BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 17, Number 1, April 2016 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 154-161 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d170123 Karangwangi people’s (South Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia) local knowledge of species, forest utilization and wildlife conservation RUHYAT PARTASASMITA1,♥, JOHAN ISKANDAR1,2, NICHOLAS MALONE3 1 Biology Postgraduate Program, Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Padjadjaran. Jl. Raya Bandung- Sumedang Km 21, Jatinangor, Sumedang 45363, West Java, Indonesia. Tel. +62-22-7796412 ext. 104. Fax. +62-22-7794545. E-mail: [email protected] 2Postgraduate Environmental Science Program, University of Padjadjaran. Jl. Sekeloa, Bandung 45363, West Java. Indonesia 3Department of Anthropology, University of Auckland, Levels 7 and 8, Human Sciences Building, 10 Symonds Street, Central Business District, Auckland 1010, New Zealand Manuscript received: 31 August 2015. Revision accepted: xxx May 2015. Abstract. Partasasmita R, Iskandar J. Malone N. 2015. Karangwangi people’s (South Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia) local knowledge of species, forest utilization and wildlife conservation. Biodiversitas 17: 154-161. In the past, many West Javan Villages had a high diversity of wildlife. Nowadays, however, the diversity of wildlife in these villages has tended to decrease rapidly. This is caused by many factors, including the loss or destruction of wildlife habitat destruction, intensive use of pesticides in the agricultural sector, and illegal hunting. Animal hunting is typically undertaken by villagers for various purposes, such as to fulfill household meet consumption, as well as for the capture and trading of pets. Traditionally, the use of wildlife by the Sundanese people of West Java is influenced by corpus (local knowledge) and cosmos (beliefs). As a result, the wild animals have been utilized within a sustainable system that enables wildlife conservation. Today, however, a lot of traditional knowledge or local knowledge of wildlife has eroded. This paper elucidates local knowledge of Karangwangi villagers of Subdstrict of Cidaun, District of Cianjur, Province of West Java, Indonesia on various species, utilization, and the conservation of wildlife. Methods used in this study are a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques based on an ethnozoological approach. The result of study shows that the respondents recognize at least 45 species of wildlife consisting of 15 mammalian species, 21 species of Aves, and 9 species of herpetofauna. Based on the perception of respondents, those wildlife species have various socio-economic and cultural saliences (eg. household meat consumption, pets, trading, and appearing in mythology), as well as various ecological functions (e.g., crop pests, pest controls, and seed dispersal). Some cultural myths related with wildlife have been recorded and partly determine the utilization of wildlife by village people. Keywords: Animal conservation, animal function, ethno-zoology, local knowledge, myth INTRODUCTION been widely discussed by many scholars (Ellen and Haris 2000). In the course of the 1990s, a major development was Indonesia is distinctive because it has a large number of the growing recognition that one emergent property of islands and extremely high-levels of both biological and ecosystems is that significant human presence and human cultural diversity. In terms of biodiversity, more than 720 resource use over time forms a biocultural system-a system species of mammals, 1,599 species of birds, 723 species of jointly shaped by biological and cultural dynamics. reptiles, 385 species of amphibians, and 1,248 species of Moreover, this in turn lead to the realization that local fish have been recorded (Sutrisno et al. 2014). Meanwhile, ecological knowledge, beliefs and practice have much to regarding cultural diversity, Indonesia has more than 30 contribute to the conservation of biodiversity as well as to ethnic groups with 655 mother languages. Indonesia ranks sustainable use of natural resources (Carlson and Maffi second of the total 25 countries in the world (after Papua 2004). Based on this concept, some empirical examples can New Guinea with 847 mother languages) with respect to its be provided in Indonesia and other countries. For example, endemic local languages (Maffi 1999). an ethnobiological study of local rice varieties of swidden Historically, various ethnic groups in the world, cultivation (huma) undertaken by Iskandar and Ellen including Indonesian ethnic groups had temporally deep, (1999) revealed that at least 89 local rice varieties of the close relationships with wildlife (cf Jorgensen 1998, swidden system (huma) have traditionally been conserved Iskandar 2012). Various wildlife, including mollusks, fish, by Orang Baduy through local knowledge and beliefs. In amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals have some socio- addition, culturally, the Tengger people abstain from economic and cultural functions (Alves 2012). killing animals, and they consume more vegetables, whole In the past, village people utilized various wildlife grain varieties, canna, taro, and cassava. Catapult tool was species (praxis) which is strongly embedded by corpus banned because it can kill birds (Batoro et al. 2012). (knowledge) and cosmos (beliefs) (see Toledo 2000, Another example, the Iban community in Sarawak has Carlson and Maffi 2004). Local knowledge, indigenous traditionally prohibited hunting some animals, such as knowledge, and traditional ecological knowledge have gibbon (Hylobates spp.), barking deer (Muticus muntjak), PARTASASMITA et al. – Ethnozoology of wildlife in Karangwangi, West Java 155 crocodile (Crocodiulus porous) and brahminy kite sea- socio-economic and ecological, including wildlife eagle (Haliastur indus) due to their belief that animals conservation based on the local people’s mythology consider as sacred animals (Horowitz 1998). As a result system. those animal species have been traditionally conserved by the local community. Nowadays, however, the utilization of wildlife by many MATERIALS AND METHODS ethnic groups in Indonesian villages, including the Sundanese villages, is determined by economic factors Study area instead of being based on local knowledge and cosmos. In Geographically, the study area, Village of Karangwangi other worlds, the sustainable use by local people or village lies between 7° 25'-7° 30' S and 107° 23'-107° 25' E. people, based on local knowledge and beliefs, has tended to Administratively, this village belongs to Sub-district erode due to various factors including rapid cultural and (kecamatan) of Cidaun, District (kabupaten) of Cianjur, socio-economic change. Moreover, various species of wild Province (propinsi) of West Java, Indonesia. The location animals are freely and intensively hunted by many people of Karangwangi is approximately 120 km from the city of for various purposes, including meet consumption, pet Bandung and approximately 70 km from the city of animal, and trading. The hunting of animals by local people Cianjur. To reach this area by vehicle requires a travel time out of economic necessity ignores some of the ecological of 5-6 hours from Bandung and approximately 3-4 hours benefits of wildlife (Alves and Souto 2015). Consequently, from Cianjur. Karangwangi Village is a relative remote the diversity of wild animals has tended to decrease. In area lies near the south coast of the Indian Ocean. The addition, destruction or loss of animal habitats and village is directly bordered by the nature conservation area intensive use of pesticide in agriculture have caused of Bojonglarang Jayanti Natural Reserve. The north additional decreases of wildlife diversity. borders Cimaragang Village, extending east to Garut, and Based on ecological history, it has been recorded that west to the Village of Cidamar. The southern boundary is some animals species became rare or extinct in local areas the Indian Ocean. The most common livelihood of the in Indonesia in the last few decades. For example, the Karangwangi people is recorded as subsistence farmers. Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) disappeared in Java Geographical location facilitates the development of the in the 1980s (Whitten et al. 1999). Similarly, the Javanese agricultural sector. Aproximately 2,000 hectares of land- lapwing (Vanellus macropterus, trulek jawa) was use type in the Village of Karangwangi is recorded as the considered extinct in Java since the 1940s (Mackinnon et rain-fed agricultural land (Figure 1). al. 1992). In addition, in 1991 the straw-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) had been still found in Pananjung- Procedure Pangandaran Natural Reserves, but in 2005 have The method used in this study is a combination of disappeared from this area (Partasasmita 2015). Similar qualitative and quantitative, which is based on study events could likely be occurring in other places, especially ethnozoological or biological approach (cf. Martin 1995; in non-conservation areas. Newing et al. 2011; Iskandar 2012). Quantitative methods In the past, the Village of Karangwangi, Sub-district of were used in the form of a structured interview using a Cidaun, District of Cianjur, West Java had a rich diversity questionnaire for 91 respondents. Selection of respondents of animal species, due to the large size of forested wildlife was using simple random technique determined by the habitats found in this village. In addition, in the formula of Lynch et al. (1974). Some techniques of neighboring village areas,