Mentawi Islands

Mentawai Islands are a chain of about seventy islands and islets off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Siberut (4,030 km2) is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura, North Pagai (Pagai Utara) and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie approximately 150 km off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. The Mentawai Islands have become a noted destination for surfing.

The Mentawai Islands have been administered as a regency within the West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) province since 1999. The regency seat is Tua Pejat, on the island of Sipora. Padang, the capital of the province, lies on the Sumatran mainland opposite Siberut. The regency is divided into ten districts (kecamatan), tabulated below from south to north with their 2010 Census populations.

• South Pagai (8,782)
• Sikakap (9,531)
• North Pagai (5,212)
• South Sipora (8,460)
• North Sipora (9,097)
• South Siberut (8,446)
• South West Siberut (6,069)
• Middle Siberut (6,069)
• North Siberut (7,774)
• West Siberut (6,733)

Siberut is the largest and northernmost of the Mentawai Islands, Siberut has been isolated from the mainland Sunda shelf since the Mid-Pleistocene. This isolation has led to a much biodiversity, with about 900 species of vascular plants and 31 mammal species. Sixty-five percent of mammals and fifteen percent of other animals are endemic at some taxonomic level, making Siberut unique. Of the 134 bird species found on Siberut, 19 are endemic at some taxonomic level. There are 4 endemic primates, Bokkoi (macaca pagensis), Lutung Mentawai/Joja (presbytis potenziani siberu), Bilou (hylobates klossii) and Simakobu (naasalis concolor siberu).

Siberut was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve in 1981. In 1993, the western part of the island was designated as a National Park, covering an area of 1,905 km².

About 70% of the remaining forest outside the reserve is subject to logging concessions, some operative and others pending.

In 2001, UNESCO brought in a new phase of its Siberut Programme, with the intention of protecting the ecosystem through local development. This phase involves creating a partnership of local communities, conservation groups and local government, an approach which appears to be popular locally. However, poor governance and corruption has led to substantial illegal logging.

Source: wikipedia