a story fromthe Mentawai Islands

‘THE LEGEND OF PULELE’-

nce upon the time there was a boy named Pulele’, who lived with his parents in a small settlement. Everyday, he would bring food fromthe settlement to his parents who worked in a field, located far away from the settlement. To get to the field, Pulele’ had to walk through a forestfull of animals. One day, during a period of long drought, Pulele’ noticed that the animals in the forest were starving. Feeling sorry for the animals,Pulele’ decided to help them by giving them the food he brought for his parents. From then on, he started feeding the animals daily on his wayto the field. With the monitor lizards he shared his sago, with the leaf monkeys and the gibbons he shared his fruits. And he also often sat and atetogether with the crocodile and the anteater.

Pulele’s parents were very angry as they received only the leftovers from the food Pulele’ had shared with the animals. Despite his parentsscolding, Pulele’ always defended the animals, whom he considered his friends. One day Pulele’s father, who was getting more and moreinpatient with his son’s generosity, plotted to kill the animals with his bow and arrow. Luckily, Pulele’ was able to warn the animals and showedthem a hiding place. After that day Pulele’ cooked a lot of food so his parents wouldn’t find out that he was sharing the food with the animals inthe forest.

One day, a plague broke out in Pulele’s settlement and people started to die. The animals – birds, monkeys, butterflies, snakes – were all worriedfor Pulele’ and so they took him to a place deep into the forest to protect him from the plague. Nevertheless, Pulele’ became very sick and all theanimals in the forest were very worried. They fed and took care of him, but Pulele’ became sicker each day. As the news spread about Pulele’scondition, all the animals in the forest gathered and organized a big meeting to find a solution. One of the animals knew of a special fruit thatcould cure Pulele’s disease. And indeed, after feeding him the fruit, Pulele’ recovered very quickly.

For a very long time Pulele’ lived in the forest with the animals, but the time came for him to return to his settlement. By then, he had become aman and nearly everyone he knew in his settlement had perished in the plague. Pulele’ regained his old life in the settlement, but was often verysad as he felt all alone. The animals tried to cheer him up but nothing helped. Seeing Pulele’s sadness, the animals gathered again and decidedto help him. They all went to different directions, climbing hills and crossing rivers, to find a girl companion for Pulele’. When the animals cameback to the settlement, they had brought with them more than ten girls. Pulele’ was overwhelmed and could not choose between all these girls.So, he asked his animal friends to pick the most suitable girl to become his wife. After a long and strict selection process and a lot of discussions,the animals agreed on the perfect girl for Pulele’. She was extremely pretty, intelligent and nice. From that day, Pulele’ lived happily ever afterwith his family and his animal friends by his side. This is the story of Pulele’.

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the largest and most unique island ofthe Mentawai archipelago

SIBERUT:

iberut Island is a very special place: an ancient and extraordinary indigenous culture intricately linked to unique ecosystems and biodiversity.This island is the northernmost and largest in the Mentawai archipelago and lies approximately 150 km off the western coast of Sumatra. Dueto its amazing natural and cultural assets it was nominated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981. In 1993, the western part of the island wasdesignated as a National Park, in an attempt to preserve its lush rainforests.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Biosphere Reserve are the Mentawaian communities, which represent 90% of the Island's total population. Inthe past the Mentawai people depended entirely on the use of forests and other natural resources, through customs, which were passed downfrom generation to generation. The traditional use of natural resources in Siberut allowed people to benefit from their forests without destroyingthem. Recently, however, external influences of a rapidly changing world, have encouraged local communities to adopt, or allow outsiders to use,more destructive practices. The Siberut people are giving up their extraordinary cultural and natural heritage, in favour of short term economicbenefits. This will inevitably lead to long-term poverty and the loss of their beautiful ancestral lands. Active and pending concessions, forexample, threaten to destroy 70% of the habitat remaining outside Siberut National Park and are likely to endanger the survival of many of theisland's plant and animal species.

With the goal to actively engage local communities in conservation efforts and develop alternative livelihoods that generate income withoutsacrificing the resources on which both traditional culture and biodiversity depend, a new partnership has been created, involving UNESCO, theSiberut National Park, under the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA) of the Ministry of Forestry and residentindigenous communities. The goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management ofThe goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management ofThe goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management ofThe goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management ofThe goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management ofSiberut’s natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.Siberut’s natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.Siberut’s natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.Siberut’s natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.Siberut’s natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.

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iberut Island has a hot and humid equatorial climate with no extended dry season and a total annual rainfall of around 4,000 mm. Dailytemperatures range from 22°C to 31°C. This island supports several terrestrial ecosystems including primary dipterocarp, mixed, swamp, mangrove,sago and Barringtonia forest. The east coast, facing Sumatra and gradually descending into the Mentawai strait, consists of islets, bays, coralreefs and spits of land, and is covered with mangrove forest up to 2 km inland. The west coast, facing the Indian Ocean, is covered in Barringtoniaforests and is difficult to access due to rough sea and steep cliffs. The interior is hilly and the highest peak reaches 384 m (Teittei Batti). Thehills are covered with primary dipterocarp forest, with lower sections consisting of primary mixed forest. In the valleys, the almost daily rainfallfeeds small creeks, which level out into bigger and wider rivers running through swamp forest and sago-grove dominated lowlands

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A. Barringtonia forestB. Mixed forestC. Dipterocarp forest

D. Swamp and sago forestE. Mangrove forest

Indian ocean/West coast

SIBERUT NATIONAL PARK UNPROTECTED ECOSYSTEM

Mentawai strait/East cost

A B C B D E

SIX NATIVE FOREST TYPES

thrive in a hot and humid climate

RICH BIODIVERSITY

solation from the Sumatran coast and other islands has allowed the biodiversity on Siberut to evolve in strange and wonderful ways. As wellas an astounding array of species, Siberut boasts a high number of plants and animals found exclusively on this island (endemics). Fifteenpercent of fauna and sixty-five percent of mammals (21 out of 34 species) on Siberut are unique to this island. Endemics include two species ofbats, four primates, five squirrels, four rats, a tree-shrew and two species of civets. Out of 134 bird species found on Siberut, 19 are endemic.Moreover, 15 species of amphibians, 38 species of reptiles and 8 species of freshwater fish have also been recorded on this island. It is also verylikely that since survey effort has been limited, the true numbers of plant, bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile and fish species may be muchhigher.

Some of the most incredible species on the island are four endemic primates: the Kloss Gibbon/Dwarft Siamang (Hylobates klossii), the Mentawaimacaque (Macaca siberu), the Mentawaian leaf monkey (Presbytis potenziani), and the Pig-tail snub-nosed monkey (Simias concolor). Due totheir isolation these primates are considered to be particularly important for evolutionary studies. The number of unique primates on Siberut isexceptional: no other site in the world has a higher density of endemic primate species per unit area.

Eight-hundred and fourty-six plant species make up the vegetation of a wide variety of natural terrestrial ecosystems and on the eastern coast ofthe island human activities have, over centuries, transformed the native vegetation into a mosaic of mixed fruit and timber tree agro forests.

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A small island with a

KELEK GALAI IBA SAMBA OINAN,PURIMANUAJAT MAI TAK MOI-MOI TUPASARA AKE’K

PASAMBA LELEU IA LEU ET POLAK.

Like fish and water,our lives are inseparable

from the forest and the land.Teu Taloi Sanambaliu, Sikkebukat Uma

he indigenous inhabitants of the Biosphere Reserve are the Mentawai people, which represent 90% of the island's total population. TheMentawaians are of Austronesian descent and arrived on the Mentawai Islands thousands of years ago. They are one of the few remainingexamples of people whose way of life is still very much dependent on forest resources. Forests provide protein, construction materials, fruits, andmedicines, as well as the home of spirits and souls.

Since all adult members of the Uma (extended family group) have the same rights and authority, no formal chiefs exist. Therefore, all membersof the community are equally responsible for managing their lands and resources.

Traditional Mentawaian society is controlled by a complex system of taboos, which incorporate ethical and religious codes. Breaking or disregardingtaboos will attract physical distress like illness, accidents, misfortune and even death. Medicinal plants for example, can only be gathered if asick person needs them. Gathering without any purpose would result in bad consequences for the one who picks them and for his family.Respect for plants and animals and careful use of natural resources is inbuilt in traditional Mentawaian culture and customs, though consciousnature preservation in itself is a foreign concept for these people and not actively practiced.

Over the last 50 years, the social structure of the Uma has been drastically transformed due to socio-economic changes, including a resettlementpolicy, which introduced village structures, modern administration and new socio-economic dynamics. Moreover facing new economic needs,less sustainable practices are being adopted, which threaten the persistence of the natural and cultural identity of Siberut.

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A unique indigenous cultureMENTAWAI PEOPLE:

iberut’s biodiversity is incredibly vulnerable to extinction because of the island’s size and isolation. If commercial logging, conversion toplantations and other high impact human activities continue at the present rate, species populations will decline and eventually, in some cases,go extinct. Active and pending concessions threaten to destroy 70% of the habitat remaining outside Siberut National Park and are likely to havedevastating consequences on the persistence of the island’s unique flora and fauna.

Forest is an essential and diverse resource, which provides local communities with fruits, tubers, spices, meat, medical plants, fibres, resins andgums. However unsustainable or unplanned development has led to rapid degradation of the natural resources and ecosystems of Siberutthrough commercial logging, reef bombing and cyanide fishing, introduction of air guns for hunting, monoculture, road construction and habitatfragmentation. Many important economic species are being over exploited (e.g. Beo, Gaharu, Rattan etc). In the two southernmost Mentawaiislands (Pagai and Sipora) over three decades of commercial logging and changes in resource management have destroyed virtually all forestand culture. Protecting Siberut, which still harbours rich biological and cultural diversity, is therefore an urgent necessity, if we wish to preserveanything of the natural and cultural heritage of the Mentawai archipelago.

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to the forests and people ofSiberut

THREATS

to manage their forestssustainably

n response to increasing environmental degradation and rapid cultural loss UNESCO and the Siberut National Park initiated in 1998, aprogramme entitled "Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management""Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management""Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management""Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management""Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management", which aims to ensure the protection of threatenedecosystems on the island through local human development and a collaborative and adaptive partnership.

One of its main goals is to actively involve the Siberut people in managing and ensuring the persistence of natural resources on the island. Thelack of community participation in conservation projects all over the world has shown detrimental consequences and thus community participationrepresents a matter of absolute priority for this initiative. The strategies adopted by UNESCO to reach effective community participation includeincreasing co-operation on all levels between local communities, non-governmental agencies, government and National Park authorities, ensuringthat decision making concerning conservation and management of natural resources includes the people who have lived on and managedSiberut for thousands of years.

The programme also aims to strengthen customary knowledge and practices and to transfer appropriate technical skills in order to developsustainable income generating activities, such as agro forestry, eco-tourism and small-scale enterprises.

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EMPOWERING LOCAL PEOPLE

For further information,please contact:

Photos: UNESCO/K. MeyersConcept and text: K. Meyers, D. Pio,

S. Rachmania, A. Hernandez

Siberut National ParkDirectorate General

of Forest Protectionand Nature Conservation

Ministry of ForestryJl. Khatib Sulaiman No. 46

Padang, West SumatraINDONESIA

Tel/Fax: +62-751-705 9986

UNESCO Office, JakartaUNESCO House

Jl. Galuh (II) No. 5Jakarta 12110

INDONESIATel: +62-21-739 9818

Fax: +62-21-7279 6489E-mail: Jakarta@unesco.org

This publication is supported by

Siberut programme is supported byPoverty and Human Rights:

UNESCO’s Anti Poverty Projects,Stichting Ommersteyn, Belgium