Mahasiswa UGM Mengeksplorasi Kekayaan Fauna Taman Nasional Way Kambas
Mahasiswa UGM Mengeksplorasi Kekayaan Fauna Taman Nasional Way Kambas
Six Forestry students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) that join the Silvagama nature enthusiast group have explored the Way Kambas National park in Sumatera from 9-23 January 2017. The team made the expedition in one of the ASEAN Heritage Parks to introduce interesting things and issues in Indonesian national parks and to increase scientific study publications to the general public.
The six students are Aniyah Riansari, Adinda C. Milaba, M. Reza Ananta P, Febrian E. Nugraha, Astried Canthika H., and Okti Fathony Purnama. This time they raise the theme Conservation of Rare Fauna.
Adinda C Milaba, team chairman, said on Tuesday (21/2), “We did the Way Kambas expedition for 13 days to do observations and meet the Way Kambas National Park Conservation Agency as well as related institutions,” said Adinda.
Adinda explained the Way Kambas National Park had been selected for their expedition because it has conservation areas that orientate to the management of population and habitat of rare species, especially mammals. The Park also has collaborations with other conservation agencies, such as Suaka Rhino Sumatera (SRS), Pusat Konservasi Gajah (PKG), and Penyelamatan dan Konservasi Harimau Sumatera (PKHS).
“The exploration done by the team on the conservation of rare fauna has given information on how the National Park and partners have collaborated to sustain the Way Kambas ecosystem,” she said.
Head of the Way Kambas National Park conservation agency, Subakir S.H., M.H., appreciated the expedtion, hoping that the results would be published to increase people’s awareness of the national park.
“We do appreciate the students that have enthusiastically gone to the field to explore the issues, potential and condition of the national parks and publish their findings to the society,” he said.
Amidst the rampant poaching that threaten the animal population in the national parks, said Subakir, the Way Kambas has been trying to reduce it. So, he welcomed cooperations with any other parties that support animal conservation in Way Kambas.
The expedition by the Silvagama team of UGM Faculty of Forestry will open the way for the Expedition of 50 National Parks event in 2017. Later, the team will publish the data they obtained from the expeditions, especially related to conservation efforts.