Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
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Chapter 4: Improv<strong>in</strong>g Forest Quality and Livelihoods <strong>in</strong> Indonesia • 99<br />
Research project methodology<br />
To <strong>in</strong>vestigate the potential <strong>of</strong> an ACM approach to enhance participatory<br />
forest <strong>management</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiatives, the Indonesian ACM research team<br />
undertook field assessments and participatory action research from 2000<br />
to 2002 <strong>in</strong> two sites, on the islands <strong>of</strong> Sumatra and Kalimantan. The<br />
field assessments, <strong>in</strong>tended as context studies for the participatory action<br />
research, used traditional and participatory methods <strong>of</strong> data gather<strong>in</strong>g<br />
data on local history, ecology, society, economies, and policies. Field teams<br />
composed <strong>of</strong> CIFOR researchers 3 and <strong>community</strong> facilitators from local<br />
nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) 4 facilitated the participatory<br />
action research, engag<strong>in</strong>g local stakeholders so as to ensure their ownership<br />
<strong>of</strong> the research.<br />
The action research operated at two levels: <strong>in</strong> one, ACM processes<br />
guided by participatory action research engaged the different actors and<br />
were catalysed by the team, work<strong>in</strong>g as facilitators; <strong>in</strong> the other, a more<br />
traditional ‘extractive’ approach, the researcher observed and analysed<br />
these processes. Thus at times the researcher located her/himself with<strong>in</strong><br />
the group, and at other times was outside, tak<strong>in</strong>g the role <strong>of</strong> facilitator <strong>of</strong><br />
processes and researcher <strong>of</strong> those processes, respectively.<br />
Research Sites 5<br />
The two selected sites (Figure 4-1) are known for their dipterocarp <strong>forests</strong><br />
and high-value timber, the most important forest product <strong>in</strong> the country.<br />
Forest cover, however, is rapidly decreas<strong>in</strong>g: between 1985 and 1997 the<br />
forest cover <strong>of</strong> Sumatra and Kalimantan decreased by 25 to 29 percent and<br />
21 to 25 percent, respectively (Forest Watch Indonesia and Global Forest<br />
Watch 2001). Excessive logg<strong>in</strong>g, forest fires and land-use conversions (to<br />
oil palm plantations, resettlement projects, and agricultural land) have<br />
been major causes <strong>of</strong> this deforestation. The two sites exemplify the local<br />
ramifications <strong>of</strong> the problems <strong>of</strong> forest <strong>management</strong>.