IUCN Ecosystem Alliance, Organized A - Z REDD+ Learning Event

As a need of learning and capacity building of IUCN Ecosystem Alliance partners on recent global forests, climates and people issues 5 days workshop and training be organized by IUCN -Netherland commission in collaboration with NTFP in Manila and Palawan, Philippine started 4 to 11 of November 2012. This was undertaken as a reflection of more advance REDD activity at national, local and negotiation on the international level. REDD is now coming as one global forests development scenario to solve the climate changes problem that effecting the words now days and to reduce the big impact in the future. It is a sets of mechanism that will allow incentive and transfer of resources to safe and sustainable forests management. As add by Jan William Van Baster, the Program Manager of IUCN EA Program that "recently several numbers of standard and instrument for carbon program has been developed by number of parties based on their interest. But there’s remain gaps especially in the development country that has large forest cover. So having a complete understanding about REDD is crucial to make us ready from now to support the next REDD related activities on the ground". 

In the introduction Jan again pointed out that "Some says that REDD is complex and complicated but it’s depend from which site we were looking to it. Basically we realize that REDD is a global strategy to reduce the emission from deforestation and degradation. In this term REDD can be interpreted as an opportunity, challenge or an idea to generate resources of solution. From this differs point of view we can also identify where our role to tackling deforestation. In the scope of REDD as an opportunity and an idea to generate resources of solution REDD is complicated with money, information, instrument/methods and actors that working at the global, national until sub national level." 

The A - Z learning event is focusing on two areas: 1) approaches for smaller NGOs and communities to jointly set up REDD+ projects that can also be designed without the generation of verified carbon credits. 2) influencing national and international REDD+ policymaking, in particular the development of national REDD+ strategies, to promote and defend the interests of Indigenous Communities and local communiites. The workshop will also give an update on the basics of REDD+ and where we currently stand with the concept. Jan's then added that  this is the 1st EA REDD+ Learning event starting in SouthEast Asia Partner: Philippine, Vietnam and Indonesia. But as a network, EA IUCN - NL has also facilitate invited partners from Ghana, Ecuador and India. Making the learning complete, an experts about Carbon from World Land Trust and keys study in Palawan is also invited and preparing to makes this learning are complete. 

The meeting was held fluently in active interaction and discussion among participant and resources person. Beginning with a short presentation, study cases and been deeply leaned with long discussion. This workshop and training was held in Manila and Palawan. Participant was divided into 3 teams to working together in analysis the issues related to REDD – this team will provide a summary of the previous day lessons. Participants are also got the chance to visit REDD demonstration activity that facilitated by NTFP and had a chance to have and active communication directly with the community in Palawan. 

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Scaling-up Ecoforestry to Support Climate Change Mitigation in Papua

A summary of the 2012 - 2014 working concepts

Community based forest management has the potential to contribute to food and livelihoods security, and to contribute to the sustainable management of forest resources. Where it is able to provide an alternative to forest clearance, it is also a tool for climate change mitigation. Forest management which emphasizes sustainability of the forest ecosystem, maintenance of ecosystem services, and maximizing benefits for local community livelihoods is often referred to as eco-forestry. The concept of eco-forestry has yet to become well-established in Indonesia, where efforts to date have focused more narrowly on securing community rights over forest resources, but the elements of the eco-forestry approach are strongly aligned with the aspirations of many communities and civil society organizations working in this area. The experience of the Papua New Guinea Eco-forestry Forum[1], and the lessons and manuals produced by Greenpeace on the basis of their experience in PNG and the Solomon Islands, are highly relevant to Papua as they refer to similar ecological and cultural settings.

Eventhough most of eco-forestry efforts in Indonesia was focused on timber extraction but with a wide forests products it must not been emphasized only on timber. Non timber forest products such as nutmegs, sago, eager woods and others are the products that be proposed to developed by the community as part of increase they security in economic position. Learning from current experiences which we can’t generalize that timber was the most potential one of cash sources. Clarity of land right and legal permition that community must be realized to make sure that that community would derive benefits from their resources.

Experience in PNG, from Greenpeace, and increasingly from elsewhere in Indonesia, demonstrates that there are three critical enabling conditions which must be in place for a community to sustainably and effectively manage a forest area:

1. agreement on rights over forest resources and the sharing of benefits from an ecoforestry initiative both within the community concerned, and with neighboring communities
2. appropriate rights and licenses issued by the relevant authorities
3. a village forest management institution with the technical capacity to plan and implement forest management, and the capacity to manage the business, including marketing and financial aspects.

The current (2012) situation with each of these enabling conditions in Papua is reviewed briefly below:

1. Community agreement

Definition of customary rights over land has been the focus of participatory mapping initiatives which have progressed in several parts of Indonesia, including Papua, in the last decade. An effective mapping process clarifies the external boundaries of land ownership (shared with neighboring groups), and the internal boundaries (between families and clans). Whilst not specifically developed to support ecoforestry, the mapping has been key to defining the limits of rights and thus to making formal applications for licenses. The establishment of the Customary Lands Register (nationally), the issuing of a Papuan Regulation of Indigenous Lands, and the inclusion of mapping in the draft Papua Spatial Plan mean that the path for securing formal recognition of mapped territories is increasingly clear.  Some mapping approaches (notably by WWF in Merauke and CI in Mamberamo) have avoided mapping boundaries of land rights, and have concentrated on mapping locations with economic and cultural importance for communities. Whilst these maps provide an indication of land use, they are not adequate for planning forest management. The area of land mapped to date is a fraction of the total area occupied by indigenous peoples, especially in Papua. Experience of community mapping in Papua is now adequate to plan how such interventions can be scaled-up and accelerated, and the establishment of a mapping learning organization in Jayapura in 2011 is intended to facilitate this process.

2. Rights and licenses

Prior to 2008, initiatives in Papua and cross-visits to PNG failed to kick-start an ecoforestry movement, primarily because civil society groups and government were struggling with the question of how legal control of forests and the right to extract timber and non timber forest products could be secured within the framework of Indonesian forestry and evironmental laws. Finally, in 2008, Papua province used its special autonomy status within Indonesia to issue its own law on sustainable forest management[1]. Implementing regulations for this law were finally issued in 2010, defining a clear, though tortuous, administrative process through which a community could secure rights over forest and timber. Ironically, by the time Papua province issued its regulations, national policies for village forests had also advanced to the stage of implementing regulations[2], and by the end of 2011 over 30 such licenses had been issued to communities in Sumatra and Kalimantan, whilst Papua lagged behind in implementation.

3. Institutional Capacity

Low standards of formal education, and lack of experience in engaging on an equal footing with external stakeholders, remains a challenge to community development initiatives including ecoforestry. In logging concession areas Papuan villagers have usually been employed as front-line workers, and have learned the skills of tree-felling and extraction, but not planning and management of forests. Business skills are typically poorly developed, with little experience of planning and managing finances and business process, and most cash income generated from direct sales of unprocessed forest and farm products, or hand-outs from government and company development schemes.

Four or five initiatives which could be described as ecoforestry are underway in Papua: PPMA has continued to facilitate work in Nimbonton and Imeno, Jayapura Kabupaten, which are two of the three villages originally facilitated by WWF. WWF continues to work in the third village, Guriad, and in Kaliki village in Merauke Kabupaten. In the Baliem valley, local civil society groups and Samdhana Institute are working with the local Government and Lorentz National Park agency on integrating community forest management into the management of the Park. In West Papua Province, local NGOs and stakeholders are working with Samdhana Institute in Esania village, Kaimana Kabupaten. The present situation of another eco-forestry initiative, developed by national NGO Telapak in Knasaimos, Sorong Selatan Kabupaten, is followed up by Green Peace - Papua.

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[1]    Papua Special Autonomy Regulation 21/2008 on Sustainable Forest Management in Papua Province

[2]    Forest Minister's decision on Village Forests 49/2008

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[1]    See:  http://www.ecoforestry.org.pg/home?subSiteId=1

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