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)

Success Stories

A major challenge for the project has been to implement a coordinated biological monitoring plan. Without a clear coordinator, the monitoring surveys which have taken place have been piecemeal and failed to build upon previous surveys. It became clear that the earlier monitoring plans were overly complicated with too many diverse activities and that a very simple plan was required if it was to be carried out.

This August, BCN sent John Parks of Ecotrack, Honolulu, Hawaii, to facilitate a biological monitoring workshop and to help in collection of the baseline data and Steve Montgomery (National Wildlife Federation, Honolulu, Hawaii) an expert on anthropoids, to assess the biodiversity of the area and to make recommendations of suitable monitoring techniques.

Plans for the field trips were plagued by our inability to reach Arfak by airplane, which required re-planning trips and loss of days as the teams had to go up and down the mountain by foot. Cloudy weather then prevented completion of butterfly counts. Between field excursions, John led a workshop on biological monitoring for Arfak butterfly farmers from six villages around the Arfak Nature Reserve.

Despite a tight schedule and all the setbacks, the workshop was a great success. The objectives set out by John and Steve for the exercise were accessible and meaningful to the community. They clarified that the biological monitoring should be community monitoring and that the primary purpose was that the results were useful to the community. This was very important for some project staff who had a real fear of reporting results that could easily be attacked as "non-scientific" by the research community.

Monitoring methods and techniques which could be understood and put into effect by the community were established. While scientific methodology should be adhered to as far as possible within the constraints, research for the scientific community was not the main aim of the monitoring. A key requirement of project staff is to assist in the interpretation of the results so that meaningful feedback is returned to the community from which it came, so the community can put the results to use.

For example, by taking a close look at the food plant and making a not of it health and vigor, farmers become more aware of the condition of their vines. Noting whether vines were in fruit served as a reminder that the fruits would need to be planted to ensure future larvae food plant. One larvae was rescued from a completely eaten vine and replaced on a thriving one.

John's drawings and diagrams were a hit with workshop participants. In fact, participants requested the materials with all the pictures to help train other community members. A further requirement is the need for time for clarification and discussion in the Hatam language which most of the workshop participants speak. Proficiency in Indonesian varies, and it is clear that new concepts and ideas require discussion in the native language.

A week after the field study course had been completed, Agus Wonggor, group leader of Mbenti Butterfly Farmers arrived in the office and presented us with a completed butterfly count -- the final result of the survey which had had to be abandoned due to bad weather. Furthermore, the group had sent a question "when are we having a meeting so we can agree responsibilities for the monitoring, sort out who can help which group and coordinate between areas?" The answer -- Wednesday, 8 October 1997.

Challenges

One of the goals of the project is the sustainability of the enterprise. Almost a year ago YBLBC staff expressed confidence in their abilities to undertake management of their own budget and workplans. Following discussions with BCN and WWF-IP this was agreed in principle, but implementation took far longer than expected and presented a major challenge. An agreement on a new contract was finally reached at the end of August whereby YBLBC would contract directly with BCN. Although the local staff are aware of the problems they have to face separating the accounts of the butterfly trading from the community development work, being in control of the budget and ensuring that plans are fulfilled has given project staff a lift, as well as a series of new challenges.

A major setback this year was a series of postal delays and losses. A number of clients received parcels with damaged or missing specimens. It took marketing staff a lot of time to explain to others the importance of correct packaging and specimen counts. Butterfly farming is a finicky business and badly damaged specimens are worthless. The time and effort needed to apologize, draw-up credit notes, and the resulting delays in payment, have been frustrating. After feeling that great strides had been made in the previous eighteen months, this was a setback.

Further disappointment was suffered after we did not get the much-requested permits for collection and farming of non-protected butterflies and other insects. In June, our hopes were raised by a visit from the Head of KANWIL, The Department of Forestry for Irian Jaya Province that YBLBC would receive the licenses shortly but, as in the past, nothing -- just another trip to Jayapura.

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