Background
Community
based forest management (CBFM) or the eco-forestry is one way to involving
forest depending community in the forest management on the legal frame with
good capacity. Making sure that they are able to manage the forest sustainably
was the task of the supervisor. The acknowledgment and legalization of area
which would be manages under good support and control is the good first step.
The
participatory livelihood research that conducted by IUNC-Perdu in this area
shown that forest products provide significant source to the community live. Timber,
rattan, sago, medicine, fruits and vegetable are the important products that people
can get from the forests. As a tradition they had managed the forest – it was
their home and their kitchen. Time after time forests give significant impact
to the community income. Whether cash or non-cash income. Participatory
livelihood research mentioned that some community who live nearest to the
market or urban area will have significant cash income from forest. They will
easy to collect or gather forests products then sold it to the town. While
those who live far from urban area will spending more of what they get from
forests for their daily needs.
Esania,
the village where PERDU[1] work
with supporting by Samdhana, to fulfill their cash income they are spends more
time to take the timber from the forest and sell it to the town. Compared with
Kensi the other village that researched which is lie on the highland Kaimana
and far enough to reached from town – need about 6 hours by boat to be there - people
in Kensi spends more time to manage their cropland, collect and gather from the
forest. Almost all products that they produce are mainly for daily consumption.
For cash they are usually go to collect masohi or lawang[2].
In current time some of them especially young and adult people are involve in
Government project for their cash income.
As a new
regency in West Papua Province the development in Kaimana is increase. They
face new challenge to manage their natural resources for regional development.
Building materials is one of the most important needs to the infrastructure
development. Each year a lot of new house and building is built. Road is opened
and logistic is need. This need stock for reserves in supporting the
development in Kaimana. Timber it’s self is one of which is import. The annual
need of timber for housing and building in Kaimana is more than 500 m3.
It was taken from the forest around the city of Kaimana. government don’t
forbid them even though there is no legal permission that they have to manage
the timber forest product. Some of the area from which the timber is takeout to
town is the protected area – mainly the area nearest to town and can be reached
by truck. The others is taken away using long-boat – such as Esania.
Such
dilemma is also faced by people in Esania. They are more depending in timber as
their cash income. On the hand regulatory the timber that they were took from
forest is not legal. Based on the forest cover map the Esaian is on state
forest and covered several forest types – production, conversion and
protection. Currently in some eastern part is log over area. 5 years ago there
is logging concession in this area they took the timber from the forest. For
the community they gave the compensation as the reward towards land right
acknowledgment.
PERDU-Samdhana Program in Kaimana
In
2007 the IUCN program called LLS (Landscape and Livelihood Strategy) is
implemented. They got grant from Dutch Government to ran the program on 24
sites in the world- two of which are in Indonesia – 3 years grant. In Indonesia
IUCN worked with Samdhana Institute and CIFOR. The basic idea of this project
is to give an input to the decision maker in the site in how to manage their
landscape and the livelihood insides. We chose Baliem Valley in high land and
Bomberay Peninsula in lowland and coastal area as sites for study. On those two
sites several tools and methodology to see the livelihood and landscape
management is conducted. Stella dynamic model, forest poverty toolkits and
non-timber forest product assessment are amount of tools that been applied in
those two landscape. They are helped to see how rich the natural resources that
people have, how they depend on them and how the landscape changes over time in
several choices of development scenario.
In
Kaimana, process is began with preliminary assessment is conducted by Yalihimo[3]. Some
assessment are also been done by UNIPA – Biodiversity, livelihood and GIS
analysis to the land cover. On the early of 2008 PERDU been asked to joined
this program as facilitator. As a part of the supporting to capacity building
PERDU asked the PEMALI[4] to
joined in the program. They started to facilitate the multi stakeholder meeting
in Kaimana involving community, government and NGO. This going to the recommendation
that the intervention program would be ran in two sites in Kaimana – Esania in
coastal and lowland and Kensi in highland of Kaimana. This recommendation then
been followed up in the 2nd meeting at the end of 2008 in Kaimana.
The LLS leaders from IUCN are took part.
On the participatory
livelihood assessment it’s founded that a lot of Esania community cash income
is from timber. On the other hand there is no legal permission that the people
have to get the timber from the forest. All people in Esania even said that
they don’t know the forestry regulation or other regulation that they should
know to manage their natural resources. And the forestry officials are never
come to the village to socialized those regulation. They are in the position as
a victim when there is an operation by Police or forestry ranger. As a
recommendation we know that they need to be facilitated to manage their natural
resource which beneficiary for them on the legal frame.
Answer that recommendation the team try to find the legal frame to help
community solve their problem. The PERMENHUT 49/2008 about “Hutan Desa” is been
chosen and used as the way to get the legal permission in community based
forest management. Team agreed to learned more over this PERMENHUT.
Communication and discussion is conducted with several stakeholder – included
department of forestry in Jakarta, to find the detail steps to push this HD in
Esania. Program also facilitated the establishment of the cooperative in this
area
“Hutan Desa” a Choice for Esania
The
condition where people are depending to their timber for cash income; but the
timber they take from forest is regulatory not legal and on the hand the local
government in the position of doubting to allowed or forbid community to cut
their trees makes community in un-comforts position to manage their forest –
timber forest product. The long distance transportation, low prices of timber
in town, limited capacity of boat to load the timber, the weakness of the
bargaining position are others non-legal factors that influences the timber
management of the community in Esania.
Beside
this condition, the other issues that would influence the livelihood and
landscape in buruway was the high demand of land to oil palm in Kaimana. One
part which based on the land suitability map is appropriate is Buruway –
include Esania. There are several oil palm companies that had sent their
proposal to the government to this area[5]. The
last is by PT. Rajawali which is asking 20,000 ha to oil palm expansion. Some
village leader had been invited to visited several places in Sumatra and Borneo
which the company has. From the model that been provided by CIFOR team and The
Government officials it can be seen that in scenario business as usual there
would have a lot of changes in the landscape. Model also shown that the
increasing of migrant in this area will have positive correlation with the
expansion of oil palm – because most of people around this area don’t have good
skill and knowledge to fulfill the company
needs.
Team
agreed to put PERMENHUT 49/2008 as a legal frame that will be pushed to make
sure the acknowledgment of community base forest management in Esania.
Communication and facilitation to the community is realized. Team started to
introduce and trained the technical skill in forest mapping and measurement.
This training is continued with the boundary mapping. Clarity of the area is
the precondition of preparation to propose “hutan desa”. People and their
facilitator need to make sure that the area is on the state forest with in
production and protection function. Then they must make sure that it is out of
concession – no other land usage permission. Mapping and overlaying with the
existing land cover maps in Forestry department is the step to complete this
precondition. During this process socialization to all stakeholders is
conducted. Working with Forestry Department West Papua Province the “hutan desa”
workshop is under taken. Then it continued with the work shop in Kaimana. The
elders from Esania are taken part on those two workshops.
This
regulation is considered as a window to catch the chance for the community to
get legal permission in managing their natural resources/forest. Consultation
with Indonesian Forestry Department in Jakarta is been undertook. They are in
position of support this program, they hoped that this would be one best
practice for Papua. Some worried are comes during the consultation – whether
people can manage their forest sustainably or not? To make sure that the stake
holder related to this program is understand the “hutan desa” concepts based on
the PERMENHUT the representative from forestry Department is take part as a facilitator
on both workshops.
The
documents to propose ‘hutan desa’ to Ministry of Forestry is prepared. Village
profile, boundary map, cooperative and letter by village leader is gotten. The
letter and requirement documents had been given to the Bupati then it will be
sent to the ministry of forestry to get it verification and recognition as
“hutan desa”.
Cooperative
Villager
capacity preparedness is the main key theme in the 1st phase of
program. Recommendation to establish a cooperative in this area is comes out.
People had have willingness to manage their natural resources with good
management system. They are hoped to get more benefit from the forest, land and
river.
Cooperative
is established, training for their capacity building is facilitated, administration
requirement is completed and their office in village is constructed.
Cooperative structure and personal is fulfilled and ready to work. Capacity
building in cooperative and natural resources management is the vital needs
currently to make sure that they are understand who to run and manage this
institution.
Stakeholders Response
Monitoring
and evaluation (monev) towards the program in Kaimana had been undertaken by
Mr. Restu Achmadiadi (The Pusaka Staff)[6].
This monev is aimed to see how the program achievement, communities and
government body responses. It also want to know how the facilitation and
supervision by facilitator in the village – the weakness and the
advantages.
Basically
the community in Esania is happy and welcome to any community development
program coming in village. Indeed they have a willingness to support such
program as far as it’s comes to help them increase their livelihood. So far
some of the villager is taken part on the activities that conducted by program.
They had heard and knew the previous activities. The hoped cooperative could
run properly so it can help them in marketing their natural resources products.
District
Government is also feels that this was a chance for the community to get legal
access to manage their natural resources. They had an experience before when
the vice Bupati gave the saw-mill to the community but because they don’t have
legal permission by government to manage the timber so it’s not work anymore.
On the other side community empowerment to increase their social-economic
welfare is one pole program of district government. They see this program as a
new chance for the community to manage their forest in the legal frame.
Provincial
and central forestry department are in line with what been though. They put
their position in supporting this program. Continues communication among
stakeholder is undertaken to make sure that program is known by those who are
concerned on this subject.
Lesson by This Program
1.
Multi
stakeholder engagement:
since the program was started until now a number of stake holder are being
involved – such as Central Government (Ministry of Forestry), Provincial
Government, Papua University, Kaimana Government, NGOs and the community. All
parties are provides significant inputs to the program. New approach in multi
stakeholder engagement is been proved as one effective way to livelihood and
landscape management. Support for this program is come from the head of the
district, the head of forestry department, community even the forestry
department in Jakarta.
2.
Community
Empowerment:
experience in Papua when there is a Kopermas Program that allowed local
community to get their timber without any supports and control has caused big
problem in illegal logging. Most of those that get kopermas permission are
joined with the company or investor to cut down the tree in large number. Even
some of them should be jailed because be claimed not respect to the forestry
and criminal regulation. In kaimana since it become new disctrict the
increasing on timber demand to support the district development be a driven
variable to the increasing community activity on forests to take the timber. On
the other side government is doubt to forbid or support the community – worried
to legal deviation. This situation going to several conclusions that the
community is need to be supported and controlled to manage their natural
resources. They are needs to understand the legalization and acknowledgement
through government permission. They are
needs to be more secure in manage it.
3.
Capacity
building: along
with program capacity building process is one of the goal to achieved. Local
partners and the community have gets additional knowledge and skill during
activities. Mapping, modeling, cooperative and livelihood assessment are all
kind of activities for the capacity building process. Several workshop and
training are also conducted during program in order to increase partner
capacity in support the program. Community are also took part on several training
and workshop.
4.
Customary
boundary mapping:
this was one activity that been implemented in Kaimana during the program. This
aimed to provide evidence document about area which was claimed belong to some
tribe, clan or family. In Kaimana, Esania was the first village that been
mapped it boundary. After mapped it be recognized by neighbor village. People
happy to welcome this process, and they hope that this would be best document
for their next generation. After Esania, this activity is being continued in Tairi
– the next village after Esania which lay on the other branch of the Buruway
river. After those two villages be mapped, the other village is requested to
the program to help them in mapping their boundary.
[1]
PERDU: Local NGO based in Manokwari working on the
issues of natural resources management and conservation. Focusing also in
community empowering facilitation.
[2] Masohi : kind of wood that grow in highland (200 – 500 m.asl)
around bomberay peninsula. It is used for parfum. People are always take it
barks, dried then sell to the town.
Lawang : Kind of local
wood grow in highland. People take it bark and distillated the produced become
an oil.
[3] Yalihimo: The local NGO based in Manokwari, working on the issues of community empowering, cooperative, organizing and natural resource management.
