Muhammad Ridwan
This project is aimed to map the distributions and abundances of mammals within Mount Lawu region, Java. The project will also (ii) identify the important habitat sites for red-listed mammal species based. All the information will be collected based on local ecological knowledge (LEK). With the participation of local experts and local stakeholder, the project will then use the information to develop a suitable education program for the local communities and recommendation for important habitat site management for threatened mammals.
As the most populous island in the world, Java has experienced huge habitat lost due to human disturbance. The remaining nature areas are fragmented mostly in mountain regions. These patchy habitats are our last defence to protect many endemic and endangered mammal species that Java is known about including Javan Leopard, Javan Lutung, Javan Gibbon, Sunda Pangolin and other important mammal species. Sadly, most of the areas are not protected and the information about the existing mammal within the non-protected area is lacking. From 166 recognised mountainous area in Java, only 7 are designated as National Park and 16 as reserve area. In order to protect these mammals, a comprehensive knowledge about the population, distribution and their important habitat sites are fundamental for developing conservation strategies (Ceballos et.al. 2005).
The project takes a place in Mount Lawu, an internationally recognised mountain region as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) and Important Bird Area (IBA) (BirdLife International, 2019). We will use local ecological knowledge (LEK) to collect information about the distribution, abundance and the critical habitat of mountain mammal. Local people that still have a close relationship with nature often hold a good understanding of their surrounding wildlife. Yet, their ecological knowledge is rarely integrated into wildlife conservation programs. Anadon et.al. (2009) has shown that LEK can provide high-quality data in a much wider range. This method is also time- and source-efficient compare to conventional survey that usually labour-intensive (Gilchrist et al. 2005).
The project is targeting these following outputs:
1. Database and maps about the distributions and abundances of mammal species in Mount Lawu that will give us the understanding of the current condition of mammal community in Mount Lawu.
2. Map of important habitat sites that are crucial for the survival of threatened mammal species within Mount Lawu region. This information is crucial to help us, and other stakeholder prioritize the area of management.
3. Recommendation for important habitat sites management and recommendation for a participatory education program on threatened mammal species in Mount Law.