Forest management in Java 1975 - 1999

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the evolving management approach of the State Forest Company (SFC or Perusahaan Umum Perhutani (Perum Perhutani )), which manages Java’s vast forest estate. Over the past twenty years, the SFC has launched various programs aimed at simultaneously raising national revenues from timber harvest and achieving improved economic and social welfare for the communities living within and around the state forests. On Java, approximately six thousand villages with a total population of 30 million people are located in the vicinity of forest land and about 20-30% of them are classified as poor. The objective of examining the progress and shortcomings of the ongoing management approaches in Java’s state forestry sector is to stage a discussion on the future direction of Java’s forest management. The paper is divided into five chapters as follows. Chapter One examines the evolution of forest management in Java by analyzing the various programs launched by the SFC from the early 1970s to the present. Chapter Two introduces the objectives and management structure of the SFC. Chapter Three describes some observation of different categories of forest village community in their experience with social forestry programs launched by the SFC. Some observation is also made on the effects of the 1997-1998 economic crises on the forest and forest village communities in Java, with particular attention focused on the role of forest management in times of crisis. Four village cases are presented, representing the various impacts of the crisis on rural communities. Chapter Four presents key lessons learned from the SFC’s experimentation with various management approaches, while Chapter Five discusses recommendations, preconditions and policies that the SFC must put place in order for a people-oriented forest management approach to be effective