Community-based tourism at Gunung Halimun National Park

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1 Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies (APEIS) Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options (RISPO) Good Practices Inventory Community-based tourism at Gunung Halimun National Park Summary of the Practice Keywords: Gunung Halimun National Park Strategy: Facilitating community-based tourism in protected areas Environmental areas: Ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, Forest conservation Critical instruments: Awareness/capacity building, Partnerships, Self-regulation Country: Indonesia Location: West Java Participants: Villagers, National Park, Biological Science Club (BScC), Wildlife Preservation Trust International (WPTI), Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Studies - University of Indonesia, McDonald s Indonesia Family Restaurants, YEH, JICA, Tour Operators, and Guide Association. Duration: Since 1995 Funding: BSP/BCN (Biodiversity Support Program/Biodiversity Conservation Network), Villagers Fund, Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), National Park Authorities. Background: Established in 1992, Gunung Halimun National Park (GHNP) is the largest remaining primary lowland forest in Java and is home to 23 mammal species, at least two of which (the Javan gibbon and the grizzled langur) are endemic and endangered. The roughly 40,000 hectares found within its boundaries also cover a wide range of plant community habitats. The park also supports more than 200 bird species, of which 18 are endemic, and over 500 plant species. Indigenous Kasepuhan and other Sundanese communities live in and around the park and depend heavily on its natural resources. The park protects an important watershed for Java. However, small-holder and plantation agriculture, infrastructure development, small-scale gold mining, and unsustainable fuel wood and non-timber forest product harvesting threaten GHNP s resources. To counter the threats to the area, and to take advantage of an unprecedented set of positive circumstances, a unique consortium of organizations came together for the purpose of working with local communities to develop an ecotourism enterprise and conservation awareness program geared to attracting more domestic and international visitors from nearby Jakarta. Thus the Gunung Halimun Consortium was born in The GHNP Consortium evolved from the recognition that a diversity of skills and organizations was vital to enable both the tourism development and conservation goals to succeed. Each of the consortium partners brings a unique set of qualifications to the project. Objectives: 1. To reduce the threat to the biodiversity of the area by providing alternative income to local communities that live surrounding GHNP. 2. To increase community capacity through community-based tourism activities. Description of the activity : Local villagers in Halimun formed self-community groups called Kelompok Swadaya Masyarakat. Each community group contains about 30 members. The consortium together with the community has built a guesthouse complex on community donated land on three different areas (north, west, and east 1

2 Halimun), The guesthouses are managed by community groups. While the guesthouses and infrastructure were built, the capacity building was conducted by the consortium with the involvement of related tourism organisations. The consortium also constructed trails with appropriate signage, developed marketable handicrafts, and conducted socio-economical and biological impact monitoring. The PRA methodology was used to elicit wider representation of community views on development issues. For capacity building, the GNHP conducted training for park staff and local communities. There are four types of training, namely: guide training, tourist service training, English language, and management and handicraft training. Critical Instruments Overview The three instruments below are the integrated factors that support community-based tourism activities in GHNP. The combination of these three instruments has strengthened community-based tourism activities in Halimun. Awareness/capacity building For the local communities involved, tourism activities have created substantial monetary, educational, and social benefits. Several training sessions were conducted to support the ecooturism activities of GHNP and have increased community capacity and knowledge, and increased conservation awareness. Besides revenues earned from entrance fees from visitors, other benefits to park staff and rangers (which are mainly local people surrounding the park) is increased knowledge about ecotourism. Other forms of public awareness can be detected through the growing numbers of invitations to join seminars or conferences, or requests to give lectures, coming from different parts of Indonesia and even from abroad. Partnerships Coordination between local communities, government agencies, NGOs, and private sectors, formed partnerships that are recognized to emerge from areas of mutual benefit to each sectors involved. Better relationships have been built with the local community at all three sites within GHNP, including those who do not actually belong to the enterprises. Although the consortium ends in November 1998, the ex-staff formed a new foundation called the YEH (Yayasan Ekowisata Halimun/Halimun Ecoturism Foundation) to support the community. Partnership should be viewed as an integral part of the desig n and development of community-based ventures and deemed indispensable for achieving a positive policy and planning framework for the development. Self-regulation By late 1998, the communities had established village-level enterprise management groups assisted by the consortium and which continue to be assisted by YEH The local group is drafting a written agreement directly between it and the park s governing authority regarding conditions for ownership, management, and operation of the guesthouse, and join responsibility for managing forest resources around the guesthouse area. They also established a percentage of benefit distribution. The percentage varies proportionately for different areas. 2

3 Guesthouses Revenue Distribution System at Gunung Halimun National Park Components North Halimun South Halimun East Halimun Retribution/Tax 5 % 5 % 5 % Salary 30 % 30 % 30 % Maintenance 15 % 15 % 15 % Community Fund 13.3 % 15 % 10 % Conservation 10 % 15 % 10 % Education 10 % 10 % 7.5 % Land Tenure 6.7 % % Operational Cash 10 % 10 % 10 % National Park Authorities also involved the community in making the policy that related to the environment, at the village level. As the story demonstrates, these local policy successes can often lead to policy changes at higher levels. Impacts No. Impact Positive Negative I Economic 1 Earning supplementary income from tourism v v v 2 Stimulating tourism business v v v 3 Distribution of benefit v II Environmental 1 Enhancement of awareness of the villagers for conservation v v v 2 Increasing the capacity of community for forest conservation v v v 3 Waste and garbage management v 4 Increased littering. v Reducing land expansion, forest encroachment, and poaching v v 5 Increasing visitor awareness and appreciation of the natural environment v III Social 1 Jealousy between community v v v 2 Increasing coordination between stakeholders v v v 3 Enhancement of awareness of the government for community capacity v Note: 1. Villagers point of view 2. Park official point of view 3. Reviewers point of view 3

4 Lessons Learned Issues 1. Community s initiative to support community-based tourism Villagers in Halimun are actively partic ipating in community-based tourism in their area. A selected representative does the actual division of revenue, oversees maintenance of the registration book and makes payments. The villagers have opened a bank account including the chairperson, as well as the project liaison for each village. Besides managing the guesthouse, villagers also provide their own place as a home stay, when the original guesthouse is fully occupied. Seven houses were provided by the community to serve guests. Issues 2. Conservation Awareness of the Community Community-based tourism in Halimun has contributed to conservation, although still in a small value (10 15%). It also proved that local people that are involved in self-community groups and participate in the project have more awareness of conservation, compared with uninvolved community members. Tourism activities in Halimun also reduced forest encroachments and poaching by local people, since most tourism activities are conducted in the forest. Issues 3. Partnership Experiences in Halimun have proved that partnerships that are built between many stakeholders are an important key to success for building a strong community-based tourism. The local community has built a partnership with several tour operators and a guide association in Bogor (the nearest city to Halimun) to market their tourism product. Potential for Application Up to now, no formal activities of this case have been directly applied in other areas in Indonesia. However, the activities in GHNP have been presented as a case study in several workshops and seminars that relate to community-based tourism development, both at the national and international level. GHNP is also visited by staff from national parks in Indonesia and abroad for comparison studies. Application if this case may have the potential to be applied in other areas with the same problems and characters, especially with the participatory and partnership approach. Contact 1. Mr. Dwi Setyono, Head of Gunung Halimun National Park, Gunung Halimun National Park Office, Kabandungan, Sukabumi, Jawa Barat. 2. Mr. Rahman Dedi, Halimun Ecotourism Foundation, bcn-ni16@cbn.net.id References Ecotourism, A Guide for Planners and Managers, Vol.2, The Ecotourism Society, North Bennington, Vermont,

5 3. Evaluating Linkages between Business, the Environment, and Local Communities, Final Stories from the Field, p. 56, Biodiversity Conservation Network, Washington DC, Case reviewer: 1. Ary Suhandi, Ronna Saab, Information date: Data collected during the first week of February

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