The establishment of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in the Riau - Jambi Border area, Indonesia, in 1995 is a milestone in the conservation of the Indonesia’s lowland rain forest. These forests represent the biologically richest habitat type on earth, and one of the most threatened. For the first time in Indonesia, a national park was created directly without the prior existence of a conservation area of lower status. Also without precedence , a conservation area was established at the expense of logging concessions, which relinquished a large area of forest.

Covering 127,698 Ha of the Bukit Tigapuluh ("The Thirty Hills"), a massif rising steeply just south of the equator in the middle of Sumatra’s eastern plain, the National Park serves several important functions. In addition to providing a safe haven for thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened by extinction of extremely rare, the park provides vital catchment protection for several large rivers that sustain downstream agricultural communities.

In NORINDRA surveys of the Bukit Tigapuluh fauna, 192 species of birds were recorded, that is almost 1/3 of all bird species known from Sumatra. Breeding was confirmed of the 18 species of birds not previously known to breed on Sumatra. Including the Garnet pitta (Pitta granatina) which had not been recorded for this island for more than 70 year. At least 10 of the bird species recorded are globally threatened. Some 59 species of mammals were recorded, 5 of which are globally threatened, including the Oriental small - clawed otter (Aonyx cincerea), Clouded leopard (Neofelix nebulosa), Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris), Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), and Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus). 98 species of fish were collected and preserved and one of these , a glass-perch turned out to be new to science and has been given the name Gymnochanda limi.

In a survey of the biological resources the Bukit Tigapuluh area, NORINDRA researchers observed and recorded 660 plant species, including 246 medicinal plant, that are utilized by the local population. 550 of these species were collected and preserved. Many rare and threatened non-utilized plant species were also recorded. One example is the locally named Cendawan muka rimau of "Tiger - face mushroom", which in none other than Rafflesia haseltii previously observed in only two location (West Sumatra and Pulau Tioman, Malaysia). Other example are the Betel relate palm known by local as Mapau kalui (Iguanura sp.) here encountered for the first time in Sumatra and the highly distinctive Salo palm (Johannestejsmania altifrons) which is on the IUCN list of threatened plants.

The forests of the National Park and its surrounding buffer area also provide habitat to Talang Mamak and Kubu forest-dwelling tribal communities and traditional Malay peasants who live the forest edge. All of these groups are faced with increasing marginalization as result of rapid deforestation. To assist local communities and authorities in safeguarding the Bukit Tigapuluh and realizing its potential for supporting alternative local development, a long term Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICDP) has already been launched.

The project is internationally supported and is implemented by the WWF Indonesia Programme in cooperation with the Department of Forestry of Indonesia and the provincial and local level governments in Riau and Jambi. Funding for the project from WWF Norway and NORAD.

An Integrated Conservation and Development project (ICDP) provides support for the management of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and its surrounding buffer area, while promoting local community participation and resource interests. The project was designed to : (i) improve land management practices by village boundary and land use mapping and planning; and intensification and rationalization of traditional rubber planting,; (ii) strengthen village-level institutions to support these initiatives; (iii) identified and develop alternative source of income - e.g. handicraft and eco-cultural tourism - that would be closely linked with the existence of the park without under mining its conservation values. Implicit in this approach was the belief that conservation of the park would be facilitated by helping local improved land management and resources use efficiency, and develop non-forest sources of income to reduce dependence on the forest within the park, rather than just providing means to increase incomes or supplement income derived from the park. This is an important extension of the usual ICDP approach - in that directly addresses critical resource use, spatial planning and land management issues.

A major aim of the project is to empower local communities to become active partners in conservation and sustainable development especially in the "environmental" and "social" buffer zone area around the park. Some of the activities are meant to become financially self-sustaining and should in time help fund a local - level organization due to set - up before the current 5 year project ends to support necessary long term conservation and development activities.

Two major factors have changed since the project design was completed in 1993. First, the park is much smaller than proposed (the proposed extent of the national park in the existing project document was some 250,000 Ha. i.e. about twice as large as at present), hence local communities are now more distant from the boundary of the park than anticipated. This means that there are areas of limited production forest (HPT), under control of the logging company, bordering much of surrounding the park. These communities will find it harder or impossible to expand their agricultural (and other) activities towards or into the park and buffer zone, in reaction to outside pressures on their current agricultural land. From another, it means that efforts to preserve the "environmental" buffer zone now need to be redirected at the Department of Forestry, the logging company, and the provincial government planning process.

Second, the potential external threats to park’s ecological viability are now on the way to becoming reality. The main potential threat comes from clearing land around the park for establishing oil palm or Industrial timber plantation, and coal mining planning to north of the park The other threat arise from newly established transmigration area to the north and west of the park.

Many Stakeholder do not have enough and accurate information about village/land condition around buffer area or they are not understand about previously information that be published. e.g. Land System, Land Unit, or kind of the soil. This lack have made the decision making had given wrong decision to develop area. Transmigration in the northern park was one example from this case. Transmigration area is develop too close to park and at poor soil for agricultural system.

The park and buffer zone is look like a donut cake. The park is inner region (in reality is empty and not "delicious") and the buffer zone is outer region (in reality is "delicious" region). Many stakeholders want to "eat" outer region. In this new problem perceptive the basic priorities for the project need to be revised, as decision made on forest conversion for plantation have large and almost immediate consequences. Now, the main priority for the project should be to help secure the natural forest within and surrounding the national park. A major advocacy or lobbying effort is needed. A strategic action for the advocacy was develop :

Many local communities do not have a bargaining when many stakeholder have interest in their land. The cases are caused no formal evidence about their land and boundary village. We develop a program to get formal evidence with steps all discussed with local communities :

(i) Simple mapping training to empowering for local community’s skill, (ii). Survey of the boundary village and negotiation to National Land Agency, (iii). develop a basis data of field information (land use, habitats, ethnic forest) and give a social and environment assessment, build a planning of land use divide the categories of the land use : Conservation area, Buffer zone and Improved zone. The participatory mapping is a simple and small-scale activities, low level financing but to give big influence to develop villagers confidence and capabilities.

The Boundary Village is as function as social - economic buffer zone to obstruct land clearing by the big plantation. If the big plantation is still go head in the villager’s land , the villager have a bargaining to involve as partner in the plantation to secure sustainability income source. Participatory Mapping is a initial entry point to develop local NGO beside a integrated development planning.

In four months, until December 1997, WWF Bukit Tigapuluh have trained 27 local peoples in 9 villages. The Training consist to two days simple theoretical mapping and one day practical mapping in the villages. They have surveyed their village and plotted the data from GPS to the standard map and now they have finished 9 draft boundary village maps.

In 1998, WWF Bukit Tigapuluh will conduct some training for the 9 Heads of Villages around Bukit Tigapuluh NP. Especially in Land Use management planning (Land Literacy, Land Status etc). This training is very important especially in boundary and land use villages negotiation

Advocacy should be based on accurate and authoritative about the landforms condition surrounding the national park. (Legal slope limits on land utilization, hydrology, erosion, and sedimentation). These information are developed in GIS (Geographic Information System) to get accurate and fast integrated area’s analysis, as "think tank" to secure natural forest around the park.

A social - Economic Survey is develop to get a real condition of the villager’s welfare and activities. The data will be analyzed to get Social - Economic Assessment. For example is comparing benefit between oil palm plantation and sustainability forest for long term. Until December 1997, WWF Bukit Tigapuluh have finished first step Social Economic of 9 villages.

Advocacy efforts need to be a high professional standard, employ a variety of media, and be directed at carefully identified targets level including all stake holder. The Local communities and The government are given access to decision - making processes and the skill needed to participate fully in the development and implementation of democratically managed the park. A true information and their analysis is published by local mass media. The program to save the forest around the park was included in Coordination Meeting for Development of Provincial / district Government. Collaboration with the local NGO is another manner to support advocacy.

Some programs of ICDP is used as incentive to get involved and committed to park programs. Development activities should also provide a more direct support for mitigation of local conservation threats, and not be solely justified on basis of the possible support they may give to advocacy. There are existing project - initiated development activities which have the potential for communicating the social and economic value of the national park and its buffer forests - hence supporting advocacy. Some of them are eco-tourism and local craft - based industry sustainable using raw material from the buffer zone forests.

Many protected area is be surrounding park. Kerumutan wildlife sanctuary (in the northern of the park), Cinaku Nature reserves (eastern of the park) and Bukit Dua Belas Biosphere reserve for Kubu people (southern of the park) are some example of protected area. For the long time, in order to have function to mutual support of them, have to develop landscape ecology in stressed area by Bioregional Management.

As water catchment area, the park is very important in the issues of the degradation of the environmental quality (intrusion of salt water, Sumatra Elephant home range, peat swamp, coastal erosion and river sedimentation) at the eastern coastal of sumatra especially Riau and Jambi provinces The evidence are used to more extension a function park and buffer zone area.