Balancing supply and demand: A case study of rattan in the Danau Sentarum national park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

The Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP), Kalimantan, Indonesia, covers 30 000 ha of lake and 81 000 ha of lowland, seasonally flooded forest. It is the largest network of inland lakes in Borneo. The park is inhabited by over 5500 Malay fishermen. Most of the fishing implements used by the local population are made from rattan, and large quantities of rattan are also harvested and sold to timber companies for lashing together rafts of logs. The 3 most commonly used species at DSNP are duri antu (Calamus schistoacanthus), duri tapah (Calamus tapa) and duri pelanduk (Ceratolobus hallierianus). Inventories indicate that the 3 rattans differ greatly in the number of harvestable clumps/ha (>4.0 m tall). The duri antu populations average over 900 clumps/ha, duri pelanduk grows at densities of 400-500 clumps/ha, and duri tapah averages only 50 clumps/ha. Based on the observed relationship between clump height and the number of canes/clump, it is estimated that there are over 34 000 duri antu canes/ha growing in the flooded forest of DSNP. An analysis of local demand, productivity and current harvest intensities reveals that local rattan resources are being gradually overexploited. Several fishing communities have started to manage their rattan resources by controlling harvests and rehabilitating and enriching natural stands.