By: Hijrah Nasir

The people of Kaur Bengkulu have many stories about how people coexist with tigers without disturbing each other. One of them is a story from Sihar, a resident of Sukajaya Village, Kaur Regency, Bengkulu. From his parents, Sihar heard stories about his puyang who was good friends with tigers. It is said that puyang (local language to refer to great-grandfather) can travel back and forth from Duku Banding Agung Island Lampung to Muara Dua in just two hours because he makes the tiger his vehicle or in the local language is called sunggutan.

Every year his family makes offerings in seven parts that are kept at the edge of the garden. Sihar's story is just one of many that show that Bengkulu people in the past had the local wisdom to live in harmony with Sumatran tigers.

Tiger, a charismatic figure with a coat of arms that is now threatened with extinction. The high rate of poaching and trade of tigers in domestic and international markets is one of the factors in the decline of its population from year to year. Tigers, which have a range of up to 150 km2, need a large space to live. Their living spaces in Bengkulu are increasingly narrowed due to land conversion practices for palm oil, coffee and rubber plantations. The narrowing of land and lack of food drives them to settlements and often prey on people's livestock, causing human-tiger conflicts to still occur. Various cases of tigers preying on people's goats are found in the Kaur area.

Tigers have an important role in maintaining ecosystem balance. As a key species that occupies the top position in the food chain that helps maintain and regulate the preservation of animals below, it is not uncommon for tigers to still be a scourge in the community. The lack of public understanding and awareness of the importance of tiger conservation often makes tigers victims of public anger. Do you still remember the tragic story of the Sumatran tiger that was hanged in Hutapangan Village, Batang Natal District, Mandailing Natal, North Sumatra last March? The story was widely reported in national and international news. Sumatran tigers, which are endangered species, are often victims of conflict, even though they are pressed for food and lose their homes which have been turned into plantations.

According to data from TRAFFIC, wildlife trafficking is a transnational organized crime and the third largest in the world after human trafficking and drugs. A 2008 TRAFFIC report found a thriving illegal and open domestic market in Sumatra for tiger parts (body parts are traded at high prices on the black market for traditional medicines, jewelry, amulets and decorations). Between 1998 and 2002 at least 50 Sumatran tigers were poached each year. GAKKUM (Law Enforcement) revealed that currently cases of poaching and trade in wildlife, including tigers, are punished with an average of 2 years in prison or still below the maximum sentence of 5 years in Law No.5 of 1990, so it does not provide a deterrent effect for perpetrators.

In support of tiger conservation, every July 29 is commemorated as Global Tiger Day to invite the public to support tiger conservation. WWF Indonesia Southern Sumatra Program together with Tiger Heart Lampung Community from the Forum Harimau Kita conducted a series of campaigns in Kaur, Bengkulu. Activities carried out include collecting stories in the community related to community wisdom to coexist with tigers using the reportage method, conducting campaigns to elementary and junior high schools in Sukajaya Village and Trijaya Village, exhibitions and art performances filled with poetry reading competitions, cabaret, and coloring with the theme of tigers, as well as demonstrations of tiger motif batik made by PKK women's groups in Trijaya Village.

This activity is expected to increase public awareness for the conservation of endangered animals, especially Sumatran tigers and efforts that can be made to increase their population, collect stories in the community about their local wisdom of coexisting with forests and wildlife, increase public understanding of human-tiger conflict mitigation, and change people's perceptions that tigers are animals that play an important role in the ecosystem.

The activity, which took place from July 18 - 20, was held by involving communities in 4 villages, namely Sukajaya, Trijaya, Bukit Indah, and Sinar Banten villages. These four villages are villages bordering the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and Bukit Kumbang HPT which are Sumatran tiger habitats that often experience conflicts with Sumatran tigers. 3 of them have experienced conflicts with tigers because their livestock, mostly goats, were preyed upon by tigers.

In addition to conducting campaigns, the team also held human - tiger conflict mitigation training. The purpose of this training is to identify community knowledge about Sumatran tigers, and their presence around Trijaya, Sukajaya and Bukit Indah Villages and increase community capacity in handling animal conflicts, one of which is by making tiger-proof goat cages.

In enlivening Global Tiger Day 2018, WWF collaborated with the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Center, the West Coast Government, UNDP's Sumatran Tiger Project, GEF, WCS, YABI, and saka wanabakti scout students to conduct a number of activities such as fun bikes, tree planting actions, painting and coloring competitions, cooking competitions and culinary presentations, creative economy exhibitions and bazaars, and face painting which will be held on 11-12 August in Biha, West Coast. While on July 29, WWF together with the TNBBS Center and other NGO partners will hold an Oration and Awareness to Save the Sumatran Tiger by collecting a petition of support "Save the Sumatran Tiger" which will be centered at the Kota Agung Green Open Space City Park, Tanggamus.

By saving Sumatran tigers, we are helping to save biodiversity and forests, which also means saving the lives of mankind. Let's support the action to save the Sumatran tiger in various ways. One of them can be by using social media to raise public awareness not to buy goods from tiger body parts so that tiger poaching does not continue. In addition, reducing the use of paper and tissue can also be a step to protect Sumatran tiger habitat from damage and of course by supporting the efforts of organizations such as WWF to preserve Sumatran tigers by becoming part of Sahabat Harimau.