Three years in the making, we are glowing with pride with the unveiling of the wonderful Tangkoko Education Centre! It has taken a huge amount of work – conceptualising, planning, designing, writing & editing text panels, painting murals among many other tasks – this really has been a monumental team effort!

The Ministry of Environment & Forestry’s BKSDA North Sulawesi collaborated with SAMA Nature Protection Alliance to bring this creation to Tangkoko. Careful coordination was required to brainstorm with local partners, communities, guides & other stakeholders about what would make the centre effective, then put those ideas into practice! After constructing the building in 2016, the challenge was to find the funds to create an engaging & meaningful visitor experience.

“TEC” as she is called, has 3 main objectives…to educate, excite & empower! TEC aims to provide engaging, clear information about Tangkoko’s unique wildlife, threats & conservation efforts, to foreign visitors & local school & community groups. The hope is that while supporting the guides’ tours, visitors will take away a new appreciation for how special this park is, be inspired by the unique wildlife & discover new ideas about actions to help preserve nature both here & at home.

This project was generously sponsored by EPASS with funds from GEF coordinated by UNDP, along with Boras Zoo, & additional support from other sponsors. There are so many people who have put in time & effort to make this a reality all of whom deserve huge thanks, from creative ideas, building preparations & printing materials, to cooperation of guides, park staff, local communities & partners. Special appreciation goes to Simon Purser from Wallacea Nature for his creativity, knowledge & determination to fulfil this project. Next, a special plug for the skilful designwork from our Education Coordinator Prisi Loijens (a wizard at working under pressure!) & all the great input from the SY team! Finally, a deep & sincere thank you & big applause to the incredibly talented wildlife artist Dao Van Hoang. With his stunning mastery of the paintbrushes, Hoang truly breathed life, colour and feeling into this beautiful education centre.

While TEC is already an appealing educational resource ready for visitors, the official opening at the National Nature Conservation Festival last week represented just the first phase and there remains still much to be done! We are already well on the way with the second round of information panels, fun facts and special sections for the kids, and will be working towards more interactive elements and features as the centre progresses. Any suggestions and ideas always welcome! 😊

A beautiful, informative and educational hub for all ages to enjoy, TEC is a major step towards ecotourism principles in KPHK Tangkoko.

Since July 2017, SY have been involved in an exciting new project aiming to make the protected areas of Sulawesi more effective at reducing their threats. EPASS stands for “Enhancing the Protected Area System in Sulawesi”, a multi-faceted bilateral conservation agreement to protect the region’s unique biodiversity. The project is coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme, financed by the Global Environmental Facility and administered through the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The project has three main components:
1. Enhanced systemic and institutional capacity
2. Financial sustainability of the Sulawesi Protected Area system
3. Threat reduction and collaborative governance

Two of the three forest sites included in this project, Tangkoko Nature Reserve and Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, are crucial habitat for the yaki, so along with a wide variety of partners SY are working hard to reduce the threats to these areas through a variety of different approaches.

With a collaborative agreement four years in the making, this project has enabled SY to increase in capacity to achieve many of our ambitious goals. This includes a region-wide monitoring project to survey the yaki populations, development of a sustainable livelihoods strategy and expanded education and outreach efforts across the province. Check our projects to see what we are currently involved in, all activities of which are supported all or in part under the EPASS project. We will aim to keep you updated with project progress and share updates as the project develops, bringing fresh new hope to the conservation of the yaki and many other endangered species across Sulawesi!