Social science research and conservation management in the ...

96 EAGLEWOOD AND FOREST PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND TRADE
Figure 5.5 The toké sorting the eaglewood into grades
Tactics of the Professional Collectors
The coming of professional collectors from outside has unsettled the people of the
subdistrict of Pujungan. In order to confound the villagers whose forests they are
about to enter, and to avoid taxes or fees levied by the village involved, the professional
collectors attempt to find an indirect route going several tens of kilometres upstream.
First, they enter the forest of another village in the downstream area of the subdistrict,
then they walk through the forests of several other villages in the subdistrict and they
only stop to ngusa eaglewood when they reach the forest area of the intended village.
For example, in June 1993, a group of eaglewood collectors from the subdistrict
of Long Peso’ wanted to ngusa in the Buing River area, which is part of the tana’ ulen
leppo’ of the village of Long Ketaman. To deceive the villagers of Long Ketaman, they
entered from the Puling River, which is the tana’ ulen leppo’ of the village of Long
Apan Baru, and then walked through the forest along the Puling River, past the forests
of Long Pujungan village, until they arrived at the Buing River, which they then followed
upstream.
In a similar manner, in July 1993, a 30-man group from the subdistrict of Lumbis
walked through the forest lands of Long Peliran village and through the Aran River
area in the territory of Long Apan Baru village, and finally entered the tana’ ulen
leppo’ of the village of Long Pujungan in the Ahan River area. After ngusa there for
one week, they were discovered and arrested by the people of Long Pujungan.
Disappearance of Eaglewood Trees
Observation on the Panen River, near Long Pujungan village, indicates that every day
for every eaglewood collector, only 15 trees are cut part way or perforated, while 20
trees are cut down or fall down. In fact, not all the trees that are felled provide the
hoped-for results. In the Panen River area, a number of trees with traces of machete
and axe cuts can be seen. Some still stand firm, others are leaning from the effects of
high winds, and many more eaglewood trees have been cut down.