Suatu pagi di bentang gambut Kalimantan, Suryadi, anggota Tim Penjaga Hutan (TPH), berdiri di samping pohon berbatang lurus dengan kulit cokelat keabu-abuan. “Inilah jelutung. Dulu kami anggap pohon biasa, sekarang orang kota yang rebutan cari,” ujarnya sambil tersenyum.
Jelutung (Dyera costulata atau Dyera polyphylla) adalah pohon asli rawa gambut Sumatera dan Kalimantan yang bisa tumbuh hingga 40 meter. Dulu, pada masa kolonial, getahnya sudah dikenal sebagai bahan dasar gum-base permen karet dan pelapis kabel telegraf agar tahan lembap (Dunn 1976). Kini, ketika dunia beralih dari bahan sintetis menuju material alami, jelutung kembali naik daun. Lateksnya digunakan untuk gum-base permen karet versi natural, bahan pengental lip balm dan lotion dalam industri kosmetik, hingga perekat kapsul dan tablet di dunia farmasi.
Pohon Jelutung. Sumber Foto: KPSHK.
Penelitian oleh Sirilertworakul et al. (2016) dalam jurnal Industrial Crops and Products menegaskan potensi besar jelutung. Lateksnya memiliki elastisitas tinggi dan biokompatibel, menjadikannya alternatif alami pengganti bahan sintetis yang selama ini didominasi industri kimia.
Namun, keunggulan jelutung tak berhenti sampai di sana. Pada bentang gambut, pohon ini berperan sebagai penyembuh ekosistem. Akar-akar kuatnya menahan air, batang kokohnya membantu menegakkan kembali keseimbangan, sementara kehadirannya menjadi tanda kehidupan baru pada lahan yang pernah porak-poranda oleh api dan eksploitasi.
Lanskap gambut yang rapuh menemukan penopang hidupnya melalui sistem perakaran jelutung yang berfungsi layaknya jaring penyelamat menjaga tanah agar tidak ambles maupun terbakar. Tajuknya menciptakan naungan lembap yang mempertahankan kadar air permukaan lebih lama, bahkan ketika musim kering tiba. Lapisan bawah tanah pun tak luput dari pengaruhnya; jelutung bersimbiosis dengan mikroorganisme yang memperbaiki struktur gambut dan menumbuhkan kembali kesuburan. Dengan kemampuan menyimpan biomassa besar pada batang dan akar, jelutung membuka peluang baru sebagai komoditas potensial dalam skema kredit karbon masa depan. “Kalau mau pulihkan gambut tapi tetap bisa panen, jelutung jawabannya,” kata Penyang, Tenaga Ahli Restorasi KpSHK.
Menurut Jumali, anggota tim penanaman di Hutan Desa Kalawa, bagi masyarakat, jelutung bukan sekadar tanaman konservasi, melainkan jembatan antara ekologi dan ekonomi. “Hadirnya jelutung, kami belajar bahwa merawat hutan juga bisa memberi penghasilan,” ujar Jumali.
Jelutung adalah pohon yang menahan api, menyimpan karbon, memperbaiki tanah, sekaligus membuka peluang ekonomi hijau dari permen karet organik hingga kosmetik alami. Mungkin benar, masa depan ekonomi hijau Indonesia sedang tumbuh diam-diam, dimulai dari setetes getah putih di batang jelutung.
Penulis: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
One morning in the peatlands of Kalimantan, Suryadi, a member of the Forest Ranger Team (TPH), stood beside a straight-trunked tree with grayish-brown bark. “This is jelutung. We used to consider it an ordinary tree, but now city dwellers are scrambling to find it,” he said with a smile.
Jelutung (Dyera costulata or Dyera polyphylla) is a tree native to the peat swamps of Sumatra and Kalimantan, and can grow up to 40 meters tall. During colonial times, its latex was known as a base for chewing gum and as a moisture-resistant coating for telegraph cables (Dunn 1976). Now, as the world shifts from synthetic materials to natural ones, jelutung is making a comeback. Its latex is used as a natural version of chewing gum, a thickener for lip balms and lotions in the cosmetics industry, and as a glue for capsules and tablets in the pharmaceutical industry.
Jelutung tree. Photo source: KPSHK.
Research by Sirilertworakul et al. (2016) in the journal Industrial Crops and Products confirms jelutung’s immense potential. Its latex is highly elastic and biocompatible, making it a natural alternative to synthetic materials that have long been dominated by the chemical industry.
However, jelutung’s benefits don’t stop there. In peatland landscapes, this tree acts as an ecosystem healer. Its strong roots retain water, its sturdy trunk helps restore balance, and its presence signals new life on land once ravaged by fire and exploitation.
The fragile peatland landscape finds its life support through the jelutung’s root system, which acts like a safety net, preventing the soil from sinking or burning. Its canopy creates a moist shade that maintains surface water levels longer, even during the dry season. The subsoil is also affected; jelutung forms a symbiosis with microorganisms that improve peat structure and restore fertility. With its ability to store large biomass in its stems and roots, jelutung opens up new opportunities as a potential commodity in future carbon credit schemes. “If you want to restore peat while still being able to harvest, jelutung is the answer,” said Penyang, a Restoration Expert at KpSHK.
According to Jumali, a member of the planting team at Kalawa Village Forest, for the community, jelutung is not just a conservation plant, but a bridge between ecology and the economy. “With the presence of jelutung, we learned that caring for the forest can also generate income,” said Jumali.
Jelutung is a tree that resists fire, stores carbon, improves soil, and opens up green economic opportunities, from organic chewing gum to natural cosmetics. Perhaps it’s true, Indonesia’s green economic future is quietly growing, starting with a drop of white sap on a jelutung tree.
Writer: Alma
Editor: JW & Kiss
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