Building conservation capacity and partnerships at Lore Lindu National Park[, Indonesia] (grant no. 497-G-00-99-00004-00) : sixth and final report

Throughout the project, TNC adopted the policy of involving other parties as much as possible. All field activities involved members of Balai Taman Nasional Lore Lindu (BTNLL the project"s management authority), local NGOs, and community members, and consultations were held at all levels in developing management plans. The grant was implemented to support Central Sulawesi Integrated Area Development and Conservation Project (CSIADCP) programs as far as possible, but coordination was frequently difficult. Project achievements were as follows: (1) A final draft of the LLNP 25-year management plan is now being reviewed by the Directorate General for Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA). (2) Five community conservation agreements have been produced, and a format established to strengthen these agreements through local legislation. (3) A geographic information systems (GIS) facility has been established and donated to BTNLL, staff have been trained, and ongoing funds located for its management. (4) Fourteen community land use maps have been produced. (5) Ecological surveys have established the distribution patterns of birds, small mammals, large mammals, and vegetation throughout the park. (6) Partners have carried out essential programmatic work, such as studies on demography, river catchments, soil erosion, megalith distribution, and maleo status. (7) The project published more than 28 reports or posters relating to park conservation and management. (8) An analysis was performed to show changes in forest cover -- less than 1% of the park area had been opened from 1983 to 2001. (9) Forum Kemitraan Taman Nasional Lore Lindu has been developed as a communications organization with conservation capacity and has begun to publish newsletters. (10) Conservation awareness teams have distributed materials to all 243 primary schools around LLNP, promoted a New Year/Wildlife Day event, prepared a public educational display for the provincial museum. Over the campaign period, general awareness of LLNP rose from 57% to 83%. (11) The project developed a community site conservation planning tool to provide community inputs to the park planning process; this tool is now being used at other TNC sites. (12) The project also: produced a valuation of LLNP water resources at $8.9 million per annum; prepared a GEF/UNDP (Global Environment Facility/United Nations Development Program) Block B project proposal (on hold pending improvement in current social climate); carried out baseline forest quality monitoring at 24 sites around the park; and prepared a lessons learned document and shared it with major conservation organizations and donors. This grant has contributed tremendously to establishing an enabling environment for improved management of LLNP. Methods and concepts are ready to be taken forward by TNC, BTNLL, CARE, CSIADCP, or other partners. In particular, collaborative management and community conservation agreements are set on the conservation agenda for the immediate future. (Author abstract, modified)