THE LEGEND OF PULELE- a story from

the Mentawai Islands

O nce upon the time there was a boy named Pulele, who lived with his parents in a small settlement. Everyday, he would bring food from
the settlement to his parents who worked in a field, located far away from the settlement. To get to the field, Pulele had to walk through a forest
full of animals. One day, during a period of long drought, Pulele noticed that the animals in the forest were starving. Feeling sorry for the animals,
Pulele decided to help them by giving them the food he brought for his parents. From then on, he started feeding the animals daily on his way
to the field. With the monitor lizards he shared his sago, with the leaf monkeys and the gibbons he shared his fruits. And he also often sat and ate
together with the crocodile and the anteater.
Puleles parents were very angry as they received only the leftovers from the food Pulele had shared with the animals. Despite his parents
scolding, Pulele always defended the animals, whom he considered his friends. One day Puleles father, who was getting more and more
inpatient with his sons generosity, plotted to kill the animals with his bow and arrow. Luckily, Pulele was able to warn the animals and showed
them a hiding place. After that day Pulele cooked a lot of food so his parents wouldnt find out that he was sharing the food with the animals in
the forest.
One day, a plague broke out in Puleles settlement and people started to die. The animals birds, monkeys, butterflies, snakes were all worried
for Pulele and so they took him to a place deep into the forest to protect him from the plague. Nevertheless, Pulele became very sick and all the
animals in the forest were very worried. They fed and took care of him, but Pulele became sicker each day. As the news spread about Puleles
condition, all the animals in the forest gathered and organized a big meeting to find a solution. One of the animals knew of a special fruit that
could cure Puleles disease. And indeed, after feeding him the fruit, Pulele recovered very quickly.
For a very long time Pulele lived in the forest with the animals, but the time came for him to return to his settlement. By then, he had become a
man and nearly everyone he knew in his settlement had perished in the plague. Pulele regained his old life in the settlement, but was often very
sad as he felt all alone. The animals tried to cheer him up but nothing helped. Seeing Puleles sadness, the animals gathered again and decided
to help him. They all went to different directions, climbing hills and crossing rivers, to find a girl companion for Pulele. When the animals came
back to the settlement, they had brought with them more than ten girls. Pulele was overwhelmed and could not choose between all these girls.
So, he asked his animal friends to pick the most suitable girl to become his wife. After a long and strict selection process and a lot of discussions,
the animals agreed on the perfect girl for Pulele. She was extremely pretty, intelligent and nice. From that day, Pulele lived happily ever after
with his family and his animal friends by his side. This is the story of Pulele.
SIBERUT: the largest and most unique island of
the Mentawai archipelago
S iberut Island is a very special place: an ancient and extraordinary indigenous culture intricately linked to unique ecosystems and biodiversity.
This island is the northernmost and largest in the Mentawai archipelago and lies approximately 150 km off the western coast of Sumatra. Due
to its amazing natural and cultural assets it was nominated as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981. In 1993, the western part of the island was
designated as a National Park, in an attempt to preserve its lush rainforests.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Biosphere Reserve are the Mentawaian communities, which represent 90% of the Island's total population. In
the past the Mentawai people depended entirely on the use of forests and other natural resources, through customs, which were passed down
from generation to generation. The traditional use of natural resources in Siberut allowed people to benefit from their forests without destroying
them. Recently, however, external influences of a rapidly changing world, have encouraged local communities to adopt, or allow outsiders to use,
more destructive practices. The Siberut people are giving up their extraordinary cultural and natural heritage, in favour of short term economic
benefits. This will inevitably lead to long-term poverty and the loss of their beautiful ancestral lands. Active and pending concessions, for
example, threaten to destroy 70% of the habitat remaining outside Siberut National Park and are likely to endanger the survival of many of the
island's plant and animal species.

With the goal to actively engage local communities in conservation efforts and develop alternative livelihoods that generate income without
sacrificing the resources on which both traditional culture and biodiversity depend, a new partnership has been created, involving UNESCO, the
Siberut National Park, under the Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA) of the Ministry of Forestry and resident
indigenous communities. The goal of the Siberut Biosphere Reserve is to promote conservation and sustainable management of
Siberuts natural resources through the active involvement of the local communities.
SIX NATIVE FOREST TYPES
thrive in a hot and humid climate
S iberut Island has a hot and humid equatorial climate with no extended dry season and a total annual rainfall of around 4,000 mm. Daily
temperatures range from 22C to 31C. This island supports several terrestrial ecosystems including primary dipterocarp, mixed, swamp, mangrove,
sago and Barringtonia forest. The east coast, facing Sumatra and gradually descending into the Mentawai strait, consists of islets, bays, coral
reefs and spits of land, and is covered with mangrove forest up to 2 km inland. The west coast, facing the Indian Ocean, is covered in Barringtonia
forests and is difficult to access due to rough sea and steep cliffs. The interior is hilly and the highest peak reaches 384 m (Teittei Batti). The
hills are covered with primary dipterocarp forest, with lower sections consisting of primary mixed forest. In the valleys, the almost daily rainfall
feeds small creeks, which level out into bigger and wider rivers running through swamp forest and sago-grove dominated lowlands

A B C B D E
SIBERUT NATIONAL PARK UNPROTECTED ECOSYSTEM

Indian ocean/ Mentawai strait/

West coast East cost

A. Barringtonia forest D. Swamp and sago forest

B. Mixed forest E. Mangrove forest
C. Dipterocarp forest
A small island with a RICH BIODIVERSITY

I solation from the Sumatran coast and other islands has allowed the biodiversity on Siberut to evolve in strange and wonderful ways. As well
as an astounding array of species, Siberut boasts a high number of plants and animals found exclusively on this island (endemics). Fifteen
percent of fauna and sixty-five percent of mammals (21 out of 34 species) on Siberut are unique to this island. Endemics include two species of
bats, four primates, five squirrels, four rats, a tree-shrew and two species of civets. Out of 134 bird species found on Siberut, 19 are endemic.
Moreover, 15 species of amphibians, 38 species of reptiles and 8 species of freshwater fish have also been recorded on this island. It is also very
likely that since survey effort has been limited, the true numbers of plant, bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile and fish species may be much
higher.

Some of the most incredible species on the island are four endemic primates: the Kloss Gibbon/Dwarft Siamang (Hylobates klossii), the Mentawai
macaque (Macaca siberu), the Mentawaian leaf monkey (Presbytis potenziani), and the Pig-tail snub-nosed monkey (Simias concolor). Due to
their isolation these primates are considered to be particularly important for evolutionary studies. The number of unique primates on Siberut is
exceptional: no other site in the world has a higher density of endemic primate species per unit area.

Eight-hundred and fourty-six plant species make up the vegetation of a wide variety of natural terrestrial ecosystems and on the eastern coast of
the island human activities have, over centuries, transformed the native vegetation into a mosaic of mixed fruit and timber tree agro forests.
 KELEK GALAI IBA SAMBA OINAN,
PURIMANUAJAT MAI TAK MOI-MOI TUPASARA AKEK
PASAMBA LELEU IA LEU ET POLAK.

Like fish and water,

our lives are inseparable
from the forest and the land.
Teu Taloi Sanambaliu, Sikkebukat Uma
MENTAWAI PEOPLE: A unique indigenous culture

T he indigenous inhabitants of the Biosphere Reserve are the Mentawai people, which represent 90% of the island's total population. The
Mentawaians are of Austronesian descent and arrived on the Mentawai Islands thousands of years ago. They are one of the few remaining
examples of people whose way of life is still very much dependent on forest resources. Forests provide protein, construction materials, fruits, and
medicines, as well as the home of spirits and souls.

Since all adult members of the Uma (extended family group) have the same rights and authority, no formal chiefs exist. Therefore, all members
of the community are equally responsible for managing their lands and resources.

Traditional Mentawaian society is controlled by a complex system of taboos, which incorporate ethical and religious codes. Breaking or disregarding
taboos will attract physical distress like illness, accidents, misfortune and even death. Medicinal plants for example, can only be gathered if a
sick person needs them. Gathering without any purpose would result in bad consequences for the one who picks them and for his family.
Respect for plants and animals and careful use of natural resources is inbuilt in traditional Mentawaian culture and customs, though conscious
nature preservation in itself is a foreign concept for these people and not actively practiced.

Over the last 50 years, the social structure of the Uma has been drastically transformed due to socio-economic changes, including a resettlement
policy, which introduced village structures, modern administration and new socio-economic dynamics. Moreover facing new economic needs,
less sustainable practices are being adopted, which threaten the persistence of the natural and cultural identity of Siberut.
THREATS to the forests and people of
Siberut

S iberuts biodiversity is incredibly vulnerable to extinction because of the islands size and isolation. If commercial logging, conversion to
plantations and other high impact human activities continue at the present rate, species populations will decline and eventually, in some cases,
go extinct. Active and pending concessions threaten to destroy 70% of the habitat remaining outside Siberut National Park and are likely to have
devastating consequences on the persistence of the islands unique flora and fauna.

Forest is an essential and diverse resource, which provides local communities with fruits, tubers, spices, meat, medical plants, fibres, resins and
gums. However unsustainable or unplanned development has led to rapid degradation of the natural resources and ecosystems of Siberut
through commercial logging, reef bombing and cyanide fishing, introduction of air guns for hunting, monoculture, road construction and habitat
fragmentation. Many important economic species are being over exploited (e.g. Beo, Gaharu, Rattan etc). In the two southernmost Mentawai
islands (Pagai and Sipora) over three decades of commercial logging and changes in resource management have destroyed virtually all forest
and culture. Protecting Siberut, which still harbours rich biological and cultural diversity, is therefore an urgent necessity, if we wish to preserve
anything of the natural and cultural heritage of the Mentawai archipelago.
EMPOWERING LOCAL PEOPLE to manage their forests
sustainably

I n response to increasing environmental degradation and rapid cultural loss UNESCO and the Siberut National Park initiated in 1998, a
programme entitled "Empowerment of Customary Environmental Management"
Management", which aims to ensure the protection of threatened
ecosystems on the island through local human development and a collaborative and adaptive partnership.

One of its main goals is to actively involve the Siberut people in managing and ensuring the persistence of natural resources on the island. The
lack of community participation in conservation projects all over the world has shown detrimental consequences and thus community participation
represents a matter of absolute priority for this initiative. The strategies adopted by UNESCO to reach effective community participation include
increasing co-operation on all levels between local communities, non-governmental agencies, government and National Park authorities, ensuring
that decision making concerning conservation and management of natural resources includes the people who have lived on and managed
Siberut for thousands of years.

The programme also aims to strengthen customary knowledge and practices and to transfer appropriate technical skills in order to develop
sustainable income generating activities, such as agro forestry, eco-tourism and small-scale enterprises.
 For further information,
please contact:
Siberut National Park
Directorate General
of Forest Protection
and Nature Conservation
Ministry of Forestry
Jl. Khatib Sulaiman No. 46
Padang, West Sumatra
INDONESIA
Tel/Fax: +62-751-705 9986

UNESCO Office, Jakarta

UNESCO House
Jl. Galuh (II) No. 5
Jakarta 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62-21-739 9818
Fax: +62-21-7279 6489
E-mail: Jakarta@unesco.org

This publication is supported by

Siberut programme is supported by

Poverty and Human Rights:
UNESCOs Anti Poverty Projects,
Stichting Ommersteyn, Belgium

Photos: UNESCO/K. Meyers

Concept and text: K. Meyers, D. Pio,
S. Rachmania, A. Hernandez