Currently, the conservation areas in Indonesia have reached 27.14 million hectares with 554 units of national parks as the largest area (16.22 million hectares). This conservation area management topic was reviewed in the Bio management Master’s Webinar SITH ITB. The event was opened by Dr. Sofiatin, S.Hut., M.Si., as the Head of the Master’s Program in Bio management, and Prof. Dr. Tati S. Syamsuddin as a faculty member of Biological Resource Management.

The speaker for this general lecture was the Head of Mount Ciremai National Park, Teguh Setiawan S.Hut., MNatResSt, M.M. He said, Mount Ciremai is a solitary mountain that has an area of 14841.3 HA which intersects between Majalengka Regency and Kuningan Regency with a total of 54 buffer villages in the area.

A very close reciprocal relationship between the national park and its buffer area has greatly affected ecological balance. "People should be happy with national parks. Don’t be hostile to people”, he said.

According to Law No. 5 of 1990, the principle of conservation is to protect the life support system, preserve plant and animal species diversity and their ecosystem, and sustainable use of biological natural resources and ecosystem. While the three pillars of national park management are ecological, socio-cultural, and economic. The two must be juxtaposed with each other so that ecological processes that support the survival of life can be realized for the improvement of community welfare.

The local buffer village communities participate in building their areas both economically and ecologically for better sustainability because the Mount Ciremai National Park Management is carried out with a natural tourism approach.

The implementation of collaboration in Mount Ciremai National Park Management is divided into six aspects: regional protection, forest fire management, WA environmental services management, ODTWA waste management, ecosystem recovery, and biodiversity management.

“Everything was done with a natural tourism approach and a large community contribution,” he said. The waste management, the agricultural sector, ODTWA management, and the assignment of every specialized citizen are intended to continuously improve the quality of conservation areas as well as their livelihoods.

There is a division of zone in the Mount Ciremai National Park area, such as the core zone, jungle, utilization, and rehabilitation. There has been an increase in numbers in all zones since 2012, except for declining rehabilitation. This indicates that the rehabilitation process in the Ciremai Mountain area is successful.

The Mount Ciremai National Park area with its surrounding community also has an impact on their welfare, both in terms of natural tourism, research, education, and the product.

Reporter: Najma Shafiya (Teknologi Pascapanen, 2020)
Translator: Aghisna Syifa R (Biologi, 2020)