Dusun Hilir - Yusep pointed his flashlight to direct the speed boat to Lake Mengkatip Matei. It was pitch black and the river was quite narrow with rattan thorns along the banks. He led the way to this special location, as in the next day it will be inaugurated as the first Inland Water Customary Conservation Area in South Barito District.

Yusep T. Aceng is the Damang or customary elder of Kedamangan Dusun Hilir. Every day he and most of the residents in the sub-district work as fishers and farmers. For generations rivers, beje, and lakes such as Mengkatip Matei have been their main provider of nutrition and livelihood. Various types of local fish—such as haruan, lais, sepat, and river prawns—are cooked into delectable and nutritious dishes. Unfortunately, their catch has since depleted.

"Fish populations have been decreasing since the 2000s. Previously, we could catch 20-50 kilograms of fish per day, but now we only catch 3-5 kilograms. On a bad day, we caught barely enough for daily consumption. We were forced to buy eggs or seafood as a source of protein,” said Yusep. It was an irony considering Dusun Hillir is located near the Barito River, one of the largest rivers in Indonesia.

Yusep's concern for his community push him to be proactive in restoring fish populations in Kedamangan Dusun Hilir waters. “The first time I encountered IFish project was around 2021, when they were studying traditional institutions and local regulations in managing natural resources. Through various follow-up discussions and cross visits to customary conservation area in West Kalimantan, we agreed to develop inland waters customary conservation areas in Dusun Hilir.”

He was involved in every stage of the development, starting from the formation of customary group to monitor the implementation of customary rules; developing customary regulations; and biodiversity assessments to find suitable locations for customary conservation areas.

"Kedamangan Dusun Hilir has ratified the Kedamangan Regulation No 6/2022 regarding the management of inland water fisheries. Based on this regulation, Dusun Hilir will provide a minimum of 10% of its waters as an inland fisheries conservation area. Of this allocation, 20% will be the core zone where fish can breed safely. With sustainable management, we believed there will be spillover effect, and the fish population outside the conservation area will be replenished.

In March 2023, Yusep along with IFish project, South Barito’s Food Security Agriculture and Fisheries Agency, and the University of Palangkaraya embarked on biodiversity assessments in several locations in Kademangan Dusun Hilir. Based on several criteria, Mengkatip Matei and Keranen Kurik lakes were chosen as customary conservation areas.

The morning was cloudy, but the spirit was high. That day, 30 March 2023 was the inauguration of Mengkatip Matei Lake as the first Inland Waters Customary Conservation Area in South Barito District. During his speech in front of government officials, customary elders, and FAO; Yusep stated his wish for the conservation area to provide long term benefit for his people and to see Arowana again in the Kademangan Dusun Hilir waters.

“The last time we saw Arowana was early 2000, after that no one had ever seen or caught Arowana here. For us Dayak people Arowana is a symbol of good luck, we believe they are incarnations of our ancestors.”

Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is one of three priority species of the IFish project—a joint project between the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and FAO, with the support from GEF. With a common goal of restoring the Arowana population in South Barito rivers and sustainable management of inland aquatic biodiversity, FAO via the IFish project will continue to support the efforts made by Damang Yusep and the customary people of Kedamangan Dusun Hilir.