Panji tied his shoelaces tightly. Wearing a cloth mask while turning on the green tracker motorbike. It took more than three tries for the motor to turn on. "Our combat motorbike," he joked to the Pundi Sumatra team. Today (14/11/22) the Pundi Sumatra team was given the opportunity to visit the Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (TNBT) which is located between Indragiri Hulu and Indragiri Hilir Regencies, Riau Province. We gathered at the Secretariat Office of the Sumatran Tiger Conservation and Rescue Foundation (PKHS). The sun was quite hot that morning, judging from the weather forecast, it would rain in the afternoon.

"The weather is uncertain, it will definitely rain in there," said Panji. We immediately drove away from the location, hoping that it would not rain so that access to TNBT would be easier. Apart from Panji, there were Taufik and Wija who also accompanied the Pundi Sumatra team. They are both members of the PKHS Foundation who work as a patrol team for the TNBT area in Riau-Jambi, while Taufik is the PKHS Coordinator for the Riau Region.

Our trip took about two and a half hours. Heavy rain a few days ago had knocked down a small wooden bridge that is usually passed by four-wheeled vehicles. The only access from where we entered to the granite camp can only be passed by two-wheeled vehicles. Just entering the area, a faded orange gate that says Welcome to Granite Camp, Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park, is a sign that we will soon be arriving at Camp Granit.

"Still about fifteen more minutes to arrive at the camp," Taufik reminded the travel time. The air temperature suddenly dropped and it was cool as we walked along the dirt road along TNBT. Even though during the two hour drive on the causeway, the scorching heat of the sun was burning my skin. Hundreds of years old tree cover provides a calm and peaceful atmosphere as if inviting anyone to rest. The potential of the national park can be felt when entering through this gate.

It turned out that Panji and Wija had already arrived at the TNBT Granite Camp. This leading tourist location is in the intensive utilization zone. The location of the camp is in Talang Lakat Village, Batang Gansal District, Indragiri Hulu Regency. From the top of the camp hill, a former granite quarry, a stretch of towering hills and trees looks like a painting.

There has been a long struggle in efforts to save the largest tropical forest in Sumatra. The process of establishing this national park began in 1982. At that time the ecosystem in Bukit Tiga Puluh was proposed to become the 200,000 ha Bukit Besar Wildlife Reserve and the 120,000 ha Seberida Nature Reserve. This area was officially designated as a national park in 1995. Based on the Decree of the Minister of Forestry Number 6407/Kpts-II/2002, the area of TNBT is 144,223 hectares.

Based on the distribution aspect, there are four types of ecosystems in TNBT, namely primary forest ecosystems that are still beautiful and undisturbed, disturbed natural forest ecosystems that have been logged, scrub forest ecosystems as fields, and rubber plantation ecosystems as community plantations.

The Head of the TNBT Agency, Fifin Arfiana told Pundi Sumatra about the condition of his area. Communities around the area are the main concern for the government. According to Fifin, this conservation effort is the responsibility of all parties, so community-based approaches need to be given appropriately.

"The government has given access to local communities to utilize non-forest wood products such as rubber, jernang and rattan. However, there are limitations," he said. Furthermore, Fifin also said that in the TNBT area there were indigenous communities that had previously inhabited them, namely the Talang Mamak Tribe and the Anak Dalam Tribe. They are dispersed and live by utilizing forest products.

In general, the Talang Mamak tribe has lived in a certain area for a very long time. The Talang Mamak tribe has always been familiar with their traditional farming systems and their mutual cooperation rituals to open fields. In contrast to the Anak Dalam tribe whose lifestyle is still nomadic or moving around depending on the available food sources in the forest.

“This traditional society has a culture of migration, if it is not monitored, of course this will be dangerous. They just go around them or have moved out of their area. If it is prohibited, it's a pity that their rights are already minimal," he explained. The TNBT Center is seeking guidance for this indigenous community to leave the nomadic culture of life.

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Efforts to Protect Areas with Patrols

The open area that has been used by the community before this area was incorporated is an area of 1200-1300 hectares which is being restored. According to Fifin, open areas are caused by various causes, such as forest fires, land clearing for oil palm plantations, illegal logging, and so on.

"Thank God, the TNBT area is still in the protected category. We regularly educate them. The goal is to increase their sense of belonging,” said Fifin. The strategy undertaken by the TNBT Office is to involve the community in joining the MMP (Polhut Polhut) patrol.

One of the partners working with the TNBT Office in protecting the area is the PKHS Foundation. Through support from the Sumatran Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA), PKHS is working on the Sumatran corridor with the project title "Protection of Sumatran Tiger Populations and Early Detection of Diseases in Prey Animals in Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (Riau and Jambi Provinces) and Way Kambas National Park ( Lampung province)". One of the efforts to protect the Sumatran tiger population carried out by PKHS is to carry out snaring patrols.

Santoso as PKHS Project Manager for the Riau Region explained that PKHS had received support from TFCA Sumatra three times. During this period, of course the program proposed by PKHS aims to protect nature and hopes to bring change to nature.

There was no tiredness on their faces when the Pundi Sumatra Team asked them to take a tour around the camp. Not far from this granite camp, there is a lake called Telaga Teduh.

"This lake used to be used as a water source for granite miners," said Panji. He also showed the former cemented and mossy steps as one of the accesses to the lake. Stepping around the lake must be careful, slipping or feet will be sucked by leeches. Wija repeatedly warned to be careful step.

Moist soil conditions make the paths filled with grass feel slippery. This is the reason why TNBT has high biodiversity. the ideal temperature and type of Indonesian climate make this lowland tropical forest get sufficient intensity of water and sunlight throughout the year. Rare types of flora that can be found are rafflesia flowers or mushroom face (Rafflesia hasseltii), island (Alstonia scholaris), jernang (Daemonorops draco), red sap (Palaguyum sopi), and jelutung (Dyera cosculata).

Like a compass, these two men seem to know every corner of the TNBT hills. After the lake, we headed for the Granite Waterfall. We traveled using a motor tracker with approximately 15 minutes. To their knowledge, this waterfall was created because the river was cut off due to granite mining activities, resulting in a large hole in the granite rock.

**

Love Nature

Not many young people are interested in working to protect nature. This work requires patience and a firm attitude in dealing with natural algorithms. There are of course quite a lot of aspects to face, such as threats from irresponsible external parties, natural disasters, and the death of rare species which of course will leave deep sadness. Panji and Wija chose that path.

To be comfortable working, of course there must be something you love in that job. Likewise Panji. This man who was born in 1994 is the first child of two siblings. To the Pundi Sumatra team, he explained that his reason for being interested in becoming a member of the patrol was because he liked camping or camping in the forest with his peers.

"I want to take my family to see the beauty of the thirty hills," he said. He was accepted as field staff at PKHS since 2013. During his time as a member, Panji has gained a lot of knowledge, such as navigating in the forest, reading maps, installing camera traps, recognizing animal signs, and collecting data on other field findings.

Panji has known the forest for a long time. Likewise with Wija. This third child of seven siblings has joined PKHS since 2012. Like Panji, Wija also has his own interest in nature. Since joining the scout organization, for him nature feels interesting.

"It's comfortable, cool, shady here. It's different from the city." he said. Wija also felt a difference in herself after more or less 10 years as a member of the patrol. He became more familiar with the meaning of forest sustainability. For him, forest sustainability is when all contents in the forest are properly maintained and there is no clearing of land for bad purposes.

Wija and Panji often get questions from their surroundings who underestimate their work.

"Why do you work in and out of the forest, you're not afraid of being caught by a tiger," said Wija, imitating a question from his colleague. But other strange questions he immediately brushed aside. All the bad scenarios on the ground have actually been thought of by them for a long time. However, conservation work does have consequences that cost lives. For them it must be faced together when working in the field.

Even so, the family fully supports the decision to work in this thirty hill corridor. "The family is supportive, they are even happy that their children are working to help save the tiger's living space," said Wija.

They both hope that PKHS will get support from other parties to save the TNBT area. Once in 2021, Panji and Wija did not get a contract extension because the project and outside support had stopped. They hope that they will still be given the opportunity to protect the Sumatran tiger's living space here.

**

TNBT Forest Rangers

The fate of Panji and Wija is quite different from that of Nazar. He is a retired civil servant who has been a forest ranger in TNBT since 1998.

"In the past there were 28 people in my generation, now many have retired," recalls Nazar.

Entering the age of 24, Nazar actively patrols with other partner institutions, including PKHS. Currently he is 58 years old. For more than 30 years Nazar combed the hills in TNBT. Thanks to his dedication to protecting the area, nature gives him sustenance. He was able to pay for the education of his three children to college.

Nazar is a ranger who is often with Panji and Wija. Last October 2022, he had served TNBT for 10 days in the area. Many memories broke his laughter while on patrol.

"If someone at the back jumps screaming, the person in front of them jumps and screams too, even though we don't know what to fear," he said, chuckling.

Apart from that, Nazar also recalled how his patrol activities were. His eyes stared in a sign of remembering past events, like just lighting a candle without lighting it again and staying overnight on a hill because the sun had gone so they had to stay far from water sources.

When not on patrol, Nazar will be stationed at TNBT guard posts. There are four guard posts in Riau Province, Talang Lakat, Keritang, Siampul and Lahai. While in Jambi Province there are only two, namely in Lubuk Madrasa da Suo-suo.

TNBT left a distinct impression on Nazar, during his work he has worked for the safety of TNBT with his teammates. For him, TNBT is full of life lessons. He saw that many people depend on the forest for their livelihood.

Furthermore, Nazar also hopes that TFCA Sumatra and PKHS will continue to work to help save this national park area together with the government.