In Java, Indonesian conservationist leads efforts to protect endangered silvery gibbons
JAKARTA: It was deep in the heart of an Indonesian rainforest in West Java that Rahayu Oktaviani, known as Ayu, first heard the 'song' of the Javan gibbon.
She had her first encounter in 2008 while visiting the Mount Halimun Salak National Park for an undergraduate research project that required her to obtain a voice sample of the primate.
After waiting patiently for two weeks, coming in and out of the forest, she finally heard a Javan gibbon make its distinctive call.
She recalled how the sound she described as melodic and haunting had created a hush, as it echoed throughout the forest.
'It's like the most beautiful song that I ever heard in my life. It's so amazing,' Ayu told Arab News.
'They are non-human primates, but they can have like this beautiful song that can make all of … the creatures in the forest just keep silent.'
In the 17 years since, Ayu has dedicated her life to protecting the endangered animals, which are also known as 'silvery gibbon,' or 'owa jawa' locally.
A vast archipelago stretching across the equator, Indonesia is a top global biodiversity hotspot and home to over 60 species of primates, about 38 of which are endemic to the country.
'Maybe a lot of people know about the orangutan, about the rhino, about the tiger, but how about the overlooked species, just like, for example, the Javan gibbon? Not so many people know about them,' Ayu said.
Fewer than 2,500 Javan gibbons remain in the wild today, according to an estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. About half of them live in the 87,000-hectare Mount Halimun Salak National Park, where Ayu and her team have laid the building blocks for grassroots conservation of the endangered species.
The gibbons rely on a continuous canopy for movement and foraging, making them particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation and habitat degradation. As around 55 percent of Indonesia's 270 million population lives in Java, the survival of the endemic species found only in the island's forests is threatened by deforestation and illegal animal trafficking.
'With the situation in Java, where only like 10 percent of the natural forests are remaining, it means the forest itself should be intact. The forest itself still needs to be there not only for the Javan gibbons, but also for the other species that need this habitat for their lives,' Ayu said.
In 2020, she co-founded the conservation nongovernmental organization Kiara to expand efforts to save the Javan gibbon, believing that a key aspect in protecting the species was to engage the local community.
When she started out as a primatologist, spending much time in the forest to study the gibbons, Ayu did not realize that she was neglecting the very people who lived alongside the primates.
She recalled a question a villager posed at the time, a woman named Yanti, who was curious as to why Ayu always went to the forest but rarely stopped by the village.
'That's a really casual and simple question, but it kept me thinking about what I've been doing so far. Is there something that I've been missing?' Ayu said.
Yanti's query eventually led her to realize that she needed to do more with the community.
'We want to build together with the communities, where actually the gibbon can be something that they can be proud of,' she said. 'Community engagement is 100 percent the core for conservation because without community, we cannot do everything.'
Ayu has employed people from Citalahab, a small village enclave located within the national park where locals make a living working in tea plantations or as rice farmers. Eight of them now work in the field alongside Ayu and her team to monitor the gibbons in the wild.
With Kiara, she also established the Ambu Halimun initiative, which involves 15 local women between the ages of 17 and 50 in ecoprinting workshops and financial literacy training.
In April, Ayu won the prestigious Whitley Award, which recognizes achievements in grassroots conservation, to advance her work in protecting the Javan gibbons.
With 50,000 British pounds ($67,000) from the award, Ayu plans to scale up her programs with Kiara to mitigate threats from human activities and to protect the gibbons' habitat.
This includes developing a data management system to enhance park-wide conservation efforts, training the park rangers in biodiversity monitoring techniques, and guiding conservation strategies.
The 38-year-old, whose role models are 'the Trimates,' primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas, has faith that humans can live in coexistence with wildlife.
'Actually, if we put aside our ego, we are part of the ecosystem itself. We are not separated from the ecosystems, so it means we have to have more balance with nature,' she said. 'And to do that, we also have to respect what else (is) actually living together with us in these ecosystems.'
Ayu said the Whitley Award served as good momentum to raise awareness about the species she loves dearly, the Javan gibbons.
'I believe not so many people are aware of the existence of the Javan gibbon, so it's the right momentum to share the love for the Javan gibbon and make people care about it,' she said. 'Because how can you care about the species if you know nothing about them?'
With the award and the coverage that it garnered internationally, Ayu is also hopeful about inspiring a new generation of conservationists from Indonesia.
'I think women also play a good part to be conservationists in the future … It's also about … regeneration: the importance of nurturing the new generation of conservationists and primatologists from Indonesia, especially because we need more and more people who work in this field.'
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Arab News
21 hours ago
- Arab News
In Java, Indonesian conservationist leads efforts to protect endangered silvery gibbons
JAKARTA: It was deep in the heart of an Indonesian rainforest in West Java that Rahayu Oktaviani, known as Ayu, first heard the 'song' of the Javan gibbon. She had her first encounter in 2008 while visiting the Mount Halimun Salak National Park for an undergraduate research project that required her to obtain a voice sample of the primate. After waiting patiently for two weeks, coming in and out of the forest, she finally heard a Javan gibbon make its distinctive call. She recalled how the sound she described as melodic and haunting had created a hush, as it echoed throughout the forest. 'It's like the most beautiful song that I ever heard in my life. It's so amazing,' Ayu told Arab News. 'They are non-human primates, but they can have like this beautiful song that can make all of … the creatures in the forest just keep silent.' In the 17 years since, Ayu has dedicated her life to protecting the endangered animals, which are also known as 'silvery gibbon,' or 'owa jawa' locally. A vast archipelago stretching across the equator, Indonesia is a top global biodiversity hotspot and home to over 60 species of primates, about 38 of which are endemic to the country. 'Maybe a lot of people know about the orangutan, about the rhino, about the tiger, but how about the overlooked species, just like, for example, the Javan gibbon? Not so many people know about them,' Ayu said. Fewer than 2,500 Javan gibbons remain in the wild today, according to an estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. About half of them live in the 87,000-hectare Mount Halimun Salak National Park, where Ayu and her team have laid the building blocks for grassroots conservation of the endangered species. The gibbons rely on a continuous canopy for movement and foraging, making them particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation and habitat degradation. As around 55 percent of Indonesia's 270 million population lives in Java, the survival of the endemic species found only in the island's forests is threatened by deforestation and illegal animal trafficking. 'With the situation in Java, where only like 10 percent of the natural forests are remaining, it means the forest itself should be intact. The forest itself still needs to be there not only for the Javan gibbons, but also for the other species that need this habitat for their lives,' Ayu said. In 2020, she co-founded the conservation nongovernmental organization Kiara to expand efforts to save the Javan gibbon, believing that a key aspect in protecting the species was to engage the local community. When she started out as a primatologist, spending much time in the forest to study the gibbons, Ayu did not realize that she was neglecting the very people who lived alongside the primates. She recalled a question a villager posed at the time, a woman named Yanti, who was curious as to why Ayu always went to the forest but rarely stopped by the village. 'That's a really casual and simple question, but it kept me thinking about what I've been doing so far. Is there something that I've been missing?' Ayu said. Yanti's query eventually led her to realize that she needed to do more with the community. 'We want to build together with the communities, where actually the gibbon can be something that they can be proud of,' she said. 'Community engagement is 100 percent the core for conservation because without community, we cannot do everything.' Ayu has employed people from Citalahab, a small village enclave located within the national park where locals make a living working in tea plantations or as rice farmers. Eight of them now work in the field alongside Ayu and her team to monitor the gibbons in the wild. With Kiara, she also established the Ambu Halimun initiative, which involves 15 local women between the ages of 17 and 50 in ecoprinting workshops and financial literacy training. In April, Ayu won the prestigious Whitley Award, which recognizes achievements in grassroots conservation, to advance her work in protecting the Javan gibbons. With 50,000 British pounds ($67,000) from the award, Ayu plans to scale up her programs with Kiara to mitigate threats from human activities and to protect the gibbons' habitat. This includes developing a data management system to enhance park-wide conservation efforts, training the park rangers in biodiversity monitoring techniques, and guiding conservation strategies. The 38-year-old, whose role models are 'the Trimates,' primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas, has faith that humans can live in coexistence with wildlife. 'Actually, if we put aside our ego, we are part of the ecosystem itself. We are not separated from the ecosystems, so it means we have to have more balance with nature,' she said. 'And to do that, we also have to respect what else (is) actually living together with us in these ecosystems.' Ayu said the Whitley Award served as good momentum to raise awareness about the species she loves dearly, the Javan gibbons. 'I believe not so many people are aware of the existence of the Javan gibbon, so it's the right momentum to share the love for the Javan gibbon and make people care about it,' she said. 'Because how can you care about the species if you know nothing about them?' With the award and the coverage that it garnered internationally, Ayu is also hopeful about inspiring a new generation of conservationists from Indonesia. 'I think women also play a good part to be conservationists in the future … It's also about … regeneration: the importance of nurturing the new generation of conservationists and primatologists from Indonesia, especially because we need more and more people who work in this field.'
Arab News
11-06-2025
- Arab News
A world at war is unlikely to save the oceans
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Headline-grabbing statements like those of the UN secretary-general, who warned at this week's conference that the world should not let the deep sea 'become the wild west,' could go a long way toward focusing minds. But this will not stop powerful nations vying for control and economic supremacy amid the tussle over contentious rules on mining and conservation. Nor will it heal the oceans for the benefit of both humanity and the sea creatures that are vital in making our world livable. The mission of delegates to turn promises into protection and to deliver action is quite challenging Mohamed Chebaro Similarly, the mission of delegates to turn promises into protection and to deliver action, rather than more rhetoric, to protect our ever-warming, distressed oceans is quite challenging. A modest 8 percent of the world's oceans are currently designated as marine protected areas, despite a globally agreed target of 30 percent by 2030. The failings are staring us in the face. This is despite the efforts of some countries, such as Greece, Brazil and Spain, which have rushed to put chunks of their national waters under protection by creating marine parks. Such action is often challenged by a lack of funding and limited enforcement, while it is especially challenging for squeezed smaller nations to emulate. The efforts by countries like France and the UK to ban some fishing methods, such as bottom trawling in marine protected areas, must be applauded despite the fact that they do not go far enough for economic reasons. Bottom trawling involves huge fishing nets being indiscriminately dragged over the ocean floor, rendering natural regeneration and the replenishment of sea life nearly impossible. This conference will, unfortunately, be little more than a talking shop and another missed opportunity. This time it is not only because of bickering between the Global North and the Global South, rich versus poor, but because geopolitical competition between superpowers is rendering the minimal multilateral action taken to save the oceans ineffective. This is a world dominated by greed-driven economic competition and exploitation, dwindling resources and more false and misinformed narratives than undivided truth, to the point that trust has largely vanished. Another key point is that a world that is unable to stop the killing in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan is unlikely, sadly, to get its act together and save the future of the oceans — the lungs of our ecosystem that are today breathing with difficulty. The conference in Nice, like many other similar meetings, will console itself if a last-minute flurry of signatures ensures the ratification of the High Seas Treaty to protect international waters, which make up 60 percent of the world's oceans. Whether it will be binding or not is subject to its implementation and enforcement. Macron told reporters this week that 55 nations have ratified the treaty, only five shy of the number required for it to come into effect early next year. Admitting that global warming is human-made and that action is needed to remedy it, through science and business and the transformation of economic and social models that would take decades and a lot of money to enact, is one thing. Consensus regarding treaties and conventions is another, as countries each rightly put their national interests first and common interests last. Above all, in a world where narratives of conflict dominate and geopolitical calculations fail to align, failures are recorded on every level and in a disheartening fashion. 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