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Agr. Nat. Resour. 55 (2021) 377–386 AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES Journal homepage: http://anres.kasetsart.org Research article Causal factors and models of human-Tapanuli orangutan conflict in Batang Toru landscape, North Sumatra, Indonesia Wanda Kuswandaa,*, Ramadhan Hamdani Harahapb,†, Hadi Sukadi Alikodrac,†, Robert Sibaranid,† a Environmental and Forestry Research and Development Institute of Aek Nauli, Simalungun 21139, Indonesia b Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20222, Indonesia c Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural Institute-IPB, Bogor 16680, Indonesia d Faculty of Cultural Science, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan 20222, Indonesia Article Info Abstract Article history: The number of human-Tapanuli orangutan conflicts continues to increase and is increasing Received 28 June 2020 the threat of extinction for this animal. The factors and models causing human-Tapanuli Revised 3 March 2021 Accepted 16 April 2021 orangutan conflicts were analyzed for use as a reference in developing mitigation Available online 18 June 2021 strategies in the Batang Toru Landscape, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Data collection used the strip transect method, questionnaires, interviews and observations, followed Keywords: by logistic regression analysis. The results indicated that human-orangutan conflicts Batang Toru, Community, increased with the development of community activities such as firewood collection Logistic regression, (89.97%), gardening (84.52%), logging (80.38%) and frequent orangutan foraging in Tapanuli orangutan, farmer gardens (incidence/transect area). The cultivated plants were generally a suitable Wildlife conflict orangutan food source, such as Durio zibethinus Murray and Parkia speciosa Hassk. Factors causing the significant (p < 0.05) increase in conflict opportunities were the number of food species at tree level, logging activities and community crop damage. Recommended conflict mitigation strategies to improve the ecological conditions were patrolling in conservation forests and habitat rehabilitation with a focus on State forests. Alternative economic ventures could be developed, such as providing compensation and increasing community access rights in social forestry schemes. Introduction (Karanth et al., 2018; Matseketsa et al., 2019). The most intense conflicts occur in developing countries where the majority of Human-wildlife conflicts are increasing due to deforestation, the population lives in rural areas as farmers (Seoraj–Pillai agricultural expansion, climate change and human activities and Pillay, 2017). Such conflict has resulted in wildlife, including orangutans, suffering from stress, poisoning, capture, † Equal contribution. injury and death caused by humans, resulting in their greater * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Kuswanda) online 2452-316X print 2468-1458/Copyright © 2021. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), production and hosting by Kasetsart University of Research and Development Institute on behalf of Kasetsart University. https://doi.org/10.34044/j.anres.2021.55.3.07 378 W. Kuswanda et al. / Agr. Nat. Resour. 55 (2021) 377–386 vulnerability to extinction (Atmoko et al., 2014; Anand and regency cover approximately 520 km2 spread over two habitat Radhakrishna, 2017). blocks, namely the East and West (South) Blocks, which are The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) is one of located in conservation forests (nature reserves) and their species that often comes into conflict with humans due to land buffer zones, both in production forests and other use areas clearing for monoculture plantations and mining, competition (Kuswanda, 2014; Rahman et al., 2019) in Fig. 1. The altitude for food and hunting (Kuswanda, 2014; Wich et al., 2016). of the study sites is in the range 400–1,875 m above sea level The Tapanuli orangutan was recognized as the third species (asl) with undulating topography and slopes of 8–60%. At least of orangutans based on its mitochondrial DNA differing 20 villages (17,347 people) co-exist in this orangutan habitat, from other orangutans in Sumatra (Pongo abelii Lesson) and and most of these villages have experienced human-orangutan Kalimantan (Pongo pygmaeus Linnaeus) (Nater et al., 2017). conflict (Statistics of South Tapanuli Regency, 2019). The remaining population of Tapanuli orangutans is limited to the Batang Toru Landscape, Tapanuli, North Sumatra (Kuswanda, 2014; Haryanto et al., 2019). The orangutan distribution is estimated to cover approximately 1,460 km2 or 59% of the Batang Toru Landscape and is administratively included in the South, Central and North Tapanuli regencies (Rahman et al., 2019). Human-Tapanuli orangutan conflicts generally occur in the South Tapanuli regency because the orangutan habitat around conservation forests and buffer zones has been converted into community cultivation land. Tapanuli orangutan nest and find food in gardens and fields (Atmoko et al., 2014; Kuswanda, 2014), which sometimes results in damage to community crops (Hockings and Humle, 2010; Davis et al., 2013; Soulsbury and White, 2015; Noga et al., 2018). In some buffer villages Fig. 1 Tapanuli orangutan habitats in South Tapanuli regency, North in South Tapanuli regency, orangutans entering plantations and Sumatra, Indonesia fields will be driven off because farmers consider them as plant pests (Kuswanda, 2014; Nater et al., 2017). Data collection Conflict mitigation is essential as Tapanuli orangutans have been categorized as a critically endangered species in the Factors predicted to cause orangutan conflicts were used IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Nowak et al., 2017). as the independent variable (X) and the potential conflict (Y) The objectives of the current study were to analyze the factors were identified through direct observation on transect and and to develop models of human-Tapanuli orangutan conflicts vegetation plots. The data collected focused on the habitat in the Batang Toru Landscape, South Tapanuli regency, North component, referring to some research results such as Wich Sumatra. Studies regarding the Tapanuli orangutan, especially et al. (2012), Alikodra (2019), Haryanto et al. (2019), Deák et on conflict mitigation with humans, are still limited (Haryanto al. (2020), human activity factors (Dickman, 2010; Margulies et al., 2019). The results of the current study could be used and Karanth, 2018; Mukeka et al., 2019; Siljander et al., 2020), to formulate recommendations for developing orangutan other specific factors such as damage to community crops conservation strategies in Indonesia. and the presence of animals/orangutans (Hill et al., 2012; Soulsbury and White, 2015; Anand and Radhakrishna, 2017; Materials and Methods Rusch and Gavrilets, 2017; Torres et al., 2018). Field observations were made along line transects (500 Research sites m long) based on a stratified sampling method using habitat blocks and forest status. In total, 49 transect observations This study was undertaken in the Batang Toru Landscape, were installed, with 17 on the East Block and 32 on the West South Tapanuli regency, Indonesia, from July to December (South) Block. Habitat potential was recorded using vegetation 2019. Tapanuli orangutan habitats in the South Tapanuli analysis based on the strip transect method. In one transect, six W. Kuswanda et al. / Agr. Nat. Resour. 55 (2021) 377–386 379 plots were established 100 m apart, with a total of 294 plots. Ghosal, 2020). The data were analyzed using the Statistical The observed crops were recorded on differing plot sizes and Package for Social Science (SPSS) 23.0 software for Windows the focused at the level of poles and trees because orangutans (IBM Corp. SPSS Statistics; Somers, NY, USA). are arboreal: plants with a diameter at breast height over bark The ecological factors analyzed referred to Wich et al. (dbh) of 10–20 cm (poles) used a 10 m × 10 m plot and trees (2012), Kuswanda (2014), Haryanto et al. (2019) and Deák with a dbh above 20 cm were recorded on a 20 m × 20 m plot et al. (2020) and were defined as: dominant land cover (X1), (Franzreb, 1981; Sugardjito et al., 1987; Alatar et al., 2012; number of vegetation species of trees (X2) and poles (X3), Hardus et al., 2012; Lillo et al., 2019). The data observed vegetation density of trees (X4) and poles (X5), number of included land cover type based on the classification in the forage species of trees (X6) and poles (X7), and food density Indonesian National Standard (2014), species and numbers for of trees (X8) and poles (X9). Human activity factors that were each species of vegetation and forage trees. thought to cause human-wildlife conflict were: land clearing Descriptive observations were made to determine the (X10), tree cutting (X11), animal hunting (X12) and extraction presence of orangutans (direct, nesting and former food of non-timber forest products (X13) based on Dickman (2010), collection), crop damage caused by orangutans and potential Ranjan (2016), Margulies and Karanth (2018) and Siljander conflicts, with the assessment classification being present (1) et al. (2020). Specific factors that could lead to conflict and abstaining (0) according to Ministry of Forestry (2008). were: damage to community crops (X14) and the presence Potential conflicts were events that could lead to human- of orangutans (X15), based on Soulsbury and White (2015), Tapanuli orangutan conflicts. The observation criteria

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