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Tsunami Relief

Report on First Visit to Banda Aceh
Report on Second Visit to Banda Aceh

Tsunami Appeal
Second Visit February 2005

The Wildlife Warriors/Australia Zoo team of Senior Veterinarian Dr Jon Hanger and Big Cat Handler Supervisor Giles Clark returned to Sumatra in the last weeks of February 2005 to deliver further aid and supplies to the tsunami-devastated town of Banda Aceh. This followed on from an earlier visit between 23 - 30 January 2005.

The initial trip in January had delivered urgent veterinary supplies for the elephants working in the rubble, and allowed a needs assessment to be conducted. With assistance from Professor John Pearn from the Queensland Health medical team, Forest Guards (BKSDA) and Fauna and Flora International (FFI) staff had been vaccinated against tetanus. A large green turtle was rescued from the rubble, treated and released back at sea.

The following diary documents the second visit to Sumatra by Dr Jon Hanger and Giles Clark.

Giles' Report
Preparations

In the weeks prior to and during our initial trip to Banda Aceh, Terri Irwin and her team had worked hard to find the quickest and most efficient way of getting our aid package to Banda Aceh. In total we would deliver nearly $80,000 worth of supplies to the stricken area, including a Toyota Landcruiser utility, heavy-duty trailer, inflatable boat and motor, motorcycle, generator, hand tools, tarpaulins, tents, GPS units, elephant food, children’s toys, and medical and veterinary supplies. A tearful Bindi Irwin donated her favorite doll, Indiana, for a deserving victim of the tsunami tragedy, and many staff of the Zoo donated money or goods.

Finally, the only workable option for transporting the aid package was to ship it in a 40-foot shipping container to the port of Belawan, on the north eastern coast of Sumatra. Unfortunately, this would take three weeks, but there was no other way available to us.

Wednesday, 16 February 2005

We depart from Brisbane airport late on Wednesday night with a clear and simple mission ahead of us: to ensure the delivery of our substantial aid package to the BKSDA and FFI in Banda Aceh. Although the port of Belawan near Medan in North Sumatra is less than an hour's flight from Banda Aceh, our only option was to have the vehicle driven, a journey of 15 hours. The Landcruiser and trailer, loaded with supplies, would make the slow journey up the east coast of Sumatra, around its northern tip to Banda Aceh. Because of the ongoing hostilities between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) the road is particularly hazardous for foreigners, passing many times through TNI and GAM controlled areas. For that reason we will have to get one of the Indonesian staff of FFI to transport the vehicle.

17 February

We arrive in Medan, a city of approximately four million people that is the business hub of the province of North Sumatra. The adjacent Port of Belawan, a one-hour drive east of Medan, is the major sea port for the northern half of Sumatra. Our shipping container is due to arrive tomorrow on the cargo vessel Providence, which is currently enroute from its stopover in Singapore.

After catching up with the FFI team and checking in at our hotel in Medan, Giles goes for a walk and discovers a number of street-side stalls selling trinkets. One of these has some fake tiger teeth and other animal parts on display. Noting Giles’ interest, the stall owner opens a small satchel at the back of the stall and pulls out a real tiger canine tooth. Giles is shocked and disgusted that body parts of a critically endangered species are so readily available for purchase. The stall owner offers to sell the tooth for around $AUD200, an offer declined by Giles.

Despite the fact that we take numerous photographs, the vendor makes no attempt to hide the tooth or his face. It is clear to us that although selling endangered species or their body parts is highly illegal, there is little compliance with these laws, because there is no enforcement of them by authorities.

Later in the day we discuss plans for the coming week with the FFI team. Our primary goal is to ensure that the shipping container arrives at the port, gets released by Customs authorities, and starts its journey by road to Banda Aceh. After that, we are invited to visit the elephant camp of Tangkahan, one of the showcase projects of FFI on the southern border of the magnificent Gunung Leuser National Park. This visit will take three days, and we will fit it in around the more important task of releasing the shipping container. Then we will fly to Banda Aceh for the handover of the goods for the joint projects of FFI and the BKSDA.

18 February

We receive a call from the Australian office of the shipping company telling us that the ship has arrived in Belawan and is being unloaded. After sorting out our stack of documentation we proceed to the port to discover that in fact, the ship has not docked and no-one knows where it is. In addition, we are informed that a new directive from the Minister of Trade in Jakarta means that we have to get a letter from the Ministry allowing the tax exempt import of the vehicle into Indonesia. As yet we do not have one, and it could take weeks to come through.

After spending the whole day telephoning, driving, negotiating and tearing our hair out, we decide to take our trip to Tangkahan over the weekend, and return to Medan and Belawan on Monday in the hope that the ship will have arrived.

19-20 February

FFI Medan office staff member Wahdi, also a veterinarian, takes us to the newly established ecotourism resort at Tangkahan Elephant Camp. We are keen to assess the project as a potential recipient of our support. It is a rugged four-hour drive north from Medan, over bumpy roads, and through massive oil palm and rubber plantations that go right up to the southern edge of Gunung Leuser National Park.

These plantations, some owned by the government, others by rich businessmen or corporations, have consumed nearly all of the lowland forest areas between Medan and Gunung Leuser. There are no buffer zones, no habitat corridors and no riparian strips in these plantations. They are virtual monocultures that contribute very little to sustaining the once rich diversity of wildlife that existed in the lowland forests.

But after the tiring drive, the magnificent rainforests of Gunung Leuser are refreshing and inspiring. These forests, contained in a national park of one million hectares (10,000 square km), are home to orangutans, Sumatran Rhinos, tigers and elephants. On the edge of the forest is the elephant camp and a resort called Tangkahan, which now offers forest treks, white water rafting, caving and elephant walks as well as other activities.

The nearby village that once sustained itself with illegal logging, is now intimately involved in the running and activities of the resort at Tangkahan. It is now in the interests of the local community to conserve and protect the forest and its wildlife, rather than destroy it.

Our experience at Tangkahan includes a 40-minute walk through the forest on a well marked path, a journey back to the river on elephant back, a wallow in hot springs on the edge of the river, and the opportunity to wash the elephants in the river with their mahouts.

It is a unique experience that we are sure will be successful with both local and international tourists. It serves as a shining example of the conservation outcomes that can be achieved with local community input: at least 10,000 hectares of Gunung Leuser National Park will be safer under the stewardship of the local village, and anti-poaching patrols by FFI.

The trip to Tangkahan also provides us with ideas and inspiration for our own proposed elephant display, through which we hope to channel support back to field conservation projects. Our philosophy at Australia Zoo is that wild animals should only be kept in captivity if we can provide significant and tangible benefits to their cousins in the wild, through support of field projects like Tangkahan.

21 February

As we make our way back to Medan we start a series of telephone calls to enquire about our supplies. We hear that the Providence has docked and unloaded, but we still cannot get the vehicle released from Customs without the letter from the Ministry of Trade. Finally, it takes a phone call from the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to his equivalent in Jakarta before the letter is forthcoming.

We wait patiently for the letter to be faxed through that afternoon, but to no avail. Our flight tomorrow to Banda Aceh will have to be cancelled. There will be no point in going if we cannot deliver the goods. Hoping that tomorrow will be more successful, we book the flight for Wednesday morning and keep our fingers crossed.

22 February

More telephone calls, and an assurance that the letter will definitely be through today. We are due to leave Sumatra on Friday, but do not want to leave until the valuable shipment of supplies is delivered to Banda Aceh.

With half a day to kill before the letter comes through, FFI's veterinarian Wahdi suggests that we take a look at the 'Bird Market' (Pasar Burung) in Jalan Bintang (Bintang Street) in Medan.

We are horrified to discover that the 'Bird Market' is not just flagrant and disgusting trade in wild birds, but all manner of other wildlife as well. Dozens of infant macaques, many of them on the verge of death from starvation or malnutrition sit helplessly in wire cages on the sides of the roads. Other unfortunate creatures include gibbons, a neonatal otter, Slow Lorises, Palm Civets and many others.

All of them are in shocking condition, and our inability to do anything to help them moves us both to tears. We are enraged at the callousness and cruelty of the people involved in the trade, but also their customers who support it. Although the trade in rare species is illegal, Wahdi tells us that there is no commitment from authorities to prosecute perpetrators, and even if there were, corruption and bribery would save most from punishment.

We document our observations in the market and will ensure that TRAFFIC and other non-government organisations that are fighting the wildlife trade get the information. Our mood has deteriorated, and that evening we discuss the problems associated with trying to stop the poaching of and trade in wildlife. Like us, Wahdi is also subdued, and embarrassed that such things occur in his country. We reassure him that things are not so different in our country: the same disregard for other species and life occurs, but perhaps in a less overt way.

23 February

With only minutes to spare before our flight to Banda Aceh, we receive confirmation that Customs in the Port of Belawan has received the letter and will release our goods. We leave it in Wahdi’s capable hands and board our flight. It is not until 10:30pm however, that the vehicle actually hits the road, and it will be a 15-hour journey for Imran, another FFI staff member.

Driving into Banda Aceh from the airport, we see that there are no great changes. The mass grave outside of town is bigger, and there is some construction of buildings on the unaffected outskirts of town. The devastated area looks much the same though, and will for a long time yet.

We meet up again with Pak Andi, head of the BKSDA and staff from the Banda Aceh office of FFI. We deliver the uniforms to the Forest Guards who seem very pleased and pose for our photos, but we sense that Pak Andi is still skeptical about whether the vehicle and its cargo actually exist. We discuss future and ongoing support for the department and FFI such as workshops, collaborative projects, and input into the development and improvement of Saree elephant camp.

Next item on the agenda for the afternoon is to meet with a staff member from one of the humanitarian aid agencies in Banda Aceh who has contacted FFI regarding the attempted sale of a “baby tiger”. A young man working in the grounds of the ANZAC hospital in town has been offering the young cat for sale for a week now, and we are very concerned for its welfare. Giles thinks it may be the same animal offered for sale to Australian Defence Force personnel at the hospital nearly four weeks ago, although they thought it was a Palm Civet.

The seller has been set-up to meet what he thinks is a prospective buyer for the cat. Instead he is confronted by Pak Andi and Giles, and the animal is duly confiscated. The kitten is a 12 week-old leopard cat (Felis bengalensis) that is in remarkably good condition. We learn that the man has had the kitten, named Putri ('princess'), for over a month since he found it in long grass. He has fed it on fish, chicken and milk and kept it with him continually. He is very upset that it is being taken from him, and luckily for him, he is released by Pak Andi with only a stern warning.

We take the hungry cat back to the FFI office in Banda Aceh and feed it. It is ravenously hungry, immediately starting on Giles’ finger after vacuuming up the food we give it. It is active and bright and we have little concern that it will survive and be returned to the wild. Pak Andi agrees to let FFI staff care for it for the next month or so, until it is old enough to be released. Pak Andi suggests that the cat be released into an area of protected forest approximately one hour away from Banda Aceh, where he knows there are other leopard cats.

24 February

In the morning we give the cat a full veterinary examination, with German veterinarian Chris Stremme in attendance. We discover no abnormalities, but decide to give a course of intestinal worming medication as a preventative measure. Chris agrees to keep a watchful eye on the progress of Putri, and suggests that Isra, one of the female FFI staff would be a good carer for her. Isra has cats at home and obviously has an affinity with them.

We leave comprehensive notes for its care and husbandry with FFI staff, who promise to ensure that it develops hunting skills before it is released. Giles runs through the notes with Isra and stresses the importance of quarantine procedures to prevent transmission of diseases from her domestic cats to the young leopard cat.

At 2.30pm a very weary Imran arrives and the vehicle is delivered. Pak Andi is now beaming and is obviously very pleased with himself. His department was the first to find its feet following the disaster, and he will now be able to restore some operational capacity beyond the immediate area of Banda Aceh. We also hand over a letter committing the Landcruiser and goods for joint projects of the BKSDA and FFI, rather than a straight-out donation to the BKSDA.

We hope that this donation will help cement the productive relationship that has developed between the government department and the NGO, in the interests of conservation.

Our final task is to ensure that Bindi’s favourite doll, Indiana, goes to a deserving home. FFI staff member Tisra is traveling down to Calang on the west coast tomorrow and knows a four-year-old girl who has lost both parents in the tsunami. Her name is Lida. She has shown amazing courage and strength after such an unimaginable trauma, and Bindi will be pleased that her generous and heartfelt gift will go to such a worthy recipient.

We fly back to Medan in the afternoon then to Singapore and home the next day. On our way home we reflect on our experiences in Sumatra. The island is in desperate need of protection of its forests and natural areas. Already virtually all of the lowland forests are gone, and the montane forests are under attack by both legal and illegal logging, agriculture and village encroachment, irrespective of whether they are in national park or not. Sumatra is rapidly going the way of Java and Bali, which now have only remnants of their once magnificent and biodiverse tropical forests.

The most mammoth obstacle to real and meaningful progress in saving the forests of Sumatra is the all-powerful and pervasive mix of greed, wealth and corruption. It is endemic in the current system. In the preface to 'The Ecology of Sumatra' by Tony Whitten and others, the situation is summarized as follows: “The bad, and desperately sad, news is that… the exploitation of timber and every other biological and physical resource appears to have progressed without restraint, though not without complaint. Greed and haste have ruled supreme.”

But the work of FFI and other conservation and wildlife NGOs, and the fact that we can contribute in a meaningful and appreciated way to their projects, gives a glimmer of hope for the future. Perhaps governments will change and people will recognise the long-term value of the resources that they are destroying. It is impossible to say what the future holds for Sumatra, but regardless of the eventual outcome, we will continue to fight the good fight.