This section contains an assessment of the management issues facing the long established Rawa Aopa National Park on the mainland of Sulawesi and development potential for ecotourism.

• To examine issues relating to park management and communities in the vicinity of the park
• To identify potential areas where tourism could be promoted in the future
• To recommend possible strategies whereby the above could be implemented

The initial phase of the project involved making contacts with relevant authorities (KANWIL, PHPA, KSDA, Regional Tourism Authority) and NGO’s which have been operating in the Rawa-Aopa Watumohai National Park (RAWNP). This was conducted in order to inform the above stakeholders of the purposes of the project. A visit to the Unaaha offices of the RAWNP was then made in order to obtain relevant maps, background information and guidelines under which the park is being managed. The main research phase of the project involved holding a series of semi-structured interviews with key informants such as Kepala Desas, senior residents and general members of the community in permanent settlements adjoining the park boundary and temporary settlements present within the park. These interviews were directed towards exploring local residents’ attitudes with reference to the following:

• Levels of consultation between park authorities and local communities prior to and following park designation
• Awareness of park rules and regulations and the need for conservation
• Degree of enforcement of park rules and relationships between polhut (jagawana) and local communities
• Potential for tourism and awareness of how local communities could become involved in economic benefits arising from tourism
• Status of communities in terms of employment opportunities

1. Consultation

Consultation on behalf of the park authorities prior to the park boundaries being designated was conducted through discussion with Kepala Desas in villages adjoining the proposed boundary regarding ownership of land in the immediate area. However, many interviewees expressed a lack of awareness of this process taking place at the time and consequently were sometimes unable to identify park boundaries at the present time. This process was unable to include residents of settlements within park boundaries which were temporarily unoccupied at the time the survey was conducted. Furthermore, few respondents to our survey had received opportunities to comment on the appropriate location of park boundaries and the subsequent process of zonation within the park.

2. Awareness of rules and regulations

Programmes of raising public awareness and education projects are subject to the discretion of resort chiefs within the park, which allows park management to focus upon issues relating to the local area. Therefore, individual programmes could focus upon diverse issues such as deer poaching, logging and claims to traditional land within the park being made by ethnic groups. These are supplemented by visits to individual villages by a mobile education unit based at Unahaa which provides televisual aids to promote local awareness of the need for conservation.

Most information regarding efforts to raise local awareness was gathered in the resort area of Lanowulu. Information regarding park rules and practical conservation techniques has been disseminated to an existing youth group in the Lanowulu area over a 3 day period. This was held on three occasions in the period 1992-1995 but has not been repeated since. A voluntary programme of education has also been implemented in Lanowulu, whereby a representative selection of villagers were chosen by the Kepala Desa in order to receive training in conservation issues over a 5 day period. This was conducted in 1998 but, again, has not been repeated since. A wider programme of education was also implemented in the Lanowulu resort whereby residents of villages in the Kecamatan were invited to the Camat’s offices in Tinanggea in order to receive information regarding rules and regulations, in addition to a televisual presentation being made by the mobile unit. This attracted around 300 people in 1996, but has not been repeated.

Most interviewees were aware of the restrictions regarding use of flora and fauna within the park, which evidently reflects the efforts made by park management to use information programmes to curtail the exploitation of park resources. However, some respondents’ awareness was a result of information displayed on park boundary markers, whilst a minority were unaware of such rules or the existence of the park itself. Local residents’ awareness of the reasons behind these measures was generally limited. However, some representatives of Bugis and Moronene communities living within the park were aware of the need to conserve deer stocks as a result of traditional pre-existing customs rather than the education programme provided by park authorities.

3. Enforcement of rules and polhut (rangers)/local relationships

These questions were designed to explore the extent to which park rules are observed and the nature of the relationship between local residents and polhut. Respondents were almost unanimous in the belief that external parties were responsible for the majority of infringements of park rules, particularly with regard to the poaching of deer (rusa). Local residents and polhut were both concerned about the capacity of the polhut to effectively enforce park rules, as a result of manpower and resources. Polhut interviewees expressed in particular the need for rapid communication between resorts and logistical problems in mounting regular patrols. Most residents supported the role of the polhut in protecting the park and younger interviewees expressed the desire to work as polhut, although this was often restricted due to individuals’ educational background. This relationship was often facilitated by action on behalf of the Kepala Desas, who took an intermediate position between local residents and polhut and on occasion made active efforts to integrate the polhut into the local community. Furthermore, the polhut have made efforts to involve local communities in their work through working with local youth groups referred to previously and also through requesting information from local communities regarding infringements of park rules. However, there is reluctance on behalf of local residents to inform in cases involving other members of the local community.

4. Tourism potential

There appears to have been few efforts on behalf of the park authorities to promote tourism within the park thus far. The education programmes described by interviewees did not make reference to the potential tourist attractions of the park. In addition, all interviewees experienced problems in recognising the needs or desires of tourists who may visit the area and how local residents may be able to benefit economically from tourism. Through further discussion, respondents mainly identified deer populations as the main natural attraction of the park. However, there was greater recognition of cultural attractions such as mat weaving and traditional dances associated with circumcision, weddings and funerals which could serve as tourist attractions and, furthermore, to which tourists would be welcome. The overall lack of awareness of the needs of tourists evidently reflects the need to concentrate efforts on policing within the park, in addition to the fact that numbers of foreign tourists visiting the park since its establishment have been minimal.

5. Status of communities

The economic and social status of communities was examined in order to ascertain the potential importance of alternative employment which tourism could provide. Respondents in most villages indicated that, given the opportunity, people would leave the village in order to seek further education or employment elsewhere. This response was particularly strong in transmigrant villages. Residents in some communities consisting of Moronene and Tolaki ethnic groups stated that strong emotional or familial ties resulted in fewer people wishing to leave the community on a permanent basis. However, the opportunities for further education or alternative employment were limited in all villages visited, highlighting the potential importance of alternative sources of income which tourism could provide.

A paper entitled Park Management and Potential for Tourism in the Rawa-Aopa Watumohai National Park, Sulawesi Tenggara will be prepared summarising the results of this survey by January 2001 by Dr Julian Clifton from the University of Portsmouth.