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Two tiger anti-poaching teams comprised exclusively of PHKA park
rangers have been established and continue working in Way Kambas
National Park to combat illegal activities within the protected
area. Their job is to secure the main study area of Way Kambas
where the long-term monitoring project is being conducted. They
coordinate their field patrols with other anti-poaching units
of the GEF-sponsored Sumatran Rhino Conservation Program. Through
these efforts we have discovered continued attempts by poachers
to enter the park, to place wire snares for tigers, and to illegally
harvest other resources. Some are caught, and some are not.
During the time since the Tiger Protection Units initiation no
successful tiger poaching has been reported. However, other threats
to the security of the park, due to deteriorating security during
the political upheaval surrounding the presidential elections,
has made it necessary to allocate a Tiger Conservation Team to
assist the protection units. This includes the removal of tiger
snares, interception of poachers, documentation of poaching observations,
and a rapid response to threats. Apprehension protocols have been
made familiar to all team members, and local police commanders
are informed and aware of the need for close co-operation through
the local forestry department head. In the future it is hoped
that the information resulting from this will be used to apply
pressure on the police and legal system to ensure prosecution
where appropriate.
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Forest
rangers set fire to a temporary hut used by
poachers in the forest
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We hope that the model developed in Way Kambas for protection
of tigers, based on the national park's ranger staff, can be applied
to other national parks. As the stewards of the national parks,
the rangers are the obvious choice for the long-term survival
of Sumatra's tigers. Facilitation and intensive training specific
to tiger conservation has proved invaluable to these teams. Close
coordination and back-up support has also been a critical ingredient
in the effectiveness of the people involved. A further benefit
arises from the close cooperation of these teams with the Rhino
Protection Units (Indonesian Rhino Conservation Program) that
also operate in Way Kambas.
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Illegal
logger apprehended and waiting to be processed by law enforcement.
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This workshop was held the 5th to 8th August 2002 in Bogor, Sumatra,
Indonesia, and is a cooperative effort between the PHKA, the program
partnership, the Indonesian Law Institute for Natural Resources,
and the Advocacy Network for Anti-Poaching and Law Enforcement
Relating to Tigers, Rhinos and Elephants. TTF-STT, under the Sumatran
Tiger Conservation Program umbrella, was the sole sponsor of this
workshop. A total of 140 delegates attended, representing all
conservation areas in Sumatra, all NGOs, all organizations involved
in tiger, rhino and elephant conservation, representatives of
the national and provincial judiciaries, police forces, customs
and excise, armed forces and local government.
Primary objectives of the workshop included the collation of
a database on crimes relating to tigers, rhinos and elephants
during the last five years - including poaching, trading and illegal
possession of the three priority species. Successes and failures
of the legal process in relation to these crimes will be reviewed,
followed by working group discussions to identify the weaknesses
in current mechanisms. Final working groups will focus on developing
recommendations for implementation, involving across-the-board
cooperation between government agencies and NGOs in the development
of a strategy to ensure these crimes are taken seriously.
Finally, as a means of generating media interest, a collection
of confiscated and donated stuffed tigers was publicly burnt on
a pyre by the Minister of Forestry, simultaneously with the press-release
of a joint declaration between the government and participatory
NGOs to cooperate to end the wildlife crime crisis in Indonesia.
Law Enforcement of Wildlife Crimes
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Police
processing poachers they arrested in the Park.
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At the present time it is well recognized that while poachers
of tigers are often apprehended in the field, their prosecution
and sentencing in courts is a rare occurrence. Deficiencies have
been identified at all levels, from lack of funds in the support
of apprehension and processing, the misapplication and utilization
of current laws by prosecutors, improper methods of evidence procurement,
to the transfer of responsibility between forest rangers and local
police. Behind all this is a national indifference to wildlife
crimes in general, which is reflected throughout the criminal
justice system and police forces. Currently, many of these weaknesses
are being addressed at a national level. However at the local
level the problems are as simple as the lack of supporting funds
to insure that apprehensions and evidence seized by forest rangers
are actively processed by local police to the point of judicial
acceptance.
The protection unit model developed by the Rhino Conservation
Program has an integrated component that focuses on providing
support funds for forest police rangers. This mechanism, based
on the release of a standard amount of financial support per suspect,
only following receipt of P21 documents , has proven successful.
Completion of the P21 form denotes official acceptance of
the case by local courts based on satisfactory evidence and a
clear charge according to stated laws.
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