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 • 101<br />
gather<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> nontimber forest products (like rattan and fibre for own<br />
consumption or sale) by the Orang Rimba and the M<strong>in</strong>angkabau groups<br />
has virtually ended because <strong>of</strong> these products’ scarcity. Driven by external<br />
market forces and excessive logg<strong>in</strong>g by outsiders, the M<strong>in</strong>angkabau group<br />
began their own logg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> nearby forest are <strong>in</strong> the mid-1980s. The settlers—<br />
who have lived <strong>in</strong> the village s<strong>in</strong>ce 1997—are predom<strong>in</strong>antly engaged <strong>in</strong><br />
agricultural crop farm<strong>in</strong>g and the cultivation <strong>of</strong> perennials like c<strong>of</strong>fee or<br />
rubber on allotted hold<strong>in</strong>gs. Some, however, have adopted the <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
population’s rotational agriculture and have been engaged <strong>in</strong> logg<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Rantau Layung and Rantau Buta <strong>in</strong> Pasir District, East Kalimantan<br />
The neighbour<strong>in</strong>g villages <strong>of</strong> Rantau Layung and Rantau Buta <strong>in</strong> Pasir<br />
District (East Kalimantan) are situated between Lumut Mounta<strong>in</strong> and the<br />
Kasungai River, approximately 202 kilometres southwest <strong>of</strong> Balikpapan.<br />
The villages are part <strong>of</strong> a microwatershed <strong>of</strong> the Lumut Mounta<strong>in</strong> ecosystem<br />
and are situated <strong>in</strong> a logg<strong>in</strong>g concession area. Parts <strong>of</strong> the forest considered<br />
by the villages to be theirs are located with<strong>in</strong> the Lumut Mounta<strong>in</strong> Forest,<br />
which was formally designated <strong>in</strong> 1993 as protection forest. Surround<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the villages are ma<strong>in</strong>ly second-growth forest areas <strong>in</strong>terspersed with<br />
<strong>community</strong> agricultural lands and forest gardens with fruit, coconut trees,<br />
rattan on dist<strong>in</strong>ct hold<strong>in</strong>gs and large-scale logg<strong>in</strong>g tracts. Primary <strong>forests</strong><br />
can be found near the border <strong>of</strong> the protection forest. The majority <strong>of</strong> the<br />
people <strong>in</strong> the two villages are <strong>of</strong> Dayak Adang descent, and a m<strong>in</strong>ority<br />
belong to the Banjar and Javanese ethnic groups. In the past, the people<br />
made a livelihood practic<strong>in</strong>g rotational agriculture and sell<strong>in</strong>g rattan<br />
collected from the forest or forest gardens. As result <strong>of</strong> forest fires and<br />
commercial logg<strong>in</strong>g, however, the availability <strong>of</strong> forest products like rattan,<br />
fruit, and honey has seriously decl<strong>in</strong>ed. Hav<strong>in</strong>g witnessed the <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
commercial logg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the area and driven by external market forces s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
decentralisation, local people have become more engaged <strong>in</strong> the logg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong><br />
timber, beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the early 1990s.<br />
Institutions, actors, and policy sett<strong>in</strong>g<br />
In both sites, customary <strong>in</strong>stitutions regulate the <strong>management</strong> <strong>of</strong> natural<br />
resources at <strong>community</strong> level, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g boundary sett<strong>in</strong>g, land-use<br />
plann<strong>in</strong>g and development and enforcement <strong>of</strong> customary rules. The<br />
government, however, does not <strong>of</strong>ficially recognise these <strong>in</strong>stitutions, and