| Site Nomination for Peat Site Profiles in Southeast Asia | |||||||||||
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Category: |
Protected Area | ||||||||||
| Name of Site: | Tulang Bawang Peat Area | ||||||||||
| Country: | Indonesia | ||||||||||
| GPS Point: | Latitude: 3°45’-5°00’ Longitude: 103°35’-105°55’ | ||||||||||
| Location & Access: |
Located at northern part of the Lampung Province, which is the Lampung Utara, Sumatra |
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| Total Area: | 76976.00 hectare(s) | ||||||||||
| Background of Site: |
The climate of Lampung is in general the same as in the other regions of Indonesia. It has a wet tropical climate with humid winds from the Indian Ocean characterized by mainly two seasons and an average humidity between 80 and 88 %. Four regencies are included in Tulang Bawang watershed: West Lampung and North Lampung (the origin of the river), Way Kanan and Tulang Bawang. Agricultural activities are important in this area. The upper part of this basin is mountainous areas which are mainlycovered with coffee plantation and forest areas. Sugarcane, cassava, and oil palm plantation as well as irrigation paddy field dominate in the middle part; and in the lower part, paddy field, fisheries and aquaculture are common. A runoff river dam for electric power plant is now under construction at Sumber Jaya and will become operational in 2001. The Way Rarem dam which was built about fifteen years ago supports irrigation in the southern part of the basin. 78.5% of the peat depth at this peat area has a depth of less than 50cm while the rest of the peat has a thickness of 50cm to 200cm. Flora: The flora of the remaining freshwater swamps along the coast has been very seriously impoverished, but still supports a surprisingly diverse fauna, mainly fish and waterbirds. No primary and late-secondary swamp forest remains in Lampung. The most dominant vegetation types found in the formerly 75,000 ha of lowland coastal swamps in the Tulang Bawang area consist of (Giesen, 1991): i. Melaleuca cajaputi (Gelam) dominating the secondary swamp woodland, ii. rice paddies of various transmigration projects, iii. Mimosa pigra swamp shrub land, iv. freshwater pools and open water with aquatic plant species. v. Deeply flooded grass and sedge swamps, mixed with some remains of heavilydegraded swamp forests. More than 90% of the coastal swamps of the Tulang Bawang consisted of Gelam (Melaleauca cajaputi). The widespread occurrence of Melaleuca secondary swamp forest indicates past mismanagement since this species is very often found to invade freshwater swamps and shallow peat swamps after they have been logged, drained, and also often burnt. Fauna: Small populations of monkeys survive in the riparian forest and probably in the gelam and other swamp forests of Tulang Bawang, with populations of silvered leaf monkey (Presbytis cristata) and long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis), and possibly pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina), sambar deer (Cervus unicolor), and wild pig (Sus scrofa or Sus barbatus). It is, however, only a matter of time before these species disappear as well, due to habitat loss and hunting, with the possible exceptions of the wild pig and long-tailed macaque. Birds: The swamps also support one of the largest water bird colonies in Indonesia, includes the first known breeding site in Sumatra for black-crowned night heron (estimated 1,677 pairs), and Oriental Darter (48 pairs); the second and largest colony known in Sumatra for Javan pond heron (30,338 pairs), and one of the most significant breeding sites for great egret (1,202 pairs). This indicates how extremely diverse and ecologically important these coastal swamps were for Lampung and Indonesia, and probably still are. |
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Significant Value of Site: |
- Biodiversity - Cultural & Historical Value - Socio-economic |
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Designated use (status/legal classification): |
- Wildlife Reserve |
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| Major Issues: | Habitat of bird colonies have been disturbed because of egg collection and sugar cane plantation. in addition, irrigation project has made problems such as water quality degradation, sea water intruition and make the soil acid. | ||||||||||
| Site Jurisdiction & Administration: | Central Lampung and Tulang Bawang Regency | ||||||||||
| Peatland Type: | Lowland | ||||||||||
| Management activities: |
a) Past b) Current Main commodity of Regency of Tulang Bawang is agriculture, plantation, and services sector. Commodity of plantation sector is rubber, cocoa, sugarcane, coffee, coconut, chasew, and pepper. Commodity of agriculture sector is corn and cassava. Commodity of services sector is tourism, namely culture and nature tourism. Also, Tulang Bawang also been noted as the center of the largest shrimp farming in Indonesia, even in Asia. c) Potential Potential breeding potential developed in this district include cattle production business, buffalo, goat, chicken, and free-range chicken. also, mining potential of Tulang Bawang quartz sand and clay and potential for the development of fisheries sector. |
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| Facilities & Activities Available on Site: | |||||||||||
| Institution Responsible for the Site: |
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| Nominated by: |
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