Assistance for Candidate TFCA Sumatran Partner
Tropical Forest Conservation Action for Sumatra (TFCA-S) has opened Grant Cycle 8 (SH-VIII) which is dedicated to support the implementation of the Urgent Action Plan to save the Sumatran elephant population and habitat and at this moment it has reached the final stage of grant process to candidate partner that is approved.
There are 4 consortium initiatives that have received grant support commitments from TFCA-S to work towards saving the Sumatran Elephant (Elephas Maximus Sumatrensis) population in central Sumatra. In order to proceed to the Grant Acceptance Agreement (GRA) stage, it is necessary to adjust the project planning documents based on the recommendations of TFCA Sumatera's Oversight Committee (OC), SOPs and formats, and writing conventions of project planning documents.
Of the 4 initiatives, two of them require assistance from Pundi Sumatra as a regional facilitator in sharpening the proposal. The Bentang Seblat consortium, which is a collaboration of several NGOs in Bengkulu such as Kanopi, Genesis, Lingkar Inisiatif, and one of the Forestry Observer personal from UNIB, will work in the corridor connecting Seblat Nature Tourism Park with Kerinci Seblat National Park. Then, there is the RSF-HIPAM (Rimba Satwa Foundation-Himpunan Penggiat Alam) consortium working in the Giam Siak Kecil and Balai Raja landscapes, Riau Province.
Based on information from Bentang Seblat Consortium, the population of elephant in the corridor between TWA and TNKS is getting less and however its existence is increasingly threatened. Besides decreasing the genetic quality of the elephant itself which makes it vulnerable to death, there are very serious problems that are being faced by these large trunked animals related to low viability, among others: the weak of law enforcement againsts animal hunting, stigma of elephants as pests, the encroachment and fragmentation forest which cause the elephant's habitat/roaming space becoming narrow and the weak of community capability to mitigate conflict in field. As a result there were several cases of elephant deaths from 2015 to 2020, and several conflicts between elephants and village communities, as well as with companies.
Similar to the problems in the corridor between TWA and TNKS, in the corridor that connects the Giam Siak Kecil landscape with Balai Raja, there is also a change in forest function that causes narrowing - even loss - of roaming space and habitat for Sumatran elephants. One new thing that should be a concern is the presence of the Trans Sumatra toll road in the corridor area, based on information from the RSF-HIPAM Consortium, there was an incident between a motorist passing through the toll road and a migrating elephant that broke into the vehicle lane.
Although a special tunnel has been made as a passageway for the endangered animal, there are still some technical things that must be prepared, such as an early warning system (Early Warning System. In short, natural paths between elephant habitats are cut off, so that elephants get "lost" into toll roads, plantations and villages, and conflicts occur. However, the installation of snares, expulsion and the creation of barriers is a one side solution that is taken and actually becomes a threat to the elephant's living space itself.
Based on the problems above, these 2 NGOs in Bengkulu and Riau accessed grant cycle VIII which is opened by TFCA-S. And in this stage Pundi Sumatra as the facilitator for the south-central region plays its role in order to continue the commitment to be continued to the stage of the Grant Acceptance Agreement (PPH). Therefore, proposal sharpening becomes an important step whereas TFCA-S administrator takes to ensure the partner proposal is able to answer the problem logically with measurable outputs. Starting from clarifying the proposed project area, sharpening problem analysis, and analyzing project objectives; untill assisting partners in several adjustments to project planning documents based on the recommendations of the TFCA-Sumatra Admin in order to provide a Logical Framework (LFA), Work Plan
They clarified the proposed project area, sharpened the problem analysis and project objectives, and assisted the partners in some adjustments to the project planning documents based on the recommendations of TFCA-Sumatera Admin. They produced the Logical Framework (LFA), Work Plan, PMP (Performance Monitoring Plan), RAB (Cost Budget Plan) and Cash Flow.
After assisting the proposal, the regional facilitator will continue its mandate as an extension of the TFCA-S administrator in providing the assistance in program and financial management, capacity building for partners, development of learning products in the field, including ensuring ongoing support from stakeholders in implementing partner programs during the current period.