Getting the boundaries right Indonesia's urgent need to redifine its forest estate

Abstract

The results of a one day seminar on the forestry sector, organized in Jakarta this past March by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the World Bank, revealed that the state of Indonesia’s forests is far worse than the government was willing to admit during the Suharto period and that conflict between local forest dependent people and the wood industry continues to increase. Should existing deforestation rates continue, Indonesia will cease to be major supplier of wood products early in the 21st century and it is likely that few conservation areas will remain intact. An important part of the process of coming to terms with the crisis in Indonesia’s forests and reversing the trends, is to determine exactly what and where these forests are then how, in places where it still possible, to assure their protection. While some work has been done to improve management in some natural forest settings, little attention has been paid to defining just what is and isn’t a forest in Indonesia. Related to this, is the urgent need to assess the methods the Department of Forestry and Estate Crops MoFEC uses to define the forest estate and their implications on how these areas are managed. There is little doubt that the way the forest estate has been defined has led to widespread and increasing conflict on the ground between local people and forest industries who have been awarded rights over areas where in fact, traditional or adat rights apply2. Surprising many in the audience, in his opening remarks at the March seminar, the Coordinating Minister challenged the logic behind the government’s classification of 88% of Indonesia’s outer islands as State Forest and questioned the ability of the MOFEC to adequately manage such an enormous area. This paper argues for a redefining of the State Forest Zone in order to achieve two central objectives: 1. To determine priority areas of natural forests and watersheds that need focused attention in their management and protection and; 2. To address conflict by recognizing and securing the rights of smallholders whose lands have been misclassified as State Forest