enterprise monitoring has made it more apparent that the butterfly agency is very production driven. While we cannot say that farmers own the enterprise in the strict legal sense they do have a type of ownership in that they own and control the production. To retain the confidence and motivation (and prevent jealousies) YBLBC must purchase what is offered by the butterfly farmers, as long as it meets minimum quality standards. Because of this, it is impossible to maintain stock levels consistent with anticipated sales for each species. Further compounding our attempts to broaden are species product line to reduce both the economic and biological risk is the permitting process. We have not yet received permits for the collection or farming of further species.

For people who traditionally live day-to-day and to whom a market is a physical place where fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and other goods are taken and exchanged for cash, the concept of a "world market" which is not a physical place, where payment is not immediate and a response to expected sales is wanted, is difficult to understand. It is extremely important to take things step-by-step working from accepted traditions of working and cash income requirements.

Domestic sales of display cases have risen substantially over the past year and a new style of frame is currently in production. Numerous local groups (government departments, school groups, etc.) have visited YBLBC in the past year. Some have come simply for recreational interest and others for more specific instruction in the project and its conservation aims.

Successes and Challenges

"OK...So What?"

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