By: Princess Nidya

Poaching in Lampung is still rampant. The Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS) forest area is one of the poachers' home ranges. The patrol team of WWF-Indonesia Lampung Program together with the team from the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBTNBBS) Lampung managed to confiscate a number of evidence of poaching activities from the Lombok Resort area of the BBTNBBS forest area. The evidence consisted of 19 sling snares, 8 animal horns (5 deer horns and 3 deer horns), 4 animal skulls (2 deer skulls, 1 deer skull, and 1 pig skull), 4 nylon snares, 5 kg steel slings, 6 wire slings, and 1 3 x 6 m net.

Patrols were conducted from January 31 to February 3, 2014 in Lombok Resort of TNBBS. This routine patrol activity was carried out by 2 officers from WWF-Indonesia BBS Lampung Program team plus 2 officers from Masyarakat Mitra Polhut (MMP) for 4 days in the TNBBS forest area.

The team initially patrolled the forest in the afternoon, where they found one snare. After resting, the patrol team tried to investigate by asking the community in the Talang 10 area where there are many encroachers' huts. Based on information from residents, there were two perpetrators who allegedly set the snares. However, further investigation is still needed to prove the allegations against the two people.

"Try the Talang 10 area," suggested one resident. The investigation continued to the hut of the person suspected of setting the snares. A 5 kg snare was found in his house. However, the patrol team did not manage to meet the perpetrator. The team only met his wife. Six horns and snares were confiscated from his house.

According to the snare owner, he gets deer and antelope every two weeks. The sales scheme is from hunters directly to collectors in the comparison area, namely restaurants. Usually, an adult deer is sold for around IDR 1,500,000 - IDR 2,000,000 per head, while an adult deer is sold for IDR 3,000,000 per head. One deer weighs approximately 20-40 kg, while one deer weighs approximately 60-100 kg. When it reaches the restaurant, the deer is sold for around Rp 60,000/kg and the antelope for around Rp 80,000/kg.

The TNBBS forest area is vast. The lack of forest rangers means that poaching is still common in the area. Therefore, a joint effort is needed to resolve this problem. "One alternative to reduce it is to conduct routine patrols, in collaboration with related partners," said Charles Antonio, head of the patrol team from WWF-Indonesia Lampung BBS Program.

"In addition, it is necessary to raise awareness to the community, especially those on the outskirts of the TNBBS area. If one ecosystem is disturbed, it will affect other ecosystems," Charles Antonio added. It is hoped that routine patrols and awareness to the community around the TNBBS forest can be a solution to the high number of poaching cases.