Let Menoreh’s Birds Continue to Sing

KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS

Secretary of Jatimulyo Village, Mardiyanta, showed pictures of bird species in the village, Sunday (11/14/2021), at Omah Kopi Sulingan, Jatimulyo Village, Girimulyo District, Kulon Progo Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta. Jatimulyo Village, located in the Menoreh Mountains area, is known as a bird-friendly village because it has a village regulation that prohibits hunting birds.

UNESCO formally recognized the Menoreh Mountains as a biosphere reserve in October 2020. In fact, the preservation of the ecological wealth there has been going on for a long time. As nature is protected, residents become prosperous.

An orange-bellied flowerpecker, locally known as a cabai bunga-api bird, perched on a tree branch in front of the Omah Kopi Sulingan coffee house in Jatimulyo village, Kulon Progo regency, Yogyakarta, on Sunday afternoon (14/11/2021).

The birds are known for their beautiful singing and have become the target of bird hunters. However, that afternoon, no one disturbed the bird in front of the coffee house.

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This cannot be separated from the fact that Jatimulyo is a bird-friendly village. Entering the village in the Menoreh Mountains, there are many signs announcing that Jatimulyo is part of a bird conservation area.

The secretary of Jatimulyo village, Mardiyanta, said hunting birds was prohibited by Jatimulyo village regulation (Perdes) No. 8/2014 on environmental conservation.

"In the 2000s, hunting for birds was very common, especially for singing birds, because of their high economic value," he said.

If a bird's nest has been adopted, there will be regular reports to the adopter, for example, that the bird is still incubating eggs or that the chicks have been born and can eat.

People became worried about the bird hunting activities. In fact, a number of local residents who were hunting birds became aware that their activities had caused a sharp decline in the population of several species. Amid growing concern about the decline of bird populations, the residents urged the village administration to issue a village regulation to ban bird hunting. The regulation also included other environmental protections, such as the protection of springs and rivers and a ban on the use of dynamite and cyanide for fishing.

Efforts to protect the birds became more effective with the establishment of the Wanapaksi Forest Farmers Group (KTH), which established a bird’s nest adoption program in 2015. An administrator of the KTH, Suhandri, 27, said KTH farmers had invited other residents to take part in the bird’s nest adoption program.

“If a bird's nest has been adopted, there will be regular reports to the adopter, for example, that the bird is still incubating eggs or that the chicks have been born and can eat," he said.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

A cyclist crosses an agricultural area with the Menoreh mountains in the background in Karanganyar Village, Borobudur District, Magelang Regency, Central Java, Friday (11/19/2021).

There are three tiers of the bird’s nest adoption program. First is the adoption of a bird's nest with a small population, such as sulingan or pelatuk besi birds (dinopium javanense), with a donation of Rp 1.5 million. The second package is the adoption of an eagle's nest for Rp 1 million. The third is the adoption of more common birds that are widely hunted, such as Java honey birds (aethopyga mystacalis) and kehicap ranting birds. The price of the third package is Rp 800,000.

The donations are used, among other things, to provide incentives to nest discoverers and land owners and to cover the operational costs of monitoring bird nests.

Biosphere Reserve

Jatimulyo’s bird protection program is only one of the ongoing conservation efforts in the Menoreh Mountains, which are located on the border of Yogyakarta and Central Java. This effort is in line with the designation of the Merapi Merbabu Menoreh area as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in October 2020. A biosphere reserve is an area of protective management that addresses conservation, as well as social and economic needs in a sustainable manner.

The designation of the Menoreh area as part of the biosphere reserve was welcomed by the Kulon Progo regency administration. It plans to develop five geotourism areas, namely Mount Ijo, Mount Gajah, Mount Kendil, Goa Kiskendo and Goa Sriti. "We want to develop Kulon Progo as one of the most ancient geotourism parks in the world," said the head of the Kulon Progo Tourism Office, Joko Mursito.

“The concept is that the geological site remains protected and uses the surrounding area to support it. We will strengthen human resources through tourist villages, increased homestays and improved infrastructure," said Joko.

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The preservation of Menoreh is also supported by a number of communities in Magelang regency, Central Java, one of which is in Ngargoretno village in Salaman district. The community leader of Ngargoretno, Soim, 40, said conservation efforts began in 2002 through planting environmentally advantageous plants, such as banyan and gayam trees. The residents also grow coffee plants for additional income.

A marble deposit in Ngargoretno, where the Indonesian Natural Marble Museum is located, has become a popular tourist destination.

In the midst of the temptation to exploit nature for short-term benefits, Menoreh residents have instead initiated a conservation program so that the balance of the Earth can be maintained.

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.