Danau Bagantung

In around 1952, there was a family settlement, precisely across the Kahayan river tributary named Sungai Teluk Putak—this family was named Mr. H. Runtih Suling and Mrs. Sakar as descendants of the Dayak Ngaju and Banjar who then settled for several years in Teluk Putak. Around 1957, the family moved to a cape or riverbank area that was shallower than the bay, and it was there that this family lived, farmed, and fished, and the area was named Dusun Tanjung Taruna. In 1960, along with the increasing population/settlement in Dusun Tanjung Taruna and the bustling water and land traffic, people from outside the dusun began to arrive, such as the Banjar Tribe from the residents of Hambuku, Danau Panggang, Amuntai, Kalua, from the North Hulu Sungai District of South Kalimantan. Since 1960, Dusun Tanjung Taruna, whose parent village is Desa Tumbang Nusa, has had a village head named Mr. Inin Timbang (Pindar) while Dusun Tanjung Taruna at that time was led by a neighborhood head named Mr. H. Runtih Suling (Luda). In 2007, Dusun Tanjung Taruna was separated from the parent village of Desa Tumbang Nusa. The population of Desa Tanjung Taruna consists of several tribes, with the largest being the Banjar Tribe and the Ngaju Tribe, with the religion or belief being Islam.

The community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka has an area that has been managed and protected for generations, namely Lake Bagantung and Petak Himba Tanjung Pusaka. Petak Himba is a forest area located around Lake Bagantung—which is also utilized by the community for its natural resources. Then, Lake Bagantung itself is an area of lake utilized by the community for daily life. It is estimated that Lake Bagantung was discovered in the 1900s, Mr. Talib (deceased) was the first person in Tanjung Pusaka to discover Lake Bagantung (Bagantung means having no bottom or something that can move). The name Lake Bagantung is based on the story that the islands in the lake move from one place to another or have no bottom (Bagantung), the movement of the islands is usually marked by the occurrence of 'Yellow Rain'—which is rain that occurs during the day or when the sun is shining. However, during the dry season, sometimes the islands also move. Lake Bagantung was discovered by Mr. Talib while exploring the Burung Buah Hai River (Burung Bua means fruit-eating bird and Hai means big).

Upon entering the flow of the Burung Bua Hai River, there are five lakes, each of which also has its own meaning:

1) Lake Kanderek, named because near the lake there is a Kanderek ditch channel.

2) Lake Panjang, because of the elongated shape of the lake.

3) Lake Belida, in this lake there were initially many Belida fish although now they are hard to find.

4) Lake Bunter (Bunter means round), due to the round shape of the lake, it was named Bunter.

5) Lake Bagantung (the furthest and largest).

This lake consists of five parts, connected by a black river flow. The size of each part of the lake varies. As far as the eye can see, the black water lake is very vast. Around the lake, many trees grow tall, although in other parts there is visible damage due to last year's fire. According to local people, Lake Bagantung has an abundance of fish that never runs out, especially during the dry season, many fish gather in the lake until the rainy season, so during the dry season around June to August, security is tightened.

This area is specially protected and managed due to threats from the use of electric shocks and fish poison, as well as the massive expansion of palm oil companies around the Lake Bagantung area. Lake Bagantung has been protected in its existence to this day with assistance from external parties such as LLG CIMTROP in terms of research; JKPP and POKKER SHK as village government assistance, facilitating participatory mapping, making village regulations, and encouraging the recognition scheme of AKKM; KPH in terms of seedling planning and assistance; DLH in terms of encouraging lake monitoring and seeking legal protection.

Around the 1970s, Lake Bagantung was opened to the public for the residents of Tanjung Pusaka. The management of Lake Bagantung contains regulations or agreements made and adhered to by the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka, the following are the management agreements:

1) It is prohibited to use electric shock tools and poison when fishing, if caught using electric shock tools and poison will be fined up to Rp.1,000,000;-

2) If outsiders enter the lake, they must obtain permission, report fishing gear, and be accompanied by the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka;

3) During long dry seasons, night watch is implemented at the lake mouth/entrance from 6 PM to 6 AM;

4) Every contribution and entrance fee of Rp. 50,000;- (outsiders) to the lake is used as cash income for Tanjung Pusaka, which is used during lake cleaning activities and to fund routine patrol activities.

5) The use of nets for fishing must be of sufficient size.

The community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka is confident and committed that no one in the community uses electric shock or poison in the Lake Bagantung area because they have a high awareness of protecting the lake area. In line with the increasing environmental awareness, ecotourism at Lake Bagantung has also begun to be initiated. Every tourist who visits will be picked up using cess (small boat) and accompanied by the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka.

The management and protection carried out by the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka towards Lake Bagantung have contributed to the preservation of the lake ecosystem and biodiversity. In Lake Bagantung, there are habitats of various types of local peat swamp fish, such as: Haruan (Gabus), Toman, Karandang, Baung, Patung, Tabiring, Tapah, Papuyu (Betok), Eel, Lais. Lake Bagantung also contributes to the livelihoods of the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka and its surroundings, almost all residents work as river fishermen, they seek various types of freshwater fish ranging from Toman, Tahuman, Kerana, Betok, Baung, Tapah, Catfish, Karandang, Puyuk, Shrimp, Biawan, Snapper, Balida, and others.

In addition to the catch of fish in Lake Bagantung, residents also earn income from transporting people from outside Tanjung Pusaka who fish in the lake, obtained from cess/klotok rental. Moreover, these protection efforts have attracted many visitors just to catch fish or enjoy the beautiful panorama of the lake. Since 2005, the number of visitors to Lake Bagantung has increased rapidly, after a private television aired the Mancing Mania program at Lake Bagantung. Thus, the presence of Lake Bagantung can continue to contribute to the economy of the community of Dusun Tanjung Pusaka in terms of the availability of abundant fish and in terms of cash income due to good management.

Regulations for fishing in Lake Bagantung are strictly regulated to use only traditional fishing gear such as: Rengge, Fishing Rod (Banjur and Rawai), Bubu (Buwu) and Net (Lunta), Rempa, Kalang, Tampirai, Sauk, Siap, and Hantai. The regulation to use traditional fishing gear has an impact on the ecosystem as it is considered more environmentally friendly and reduces the risk of habitat damage in the lake. In addition, the use of nets for fishing is also recommended to use large-sized nets, with the aim that fish capture does not lead to overfishing—the fish population remains preserved and gives small fish a chance to grow.

Lake Bagantung has been designated as an Essential Ecosystem Area (KEE) Wetland through Decree of the Regent of Pulang Pisau Number: 445 of 2019 dated September 23, 2019. The Head of the Environment Agency (DLH) stated that since the beginning of 2019, the Pulang Pisau District Government through the Technical Regional Organization Unit (SOPD), led by DLH Pulpis in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) through the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Center, has initiated and proposed the establishment of KEE, namely Lake Bagantung. The wetland of Lake Bagantung, if developed with the right strategy, will have a positive impact on the community in terms of the economy and certainly also for environmental sustainability.