Ebiprilia is one of a 15-member women's group who calls themselves Perempuan Inspiratif Mitra Polisi Kehutanan or Women Forest Rangers Community Partners. These women are the leading conservation efforts and safeguarding the Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park.

With an infectious laugh and a lust for life, Ebiprila is right there on the frontlines. A cheerleader for conservation, she enjoys spending her time with the local communities surrounding the park, singing the praises of biodiversity and the importance of preserving the environment.

Beyond their role as frontline defenders of the park’s wildlife, these women play an important role in ‘taking conservation to the people’ – promoting awareness and facilitating information flows between communities and the Park management. 

 “This training [of Women Forest Rangers Community Partners] serves as a role model that will hopefully change the behaviors of illegal activities in the conservation area and protect the wildlife, as well as inspire new livelihood alternatives,” said Sustyo Iriyono, Director of Forest Protections and National Project Director of the Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade Indonesia project. PIMP itself at BNWNP is the first initiative in Indonesia and is expected to be replicated in other locations.

At the end of 2020, Ebiprila, together with the Forest Ranger of South Coast Resort Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park (BNWNP), the Young Caring Community of  Arecaceae South Bolaang Mongondow Regency,the Modaga No Suangge Community Group, the Village Government of Popodu Village acted to care for the environment to plant trees. The  trees which consist of Nantu, Cempaka, and Angsana are being planted at a spot that used to be encroached by illegal loggers in Takapulintang area.  Ebiprila also lead other awareness activities to prevent illegal poaching and promote  wildlife conservation.

Ebiprila is a band of women tied as Perempuan Inspiratif Mitra Polisi Kehutanan or Women Forest Rangers Community Partner (PIMP). The group membership consists of 15 locally and champions recruited women from the resorts across Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park. PIMP is an initiative of BNWNP with the Directorate of Forest Protection, Directorate General of Law Enforcement on Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Forestry with full support from the Combatting Illegal Wildlife Project (CIWT) Project. The presence of PIMP is an effort to embrace the involvement of local people not to be left behind, especially women, in conservation efforts and safeguarding the BNWNP area.

PIMP was formed to serve as a point of contact for the people around the BNNWP conservation area who avoid engaging in activities that violate the regulations. They also play an important role in enlisting people who have already participated in the settlement program launched by BNWNP, such as collaborative ecosystems restoring initiative, natural tourism, and non-timber forest products utilization. The PIMP member is also expected to provide approaches and guidance to communities to obtain alternative livelihoods. They also persuade the local communities to refrain from hunting protected wild animals to protect the endemic biodiversity of Sulawesi in BNWNP.

With an area coverage of ​​282,008,757 hectares, BNWNP is one of the largest land conservation areas on Sulawesi, one of Indonesia’s richest biodiversity islands. The national park has become one of the last strongholds of biodiversity wonders in Sulawesi and is home to several endemic mammals such as Maleo, Anoa, and Babirusa.

To boost the skills of the PIMP personnel in the field, the CIWT Project supported a 9-day training on social awareness and conservation skills. The training series includes materials on the conservation insights, introduction to BNWNP conservation area, community awareness on conservation and prevention of hunting of the protected wildlife, conflict management, and making eco print batik from plants as an alternative livelihood.  

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Written by Faiz Yajri – Knowledge Management Associate UNDP Indonesia (Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade Project)

Edited by Ranjit Jose and Tomi Soetjipto