Zaiwan, Guardian of Pelawan Forest

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Zaiwan

Because of his love for Pelawan Forest in Bangka Belitung province, Zaiwan, 39, chose to devote his life fully to its preservation. Tin businessmen knock on his door ceaselessly to purchase his land at high prices. However, he rejects all of them to preserve his ancestral inheritance. He has proven that sustainable forest management can bring forth people’s welfare.

The Pelawan Forest is located in Namang village, Namang district, Central Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung. The 350-hectare forest gets its name from the pelawan tree (Tristaniopsis merguensis Griff) found within it. Other plants in the forest include leting, rempodong, mesirah, pepper and rubber. Parts of the forest are owned by locals and other parts by the Central Bangka regency.

Zaiwan used to spend his days in the forest as a child. He has learned so many things from exploring it, including the uses of the pelawan tree. Apart from serving as shade, each part of the tree has its unique uses.

The leaf and bark, for instance, can be used as herbal medicine for high blood pressure and cholesterol.

“Locals usually use only the leaf. If we use the bark, we are afraid that it’s not good for the tree,” Zaiwan told Kompas on Friday (14/12/2018).

As his knowledge on the pelawan tree expanded, his will to protect the forest got stronger. His struggles began when he served as Namang village head from 2008 to 2014. Many mining companies offered to purchase parts of the forest for exploration. Industrial interest grew after it was known that soil in which pelawan trees flourished was rich with tin.

In order to obtain his signature, many businesses offered him up to tens of billions of rupiah. Locals tried to sway him. However, he held fast to his belief that the Pelawan Forest should be preserved.

Due to Zaiwan’s stubbornness, locals who disagreed with him called him crazy.

“For me, environmental preservation is much more important than money,” he said.

Once forests are transformed into tin exploration sites, they will never fully recover.

Mushroom and honey

He then asked locals who owned land in the Pelawan Forest to join his preservation initiative.

“I belief that, if managed properly, the Pelawan Forest will give economic benefits for locals,” Zaiwan said.

His belief was based on the forest’s production of commodities that have high economic value, such as mushrooms and honey. Mushrooms in the forest grow in the transition period from the dry season to the rainy season.

“The growth is unpredictable. Sometimes, we can harvest twice a year. Sometimes, it’s five times a year. It depends on how many transition periods there are,” Zaiwan said.

The forest produces 30-50 kilograms of mushrooms in one harvest. One kg is priced Rp 2.5 million (US$172). The high price is due to the mushrooms’ highly nutritious nature. The mushrooms have anti-oxidant and more protein than red meat and chicken.

This was discovered by a team of researchers from the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) in a study conducted from 2008 to 2012.

“Foreign researchers have also come here to look at the mushrooms\' benefits,” Zaiwan said.

For locals, the mushrooms are used as the raw ingredient for a local dish known as lempah, which is a mixture of spices and coconut milk with the pelawan mushroom as the main ingredient.

Honey from the Pelawan Forest is known for its bitter taste. Honey is harvested from beehives three times a week. Around 50 beehives are harvested in one go. One beehive produces 200-300 milliliters of honey. A 300-cc bottle of the honey is priced at Rp 200,000.

“Honey is among the Pelawan Forest’s mainstay products. It has a unique taste; a mixture of bitterness and sweetness,” Zaiwan explained.

Locals also cultivate pepper, Bangka Belitung’s superior product. In the Pelawan Forest, there are 100 ha of pepper farms.

Income from managing the Pelawan Forest’s commodities can reach up to Rp 100 million a month.

“The forest is preserved, and the economic circulation leads to people’s welfare,” Zaiwan said.

Revenue from selling the commodities is then used to fund forest preservation initiatives, including developing forest tourism.

Now, Zaiwan has a mission to introduce the Pelawan Forest to travelers, including through developing nature tourism. He has established a camping ground and collaborated with locals to turn their homes into homestays. Currently, there are 20 homestays for travelers wishing to visit the Pelawan Forest.

Travelers usually seek tranquility in the Pelawan Forest. Some opt for no electricity in the camping ground in order to better enjoy the forest’s nocturnal animals, including deer, mouse deer, owls and other animals.

To develop tourism in Pelawan, Zaiwan is also developing the Bangka botanical gardens, where endemic plants such as durian, rambutan, cempedak and asam kandis are grown.

“I want to introduce local plants to tourists. We have prepared 30 ha, of which only 2 ha have been planted,” he said.

He is also building an artificial lake and desert at an abandoned mine.

“We must no longer blame the government for abandoned mines. We must manage them to bring profit for villages,” Zaiwan said.

Thanks to these measures, Pelawan Forest can receive up to 500 travelers a month.

This is the fruits of collaborating with 150 travel agencies in Sumatra, Java and Bali. To enjoy all the facilities on offer at the Pelawan Forest, travelers will have to pay Rp 150,000 per night.