Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...

Chapter 4: Improving Forest Quality and Livelihoods in Indonesia • 101
gathering of nontimber forest products (like rattan and fibre for own
consumption or sale) by the Orang Rimba and the Minangkabau groups
has virtually ended because of these products’ scarcity. Driven by external
market forces and excessive logging by outsiders, the Minangkabau group
began their own logging in nearby forest are in the mid-1980s. The settlers—
who have lived in the village since 1997—are predominantly engaged in
agricultural crop farming and the cultivation of perennials like coffee or
rubber on allotted holdings. Some, however, have adopted the indigenous
population’s rotational agriculture and have been engaged in logging.
Rantau Layung and Rantau Buta in Pasir District, East Kalimantan
The neighbouring villages of Rantau Layung and Rantau Buta in Pasir
District (East Kalimantan) are situated between Lumut Mountain and the
Kasungai River, approximately 202 kilometres southwest of Balikpapan.
The villages are part of a microwatershed of the Lumut Mountain ecosystem
and are situated in a logging concession area. Parts of the forest considered
by the villages to be theirs are located within the Lumut Mountain Forest,
which was formally designated in 1993 as protection forest. Surrounding
the villages are mainly second-growth forest areas interspersed with
community agricultural lands and forest gardens with fruit, coconut trees,
rattan on distinct holdings and large-scale logging tracts. Primary forests
can be found near the border of the protection forest. The majority of the
people in the two villages are of Dayak Adang descent, and a minority
belong to the Banjar and Javanese ethnic groups. In the past, the people
made a livelihood practicing rotational agriculture and selling rattan
collected from the forest or forest gardens. As result of forest fires and
commercial logging, however, the availability of forest products like rattan,
fruit, and honey has seriously declined. Having witnessed the increasing
commercial logging in the area and driven by external market forces since
decentralisation, local people have become more engaged in the logging of
timber, beginning in the early 1990s.
Institutions, actors, and policy setting
In both sites, customary institutions regulate the management of natural
resources at community level, including boundary setting, land-use
planning and development and enforcement of customary rules. The
government, however, does not officially recognise these institutions, and