Our successful Yaki Pride Campaigns (YPC) have been supported by Mandai Nature for several years. They are holistically and strategically designed with the intention to trigger behaviour change in local communities, to evoke care and compassion and the internal wish to have less negative impact to the environment.

Our outreach in 2021 was limited due to the pandemic restrictions. Since 2022 we came back in full swing! Our yaki youth ambassadors from the 2021 were thrilled to finaly be able to spread the messages in their areas in Minahasa region. From small to big markets, they were proud to talk to the visitors as the yaki ambassadors about conservation and the importance of yaki. In addition to socializing through information stand and loudspeakers, they also distributed yaki-themed calendars, stickers, pins and magazines. The presence of our yaki mascot, Molay, also added to the excitement of the activity. Several visitors looked enthusiastic to see the yaki mascot, curiously approached to learn more and even took selfies.

Through info stands we reached over 3000 people by the end of March. From the data we had in 2019 in the preparation of the Yaki Pride Campaign, there were 15 traditional markets in Minahasa and some were shut down after the pandemic outbreak. We have covered 8 markets in Tompaso, Tondano, Kawangkoan, Langowan, Tanahwangko, Kakas, Langowan Lama and Mandolang. 11 yaki ambassadors from 2021 batch engaged with the market visitors, handed out sticker with the campaign slogan in local language “Torang Jaga Yaki Karna Torang Peduli” (We protect the yaki because we care.) and 2023 yaki themed calendars.

Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) are common and inevitable in the areas like the Tangkoko forest, where the local community lives right by the border of the nature reserve and heavily relies on its resources and tourism. In the first half of 2022, we received an increased number of notions of yaki foraging on crops, as well as visiting the villages adjacent to the protected area. Through consulting with the Forest Conservation Community Forum (FMKH) and the regional Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), we realized that serious measures have to be put in place to be able to help the local people protect their source of income and assure the well-being and safety of the yaki.

Our locally active partners showed great cooperation, everyone helping to their best abilities; BKSDA as the governmental authority connecting the efforts and leading the meetings, as well as providing their own staff to help out with the deterrence of the macaques at the border, FMKH by sharing their opinions with us, advocating for understanding of the situation amongst the local communities and by providing members to be employed to implement the strategy, Macaca Nigra Project by sharing a wealth of their data on group home ranges and supporting another long-term monkey guard, and Wildlife Conservation Society with their data on the illegal activities within the protected area collected on their regular patrols.

Supported by Mandai Nature Singapore, we have employed another monkey guard, Ara, as well as two reporters on the damage done by the macaques, Gesman and Djonny, all long-term FMKH members, notable figures in the community, with broad understanding of conservation issues and approaches and most importantly, with care for people and the monkeys. We were touched by how seriously they approached their new role with passion, consistency and regular reports and updates on the issue. Particularly Ara, a senior FMKH member, took the monkey guarding with a big smile on his face, tirelessly patrolling the borders regardless of the weather and always happy to share the amusing stories of what our playful yaki are up to. Gesman, Djonny and Ara report trips of mostly individuals visiting the areas out of the forest, assuming these are mostly young males with an occasional alpha male joining them. They occasionally exhibit mild aggressive behaviour, but are still afraid of people and return to their safe homes when deterred. Macaques are amongst the most adaptive primates and sometimes even the local people are impressed of how creative they are when trying to find treats in the village or plantations.

The efforts are ongoing, but through regular engagement and coordination, we are happy to confirm the general attitude towards the issue has improved and that the visits of yaki seem to be reducing. We are optimistic to achieve even more, especially as this has also proved as a great opportunity to further collaborate with our partners.

Following the initial biodiversity monitoring surveys we conducted in 2018, we are now repeating the camera trapping efforts across the Yaki’s native range in North Sulawesi starting in May 2022. Supporting BKSDA Sulawesi Utara and Bogani Nani Wartabone, this survey will serve as an important repeat comparative to assess the status of the population and its threats. The surveys allow us to track the population and its threats over the time, meaning we can monitor own progress towards our mission of saving the Yaki!

We previously deployed 53 cameras strategically across the province within three months, with two teams composed of university forestry students, rangers, and local community members. This year we are deploying a further 63 camera traps with extra support of cameras from our partners Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park and Macaca Nigra Project. This survey will be finished in November 2022 and we look forward to writing up the results and seeing how the population are doing compared to previous years.

With the letter of support from the head of the Education Department of the Minahasa regency, the new Yaki ambassadors visited 23 junior high schools with a total reach of 2566 students and 119 teachers within three weeks soon afterwards. Still in the middle of pandemic, they did an excellent job delivering the talks and were creative in adapting to the situation and keeping the students engaged, which was more challenging as some schools had no electricity to have the power point presentation on, therefore most of the talks happened in the school yard. We are proud of the fantastic work of the new ambassadors and excited about how they can keep up their involvement with positively influencing their communities.

Finally, the ambassadors were invited to join an immersive trip to the forest of Tangkoko Nature Reserve to observe the macaques and the rich biodiversity first-hand. Not one of the new 27 ambassadors have ever been to the forest or experienced a wildlife tour before, which made them very excited about it.

Avoiding mass tourism and following the code of conduct in the park, we teamed up into small groups of three ambassadors and one SY staff, led by one local guide and entered the forest in the morning. The weather was pleasant, and it only took around 1.5 hours of walking in the lush forest until we discovered a group of macaques! Many beautiful endemic birds were also spotted, and they were lucky to see the bear cuscus and even the nocturnal tarsiers. They were amazed by the whole experience and went home with excitement for the next Yaki ambassador adventures!

Last year, the SLA strategies continued strengthening the communities’ involvement in and commitment to protection of the forests. It was especially targeted on local farmer groups by up-scaling the benefits of the livelihoods with the use of organic permaculture techniques and hydroponics developed up to the larger production scale. With the support from Boras Conservation Fund in Sweden since 2019, we were able to expand the projects by up-scaling the greenhouse in Toruakat village, Bolaang Mongondow and a new permaculture site in Pinangunian, Bitung.

It is expected that by developing a broader model for community-based conservation, the livelihood approaches will be further integrated into a wide vision to reduce the threats to the local ecosystem while benefiting local communities.

Several households were involved working together to manage the permaculture gardens at Pinangunian village for the past year. Training on how to farm with organic methods through permaculture was delivered to ten families. It was similar in Toruakat village, ten families had been trained and worked together at the hydroponic greenhouse while three households actively maintained the greenhouse.

We hope to support the future development of the permaculture garden in Pinangunian to engage more people and inspire others to consider farming organically. We wish to link them to the suitable stakeholders for them to be able to bring their products to the local market with a sustainable system and get involved in the plan of the local government.

Held in Pa’Dior arts and culture museum in Minahasa in December, 27 students from 19 schools joined the camp. We aimed to get one student from each of the 41 schools we visited, though unfortunately some students could not join for various personal reasons (no permission from the parents due to the current pandemic, other obligations or poor responsiveness due to lack of signal/phone).

The three days and two nights at the camp were packed with exciting and inspiring activities! On the first day, the participants had introduction sessions through various ice-breaker/bonding games, as well as becoming more deeply acquainted with the work of the Selamatkan Yaki Programme. The second day started with an early Zumba session to get the kids lively and ready for the day. Next is the presentation from our partner the Macaca Nigra Project about the ecology, behaviour and social life of Yaki in the wild leaving the kids amazed and very intrigued. Right after, to trigger their empathy and increase their awareness, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Center shared a talk about the wildlife trade and zoonosis.

The next half of the day was more about maximizing their role as a Yaki ambassador. We invited a local social media influencer to talk about how to use social media for conservation; how to influence people and the importance of ethics. They also learned about simple phone photography and videography techniques to be able to maximize their role in spreading conservation messages through social media. To get even more inspired in their new role, we invited the previous ambassadors to come and talk about their experience in the role of Yaki ambassador.