Not only famous as a natural fortress in the southern area of Jember which is directly adjacent to the Indonesian Ocean, Mount Watangan has a waterfall that is quite beautiful, although it is not so high and the volume of water is not large. Locals call it Maelang.
The beauty of Maelang lies in the shape of a terraced waterfall that comes from a water source in limestone rocks. Its very clear water from the source flows through a small river. When it meets the steep contours of soil and rocks, it forms waterfalls on the first level, the highest, the second level, and the lowest third level.
In addition, the beauty of Maelang is also equipped with endemic trees that are still maintained on the banks of rivers and waterfalls, even though the surrounding land has been planted with teak trees. The roots of endemic trees such as Elo Gondang (Ficus variegata Blume) creep across rocks and soil, forming beautiful nature paintings.
The existence of trees that shade the waterfall, in addition to presenting a cool air, also provides abundant oxygen. Combined with the rhythmic sound of water, visitors can feel a peaceful and calm atmosphere, suitable for clearing the mind and mind.
To get to Maelang, we need about 1.5 hours from the direction of Jember by motorized vehicle, both two- and four-wheeled. This small waterfall is administratively located in the area of Sebanen Hamlet, Lojejer Village, Wuluhan District, Jember. Motorcycles can get to the location. Meanwhile, the car can only reach Sebanen Hamlet.
After parking the car, visitors can travel to the location by walking for about half an hour, depending on the speed of the feet. In addition, visitors can also ask for help from Sebanen youths who go in and out of the forest daily to find animal feed or farm.
Maelang, Past and Present
Maelang is short for "sukmane ilang," which in Indonesian means "lost soul." The loss of sukma means that the waterfall area and the Watangan forest can take away human souls or lives. This is certainly not intended to scare the citizens of the community.
Instead, with that meaning, residents and visitors are asked to be careful when playing in the Maelang area or Watangan forest. Before it was replaced with teak forests, in the waterfall and Watangan areas, of course there were many wild animals, such as hariamu, panthers, leopards, and others.
If residents are not careful or disturb their calm, it can make the animals angry and attack. The consequences can be fatal, from injuries to death. So, residents who enter the forest or want to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall must be careful and as much as possible not disturb the animals there.
His missing sukma also means the death of a figure spreading Islam in the waterfall area. According to residents, near Maelang there is a tomb. Unfortunately, they don't know who the character is. We can assume that the character may want to enjoy the peace and beauty of the waterfall, until he dies there.
According to the description of some residents, until the mid-1990s the source of water flowing into the waterfall was quite large. Even the small river is full of water. Fish, river prawns, and turtles are easy to find in waterfalls and streams. That indicates their food sources are still plentiful.
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Endemic birds such as cucak rowo, starlings, and eagles are easy to find. They like to roost on branches and branches of trees in the Maelang area. In addition to birds, bedding chickens (partridges) are easy to find. In fact, antelopes and bulls often appear in the forest. They wander around foraging and drinking water.
However, debit in some water sources is decreasing along with the denser and higher teak trees managed by Perhutani and the fewer endemic trees such as elo gondang, awar-awar, kepuh, banyan and others. The clearing of natural tree areas for teak tree areas makes there no roots that bind and hold water under limestone rocks.
In fact, some of the main sources located a few kilometers from Maelang no longer release water. As a result, the natural river dried up and the volume of water flowing from Maelang train only came from a few small nearby sources. The follow-up impact is the diminishing food sources for fish, river prawns, and turtles, making them increasingly scarce.
The Need for Area Conservation
Sunday, 30/10, I and my friends from LMDH Mitra Usaha and Garempung (Mountainside Youth Movement) Sebanen Hamlet walked through the Maelang waterfall area. It can be clearly seen, that the volume of running water is indeed getting smaller and smaller. The water flowed down the boulders.
Take a short break after exploring the water
The main cause is the planting of teak trees. The area around the waterfall was once a natural forest with a variety of endemic trees that were able to store water and release it in the form of a water source with a fairly large debit. Unfortunately, to prepare teak land, endemic trees are cleared.
Due to the drastic reduction of endemic trees, the water source is getting smaller and is only located near the waterfall. Meanwhile, a large water source located a few kilometers above the waterfall has long been dead, aka it does not release water. This condition is certainly quite concerning because the presence of water in this area is very important for life in the ecosystem.
Inevitably, to 'revive' a long-dead water source requires the conservation of endemic trees in the waterfall area. That is, conservation takes the form of replanting endemic trees not only on the edge of waterfalls or rivers, but in areas located above or next to waterfalls. In the area today there are still teak forests.
Conservation can be started by breeding rare trees such as awar-awar, elo gondang, banyan, gilded, and others. Fortunately, we can still find these trees in the Maelang area. LMDH and Garempung members and Sebanen residents who want to do conservation can pick up seeds or seedlings that grow in the forest.
However, they need to convince Perhutani as the manager of the teak forest area, to be willing to release the land around Maelang to plant endemic trees. However, Perhutani also needs to make conservation policies for certain areas that are quite important for the ecosystem.
LMDH and Garempung's desire to manage the Maelang area as a special interest tourist destination can be a strong reason to negotiate with Perhutani. With special interest tourism, the condition of the forest ecosystem can still be maintained and the residents of Sebanen can also get economic benefits.
Visitors, for example, can be invited to explore the teak forest area before heading to the Maelang waterfall. Arriving at Maelag, besides being able to play in the water, visitors can also be invited to walk along the water source which is the main support for the waterfall. They need to know how that water source comes out of the limestone.
After taking a break to eat, participants can be invited to observe endemic trees while explaining how they contribute to the sustainability of water sources. When you understand, it is easier to invite them to plant seeds of endemic plants.
Visitors can do "tree adoption." That is, they can be "adoptive parents" or "adoptive siblings" of the trees they plant. At some point, they are expected to return to see the growth of the trees they planted.
For this reason, endemic plant nurseries are needed, because special interest tourism also emphasizes the existence of plant conservation that has an impact on the sustainability of the ecosystem. It is time, tourist activity in nature thinks not only about beauty and happiness, but also how to take care of nature through conservation.
The partnership paradigm between Perhutani and forestside residents, at least, can provide more benefits. The community can be involved in managing tourist destinations, while Perhutani benefits because residents will participate in maintaining the sustainability and security of the area. Such a mutualist relationship is what needs to continue to be put forward.
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