ESSC - 5.2 Communities Transforming Forestlands in Java, Indonesia

5.2 Communities Transforming Forestlands in Java, Indonesia

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

INTENSIVE LAND USE. Wono dusun is a common resource unit in Java that has multiple uses - agriculture, forestry and livestock raising. This intensive agroforestry system provides local communities greater economic stability while maintaining ecological sustainability.

This case study illustrates the ways in which some upland communities in Java are taking over management of degraded forest lands with the support of their local governments. While the impact of reforestation activities undertaken by communities have successfully transformed poorly stocked and eroding pine forests with dense, multi-storied agroforests, the take-over by communities and the district council have encountered strong opposition from the State Forest Corporation that has managed the land for decades. This process represents some of the opportunities and challenges Indonesia faces as it has attempted to devolve forest management responsibilities to communities and local government agencies since the fall of the New Order Government in 1998.

The Javanese in Wonosobo District of Central Java have a long established tradition of agroforestry - wono dusun in the local language. Much of the private lands are managed under a variety of forestry and agroforestry systems that are often characterized by a remarkably high level of species diversity. Research on traditional kebun (agroforest) and talun systems (forest garden) in West Java have shown farmers may possess several hundred species of trees, climbers, shrubs, and herbs within a single village. These systems are highly productive and generate a wide range of products including medicines, fibers, timber, food, ornamentals, fodder, fuel and other useful goods. While multi-storied production forests have been a common feature of the Javanese landscape for centuries, during the Dutch colonial period millions of hectares of coastal, lowland, and upland forests were placed under a state forest corporation (SFC) currently referred to as Perum Perhutani. Perhutani has a long tradition of allowing communities to plant food crops in newly planted forest areas. Under this system, known locally as tumpang sari (or more generally as taung ya), as the canopy closes after three years, local farmers must cease cultivating the areas. With a population of approximately 100 million, land pressures on Java are intense, and tension between Perhutani and rural communities runs high. Farmers on Java increasingly seek long term rights to use and co-manage forest areas.

Click here to enlarge Figure 3

This project was an attempt by a local NGO (ARuPA,) that is primarily comprised of young students from Gadja Mada University from Yogyakarta, to work with communities, local government, and Perhutani to develop a collaborative forest management program. The project is ongoing in Wonosobo District, situated midway up the volcanic slopes in south central Java. The original pilot began in Bogoran village in an effort to test the implementation of new mechanisms crafted under the CBFM District Regulation. During the planning phase, local farmers admitted that they were already establishing agroforests on neglected state forest lands in the villages. While they knew this had been illegal in the past, they hoped that their efforts to improve the management and productivity of the degraded pine forests could be formally recognized and approved under the new district regulations and that some equitable sharing agreement could be developed with government.

In 1999, soon after the fall of the New Order government and with the uncertain political environment, a number of farmers began felling degraded pine forests, reportedly with the encouragement of local Perhutani staff. While Perhutani requested that the farmers plant mahogany, and said they would allow for cultivation for three years, they did not provide any seed or planting materials. According to local villagers, "We did not have a clear contract with the Perhutani's district office, so we are not following what Perhutani prescribes. We are now planting whatever we want, but we are looking after the trees that we have already planted." The villagers hope that eventually an agreement will be worked out with Perhutani so that their formal rights and responsibilities are clarified. As one forest farmer noted: "Never mind if there is no exact sharing percentage as long as people get a bigger share. After all, we are the ones working on the land."

In the meantime, the Wonosobo District Government and its legislative branch (DPRD) issued a District Regulation on CFM (Perda 22) that provides the basis for giving greater tenurial rights to communities working on state forest land. Under this regulation, the District Chief (Bupati) will provide 30 year tenurial agreements with communities through the District Forest Office. A Wonosobo Forest Forum (WFF) was created to implement the District Regulation on CBFM and to monitor its application. The WFF is comprised of local government representatives, community leaders, NGOs, and university advisors.

WOMEN AND UPLAND RESOURCES. Women form a group to earn cash from helping tend the land of other villagers.

Wonosobo District, with well-connected road networks and electricity in villages, has developed a vibrant wood processing system based on fast growing species that are even being exported to the Outer Islands for use in particle board manufacturing. The forest farmers of Wonosobo currently enjoy support from district government after the decentralization law. Many young adults have finished high school and some are going to college, yet are remaining in the area and are often active in organizing environmental initiatives and working with NGOs. The new generation is interested in exploring how they can get optimum benefits from the state land that their families have tilled as tenants under the tumpang sari program. They are frustrated by the difficulties in getting benefits and resource security given the long history of state ownership and management on Java. Yet, the Perum Perhutani (State Forest Enterprise) has strong allies in the capital and has strongly opposed any concessions to the forest farmers. The Ministry of Forestry and Perum Perhutani are both contesting the District Government regulation as it directly threatens the historic role of Perhutani and the authority of the national ministry.

Central elements of Indonesia government have gone beyond what they initially backed through the decentralization process. Always sensitive to the Outer Islands and way of growing use of authority in provinces, the administration sees the need to tighten the controls on resource allocation. In Java, district action is affecting primarily semi-estate interests and so is difficult to tolerate. Wonosobo is an example where there have been efforts to find a way to work together. Wonosobo presents a classic test case regarding the political will of the national government to decentralize forest management responsibilities to local governments. In early 2005, however, the CBFM District Regulation was revoked by the Ministry of Interior.

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