Tribes involvement in conservation sought<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government should recognize the rights of tribal communities
\nto manage natural resources in Indonesia's conservation areas, an
\nenvironmental forum said.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said it knew
\nof many tribal communities who were evicted from and had no
\naccess to conservation areas despite having lived in them for a
\nlong time. The government regarded the tribes as a threat, it
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"Conservation areas and the communities living within them
\nshould be inseparable. However, in Indonesia, the concept of
\nnatural conservation does not respect the people's rights,\" said
\nWalhi executive director, Longgena Ginting.<\/p>\n
The forum, a grouping of non-governmental organisations,
\nissued the statement ahead of the Seventh Conference of Parties
\non the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kuala Lumpur between
\nFeb. 9 and Feb. 20. All 188 countries that signed the convention
\nin 1992 -- including Indonesia -- will take part in the
\nministerial meeting.<\/p>\n
The convention was legally binding after Indonesia ratified it
\nin 1994 under Law No. 5\/1994, recognizing tribes' rights in
\nbiodiversity conservation.<\/p>\n
\"Various global commitments on natural conservation signed by
\nthe government remain a collection of papers,\" Longgena said.<\/p>\n
Emil Kleden, of the Indonesian Tribal Communities Alliance,
\nsaid escalating conflicts in conservation areas were proof the
\ngovernment was not committed to people's rights.<\/p>\n
Walhi had evidence 10 tribal fishermen had died, three had
\ngone missing and hundreds more had been injured for trying to
\nenter the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara since it was
\ndeclared a national park in 1980 and a world heritage site in
\n1986.<\/p>\n
In the latest incident, nine fishermen were arrested on April
\n25, last year for entering the park.<\/p>\n
Emil said the treatment of local people and tribal communities
\ncontrasted with a laxer attitude towards illegal loggers or pit
\nminers in the conservation areas.<\/p>\n
An estimated two million hectares of forests were cut down a
\nyear in Indonesia and there was widespread illegal hunting for
\nendangered species, such as Sumatran rhino and tigers, in
\nconservation areas, Emil said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's biodiversity was shrinking due to deforestation,
\nnatural disasters and exploitation of conservation areas, Walhi
\nstatistics showed.<\/p>\n
In 2002, 772 species of flora and fauna were endangered and
\n240 species of flora, including 52 species of orchids were
\ndeclared extinct.<\/p>\n
The forum said it would use the Kuala Lumpur conference to
\nencourage Indonesia to revise legislation that protected and
\nacknowledged the rights of tribespeople to benefit from and
\nmanage conservation areas.<\/p>\n
The conference will also discuss the Cartagena Protocol on
\ngenetic engineering. Indonesia signed the protocol in 2000, but
\nhas not ratified it.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, although it only accounts for 1.3 percent of the
\ntotal land area in the world, is extremely biologically rich. The
\ncountry is a home to 12 percent of the world's mammals (515
\nspecies), 7.3 percent (511 species) of reptiles, and 17 percent
\n(1,531 species) of bird species.<\/p>",
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