Hans Mandacan Protects Papuan Birds of Paradise

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI (RAD)

Hans Mandacan

Once a hunter of birds of paradise, Hans Mandacan is now at the forefront of protecting the forests and birds of paradise in the Arfak highlands of West Papua. Birdwatching ecotourism changed his life.

Many years ago, when there was little awareness about the importance of preserving the environment, Hans Mandacan, 38, regularly hunted various types of birds in the forest that is part of the Arfak highlands area. Birds of paradise were often his target.

"We hunted the birds of paradise to sell them," said Hans Mandacan, who comes from Kwau village, Warmare district, Manokwari, West Papua, when met by the Kompas team on Monday (12/4/2021).

Kwau village in Manokwari regency is located in the Arfak highlands, which border Arfak Mountains regency.

Hans said he used to hunt several types of birds of paradise, such as Cendrawasih Belah Rotan (Cicinnurus magnicus) and Parotia Arfak (Parotia selata). Those birds of paradise were usually hunted for their meat, and the feathers were kept intact for sale.

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"We carefully open the bird’s skin so it doesn't get damaged, then we eat the meat. After that, we put some plastic into its body so that it looks like a whole bird. Only then is it put under the sun to dry completely,” said Hans, who is from the Hatam tribe.

The simply preserved and stuffed birds of paradise are later sold by Hans and other hunters. At first, he and other hunters used arrows to hunt birds. However, gradually, the hunters began using air rifles. The use of air rifles made bird hunting easier, so the number of birds obtained increased.

“When we used air rifles, we could get 30 birds in one hunt. Whereas, when we used arrows, we could only get five birds in one hunt," said Hans who was educated to the grade 2 junior high school level.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A number of houses are seen in Kwau village, Warmare district, Manokwari regency, West Papua, on April 13, 2021. Kwau village is about a two hours' journey from downtown Manokwari. Although administratively included in the Manokwari area, the customary forest of Kampung Kwau is located in the Arfak Highlands area, which is the habitat of various endemic animals.

Stopping hunting

Hans' bird hunting activities only stopped in 2009. At that time, Hans began to get involved in butterfly conservation activities that were pioneered by a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Kwau village. The conservation activity then developed into birdwatching in the customary forest of the Kwau village community.

So far, the forest area in the Arfak highlands is well known as a habitat for a number of endemic animals, including several species of beautiful and exotic birds that have unique behaviors. In order to ensure they ran well, the bird watching activities involved the Kwau village community. After going through a number of processes, Hans was elected as representatives of the community involved in the activities.

Hans later became an ecotourism manager for the bird watching activities because the NGO that pioneered the activity was no longer active. Hans said that near Kwau village, tourists could observe several types of birds, for example, Parotia Arfak, Cendrawasih Belah Rotan, Namdur Polos (Amblyornis inornatus) and Paruh Sabit Kurikuri (Epimachus fastuosus).

Of the four types of birds, two of them have unique behavior. The male Parotia Arfak, for example, likes to dance on the ground to attract attention of the opposite sex. Meanwhile, Namdur Polos is known as a smart bird because it can build and decorate its nests with unique items.

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A plain male Namdur will usually collect various items, for example seeds and bottle caps, to decorate his nest. Uniquely, the bird is able to group the objects it collects according to color. Like the dancing Parotia Arfak, male Namdur Polos build and decorate nests to attract females.

The attraction of several types of birds is what brings many tourists to Kwau village to participate in the birdwatching ecotourism activities that Hans manages. Apart from domestic tourists, many tourists also come from other countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Hungary, New Zealand, Switzerland and China.

In order to guide foreign tourists well, Hans taught himself English by reading books and dictionaries. To support the ecotourism, Hans also established a guest house called Papua Lorikeet. The development of the guest house, which has three rooms, was assisted by the West Papua administration and the Manokwari administration.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI (RAD)

Hans Mandacan

Involving people

Hans said that over the past few years, the income that he earned from birdwatching ecotourism had been quite large. He said that in 2019, the gross income obtained from the ecotourism business was around Rp 350 million. However, the income was not enjoyed by Hans alone.

This was because Hans also involved other residents in Kwau village, for example as cooks, porters and tour guides. In addition, Hans also set aside some income from the ecotourism for the Kampung Kwau treasury. People’s involvement was important, he said, so that all people in Kwau village had the same commitment to protecting the forest and stopping bird hunting.

“We have to involve the community in ecotourism work. If one person doesn't get income from ecotourism, he may hunt birds again, so we try to divide the income equally," said the father of three.

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Thanks to these efforts, Hans said, there were currently no residents of Kwau village who continued to hunt birds. In fact, the villagers have agreed that those caught hunting birds will be fined millions rupiah. Even so, Hans continues to monitor the condition of the village's customary forest so that no hunters from other areas enter it.

Every day, Hans is willing to “patrol” the forest to monitor the bird activities there and make sure no hunters come. To be able to take good care of the forest, Hans also stays at the Papua Lorikeet guest house more often than at his own house because the guest house is closer to the forest. “We guard the forest strictly. That's why I have to visit the forest every day," he said.

BIODATA

Name:Hans Mandacan

Place, date of birth: Kwau Manokwari, 1 March, 1983

Wife: Derina Mandacan

Children :Obaca Mandacan, Sostenes Mandacan, James Mandacan

Occupation:Ecotourism Manager in Kwau village, Manokwari regency, West Papua

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.