Community Based Conservation on Lubuk Larangan and Conservation Corridor in North Sumatra

Abstract

Lubuk-larangan or prohibited river is a traditional local wisdom practiced by the community in West and North Sumatra in preserving natural areas particularly fish habitat and river ecosystem. The practice is based on customary and  communal deliberation in order to  help the villages maintain their communal resources in a sustainable way. The protection brings a positive impact to the   ecosystem as well as various wildlife and aquatic biota. By managing the existence of lubuk-larangan, they also will guard the natural ecosystem as well as the dwindling natural habitat. This paper presents a hypothesis that the prohibition of the area may potentially  function as a conservation-corridor in facilitating the home range of natural habitats and wildlife accommodation within the conservation area. There are 25 conservation areas in North Sumatra with a total area of approximately 1 million ha. Some areas potentially  could become a natural corridor for wildlife. Through this study we put a spot of potential corridor  using GIS, by mapping the areas from 0 m of the protected areas such as national park, to up to 5000m to the position of lubuk-larangan. However by obtaining this map can provide legitimacy for communities at the surrounding conservation areas such as Batang Gadis National Park to participate indirectly in taking care of  the national park  by supporting their own lubuk-larangan. In practice, the community implements an opening ritual that is only held once a year, and fines are imposed for anyone who violates the rules that have been set and agreed upon. The regional government also supports the existence of lubuk-larangan in utilizing natural resources such as local fish in a sustainable manner. Based on our findings, there are 153 lubuk-larangan located at 64 rivers in 5 districts in North Sumatra that can be used as a link between natural life and conservation areas.