Forestry sector faces new issues

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG (JP): Indonesia is aspiring to move to a more sustainable management of its forest resources. Along this line it has been suggested that the government will manage the remaining forest resources in a more balanced way between production and conservation interests.

The new orientation implies that the key word is not "production", but "management". Thus, the main challenge is how to manage access from different stakeholders (government, private companies, state enterprises, environmental NGOs, and local communities) to forest resources in such a way that would guarantee the sustainability of the resource base.

It should be noted that, over the last three decades, Indonesian forestry policies have focused heavily on the utilization of forest resources by private companies which have been more concerned with profit margins than with forest conservation. Another characteristic is the exclusion of local communities whose traditional knowledge and expertise would otherwise be an invaluable contribution to the conservation of forest biodiversity.

Reform proponents M. R. de Montalembert and F. Smithusen argue that forests today must be managed in a much more interdependent and complex way than in the past. Forestry policies, which emphasize policy approaches, have repeatedly demonstrated their failures. Instead of capitalizing on centralization of power as a mechanism of control, partnerships among participants and the involvement of major interest groups in forest management decisions is a must. There is a need to reconcile the divergent interests of the parties involved. Only through a process of reconciliation can we solicit their commitment into a collective action which could hinder further depletion of forest resources.

It should be noted that the forestry sector today has to deal with new challenges and demands including biodiversity, agroforestry, community, community forestry, environmental protection, and ecotourism. Forest Departments in developing countries are under increasing pressure to share their responsibilities with other institutions. Emmanuel D'Silva and S. Apanah even go further by saying that "in the 21st century, forestry departments might be required to confine themselves to policy-making, regulatory, and monitoring roles; other tasks could possibly be performed by the private sector, community organizations, NGO's consulting firms, and so forth, on a contract basis".

The World Bank Country Study on Indonesia, published in 1994, underscored the importance of enhancing institutional capacities for environmental management, especially in the forestry sector. It is argued that three conditions should be met in order to have an effective environmental management. First, a clear definition of the roles of various agencies involved in environmental management should be made. It should be mentioned, in particular, there is a need to decentralize responsibilities at the regional level and improve coordination between different levels of government on one hand and between public and private sectors on the other. Second, we need a sufficient supply of skilled personnel who would be responsible for environmental management. If possible and feasible, the government could contract out services to the private sector. Third, a more participatory approach in managing the environment should be carried out by incorporating local communities, project beneficiaries, and environmental NGOs in policy-making and implementation.

Learning from the experience of the Philippines, the Indonesian government could also establish a National Environmental Protection Council (NEPC), an interministerial body which would have access to the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Transmigration and Settlement for Forest Dwellers, the Ministry of Public Works, the National Development Planning Agency and the Environmental Impact Management Agency. Through this council, dialogue and information sharing can be conducted.

Another advantage of such an interministerial agency is to cultivate and strengthen environmental awareness in the public sector. Given the strategic role of the timber industry in national development and the growing importance of environmental protection, the Vice President, who is presently responsible for development supervision, could lead this council. The main function of the council is to give recommendations to the ministers and parliament regarding the incorporation of an environmental dimension to their decisions. The presence of this council can also add to the prominence and urgency of the environmental policy agenda at a central level.

Another important aspect of forestry policies, which needs to be seriously considered, is the integration of forest resource management into regional development.

The significant role forest resources play in increasing state revenues on which our forestry policies have been based, has resulted in the incongruence between central government priorities and regional development needs.

The implementation of Joint Decree No. SKB. 147/MEN/1995/580/Kpts-II/1995/740/Kpts/KB.530/1995 by the Ministry of Transmigration and Settlement for Forest Dwellers, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Ministry of Agriculture, concerning the combination of transmigration and community forestry programs (THR), can be used as an illustration.

Given the fact that the success of the THR program will depend on contributions by many policy makers, the use of a hierarchical and top-down approach in the program planning process seems to be inadequate. Therefore, mutual trust and interdependence among different levels of government on one hand and between public and private sectors on the other should be stressed.

Hierarchically organized implemented policies are believed to have been contaminated by political and commercial interests which have marginalized regional and local development. The THR program does have the potential of integrating policy objectives from the central government (raw materials for industry and reforestation of degraded forest lands), local development (employment and agroforestry expansion), and local communities (income generation and a more stable environment). Through this collaboration, illegal logging and encroachment into protected forests can be reduced.

NGOs can do a lot in providing sustainable forest management as long as the government is willing to share responsibilities with them. Local NGOs in East Kalimantan and Irian Jaya, for instance, have been quite active in educating and giving legal advice to local communities, defending their rights in land disputes with timber companies, and conducting environmental policy advocacy.

NGOs can function as mediators between local communities and government officials. The involvement of NGOs is particularly essential in promoting bottom-up planning. Unfortunately, some government officials are still suspicious over the role of NGOs. More dialogue and communication between the two should be encouraged in order to build mutual trust and cooperation in solving development problems at the local level.

A solution to the problem of tropical deforestation is not only the responsibility of timber-producing countries, but also of developed countries which consume timber products in order to maintain their lifestyle. Therefore, the participation of international development agencies in promoting sustainable forest management should be seen as a positive sign of sharing the responsibility between developing and developed countries.

The involvement of these agencies at the implementation level could give some advantages to the government. First, agencies provide financial assistance and experts which are essential to accomplish conservation programs. Second, foreign experts who collaborate with local government authorities could make an objective assessment of the real needs of local people and forward them to central government policy makers. Very often local government officials fail to articulate local interests due to cultural barriers and a lack of sensitivity. Third, international development agencies can help improve the quality of our foresters in finding solutions to our environmental problems.

We may then conclude that, in order to be able to face new challenges and demands in the forestry sector, the government needs to abandon the traditional reliance on its centralization of control. The participation of those outside government bureaucracies should be encouraged.

The writer is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences of the Catholic University of Parahyangan, Bandung.