Ignorance threaten Javan langurs

#In the wild: A Javan langur spotted sitting in a tree in Muara Gembong, Bekasi regency, West Java. The population of langurs, which has been declared a protected animal in the area, has decreased because of hunting.

SEVERAL warning signs, which decorate a small pier that functions as the entrance to a mangrove area surrounded by fish and prawn ponds, remind visitors that it is not open to the public.

They further explain that all the animals living there are protected. While it is home to a rich range of flora and fauna, the zone is popularly known as the habitat of the Javan langur, a protected species under the 1990 Forestry and Plantation Ministerial Decree.

Located some 80 kilometers east of Jakarta, the mangroves are of Muara Gembong subdistrict, Bekasi regency, in West Java, and is a roughly two-and-a-half-hour car ride from Bekasi.

Visitors can ask local fishermen t oaccompany tehm to the area. To enter, they have to walk through a narrow bridge surrounded by mangrove trees. If they are lucky, they would be able to spot a langur or two resting on branches while ignoring the presence of human beings around them.

“Unlike monkeys, those langurs are afraid of people. They will not approach us and thwy are also scared of noise,” Daman, who looks after the langurs told the Jakarta Post.

The 45-year old, who is also a volunteer from the Selamatkan Muara Gembong (Save Muara Gembong) movement, said the langurs could usually be seen at around 4 p.m. hanging on trees or resting on the ground.

As a volunteer, Daman started looking after the rare species after joining the movement in 2012. It is a pity, however, that hunters, usually local fishermen, continued hunting the langurs, he said.

“I have witnessed fishermen hunting baby langurs;  I do not know why they do that,” he said. “Yesterday, I warned several fishermen – who had come here just to scare the langures – as they were drinking by the bridge. I was devastated because they did not seem to care about what I had to say and they just [harassed the animals] for no reason.”

The langur’s survival is not only threatened by people’s irresponsible behavior, but also by the status of the area in which they live. As the land is owned by a private citizen, and not the government, their habitat can be reduced at any time should the owner wish to expand the size of the ponds for a higher yield on fish and prawn.

“About 50 langurs lived here before this are turned into ponds in 2013. Now, there are only 34 left,” Daman said.

According to Muara Gembong subdistrict economy and development head Ahmad Djurajak, the area has been privately owned for decades.

“The land was already private property when I started to live here in 1992,” he told the Post.

Besides Muara Gembong, Javan Langurs can also be found in Bromo Tenger Semeru National Park, Mount Raung and Mount Argopuro in East Java, as well as in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara and Bali.

In 2008, the international Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorized Javan langureas vulnerable in its red list of threatened species.

Responding to the langurs’ critical situation, the Environment and Foresty Ministry’s biodiversitvity conservation director, said the ministry had two options to prevent langurs in Muara Gembong from disappearing.

“First, we could relocated the langurs into a new area, where the condition is better than their current habitat. Second, we could rehabilitate the area by planting more mangroves,” Bambang told the Post.

Meanwhile, Daman said the only solution to saving the species from extinction is to turn the land into a conservation area.

“If it has the official status of a conservation area, the langurs’ habitat would therefore become restricted,” he said. [Source : The Jakarta Post, September 16, 2017|by rdi]