Watching Over Wehea

Ledjie Taq remembers the moment he became an adult. After a sevenday fast, he emerged from the Wehea forest with two things: a dead deer
and pride. The meat proved that Ledjie Taq could now help provide for his
village, Nehas Liah Bing, in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the
island of Borneo. Nearly half a century later, he proved it again. In 2004,
Ledjie Taq now a primary school teacher and the first elected tribal
leader of the Wehea Dayak people rallied his community to take action
against deforestation, a huge local threat.
By

working

with

The

Nature

Conservancy

and

their

local

government, they set aside a crucial piece of Indonesia for conservation and

enacted a sustainable management plan that restored the Dayak as forest

stewards, building on the centuries theyve spent overseeing local resources.
Wehea Forest is our identity, Yatim, a local Dayak ranger, says. If the
forest is gone, we lose our identity and culture too. Then what will we have left
to pass on to our grandchildren?
Where in the World is Wehea? Wehea Forest comprises 38,000
hectares (nearly 94,000 acres) of intact rainforest on the eastern
portion of Borneo. It is home to endangered species such as the Bornean
orangutan, the Sunda clouded leopard, the sun bear and the recently
rediscovered Miller's Grizzled Langur. Its also home to the Wehea Dayak
people, who have lived in and depended on these forests for hundreds of
years. On a practical level, trees provide Ledjie Taq and his community
with livelihoods, food and medicines. But the forest is also core to the
identity of the Dayak people. Protecting it isnt just about leaving
resources for the next generationits about making sure there is a
next generation to continue the way of life that defines the Wehea
Dayak. The forest is the source of our livelihoods, where we get food
and medicinal plants, Ledjie Taq says. So when TNC came in to talk about
community conservation, we welcomed them.

Branching Out
Before the Conservancy arrived, Wehea Forest hosted other not-sowelcome guests: loggers. Deforestation was business as usual until 2004,
when the local timber companys logging license was revoked. Thats when
Ledjie Taq got to thinking. Realizing that the long-term health and livelihood
benefits provided by the forest outweighed any short-term financial
outcomes gained through logging, Ledjie Taq rallied the villagers of
Nehas Liah Bing around the idea that conservation was the best way
forward. Working with the Conservancy and their local government, local
Dayak communities are establishing Wehea Forest as a protected area that's
off-limits to logging companies.
As a result, Ledgie Taq and his people are able to instate their customary
laws in the Wehea Forest. Now, cutting trees or clearing land for personal
purposes isn't allowed, and the Conservancy helps villagers facilitate
community patrols (known as Petkuq Methuey, or Forest Guardians) in which
groups take month-long turns protecting Wehea Forest from illegal logging.
New Twists on an Old Way of Life
Those guardians also help conserve local biodiversity. With support from
the Conservancy, six Petkuq Methuey recently assessed the local orangutan
population, which has aided the development of a database for orangutans in
the

Wehea

area. The

orangutans, making

it

forest
a

is

crucial

home

to

an

estimated

400-600

refuge for the highly endangered

species. Petkuq Methuey also monitor wildlife by using cameras and

keeping watch over the boundaries between their forest and the
neighboring timber concession.
The Conservancy has worked with the Wehea Dayak to host guided
nature walks as part of an emerging ecotourism program and to develop a
tree nursery plantation that will sell seedlings for reforestation programs
conducted by the government and local mining companies.
A lot of changes have taken place in the decades since a young Ledjie Taq
emerged triumphant from Wehea Forest but theyre changes aimed at

protecting the Dayak way of life.

The new arrangement also helps us maintain our own tradition, our own
values, Ledjie Taq says. With TNCs support, our Wehea Dayak Society has
been holding regular cultural festivals, and this has been a way to
preserve our culture for our next generation. Just like the forests, we hope.
While the Conservancy has helped the Dayak people to conserve their
resources and way of life, they need support to continue their patrols and
ensure that logging doesnt return to Wehea Forest. Join Ledjie Taq, and help
us continue one of Indonesias greatest rainforest conservation stories.
(Source:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/asiaandthepacific/indonesia/expl
ore/watching-over-wehea.xml) -- November 26, 2012

A.

Vocabularies

Vocabularies (Louiza/21)
1. Railled

: mengumpulkan, mengerahkan

2. Enacted

: menetapkan, ditetapkan

3. Intact
4. Refuge

: utuh, lengkap
: tempat perlindungan

5. Timber concession

: konsesi kayu

Hidden Vocabularies (Audrey/3)

6. Forest Stewards : penjaga hutan
7. Revoked

: dicabut

8. Instate

: melantik

9. Triumphant
10. Assessed

B.

: jaya, kemenangan
: menilai

Asked Question
1. What is Ledjie Tag position in the community of Wehea Dayak people?
(Evita/7)
He is the first elected tribal leader of the Wehea Dayak people.

2. How many acres of intact rainforest on the eastern portion of Borneo

does Wehea Forest comprise? (Jennifer/16)
Wehea Forest comprises nearly 94,000 acres of intact rainforest on
the eastern portion of Borneo.
3. What are the three main reasons that made the Dayak people, led by
Ledgie Taq, determined to save rainforests in Kalimantan from
logging? (Amira/1)
-Rainforests are the core to the identity of Dayak people.
- Rainforests are the sources of their livelihood.
- The benefits provided by the forests outweighed any short-term
financial outcomes gained through logging
4. Does protecting only mean to leave resources for the next generation?
If not, why? (Amira/1)
No. It also means to make sure that there is a next generation to
continue the way of life that defines the Wehea Dayak.
5. The Dayak made a lot of changes by conserving Wehea Forest. But
their aim is to................. - evita/7
(protect the Dayak life)

C.

Hidden Questions
6. When did Ledjie Taq rally his community to take action against
deforestation? (Jennifer/16)
He rallied his community to take action against deforestation in
2004.
7. What are the forest utilities for the Wehea Dayak people? (Audrey/3)
The forest is the source of our livelihoods, where we get food and
medicinal plants.
8. What Ledjie Taq have done after the local timber companys logging
license was revoked? (Devina/22)
Ledjie tag railled the villagers of Nehas Liah bing around the idea
that conservation was the best way forward.
9. What does Petkuq Methuey do to conserve Wehea Forest and
endangered species in it? -Evita/7

Petkuq Methuey do community patrols to protect Wehea Forest

from illegal logging and monitor wildlife using cameras and keeping
watch over the boundaries between their forest and the
neighboring timber concession.
10.
Wehea
Dayak
Society
has
been
holding ................................................, and this has been a way to
preserve their culture for the next generation by the TNCs support.
(regular cultural festivals) Louiza/21