JP/17/DAMAR
JP/17/DAMAR
Forest conservation through resin, Krui style
Oyos Saroso HN
The Jakarta Post/Lampung
Yati, 28, deftly climbed a 60-centimeter-in-diameter resin tree
with a rattan rope tied around her back and the trunk, using
notches on the tree stem, from which she scraped dry resin gum
and put it in a basket.
In spite of her hard work -- actually more suited to men --
the lady from Pahmungan village, Pesisir Utara district (capital:
Krui town), West Lampung regency, is a fortunate woman. Yati has
inherited no less than two hectares of resin plantations, enough
to support her family.
A resin-bearing damar tree, which is harvested every 2 to 3
weeks, produces between 2 and 3 kilograms of dry resin gum. A
resin tapper as skillful as Yati can collect 60 kilograms of
resin from about 100 trees. The gum is sold to middlemen at
between Rp 3,500 and 4,000 (less than US$1) per kilogram.
In Krui, men and women, young and old, are skilled climbers of
resin trees. Without any special training, Krui women learn to
become resin tappers through daily practice. However, they need
to be physically fit and have strong legs. They also have to
cover long distances through the forest, carrying baskets, ropes
and scrapers.
After finding a mature tree for tapping, the tapper cuts
notches into the tree stem from the bottom upward, almost
reaching to the very top of the tree. Several days later, they
scrape the dry resin gum from the notches.
Climbing damar trees of between 8 meters and 10 meters in
height using such simple means is a common job for women in
Pahmungan. Thirty-year-old Yani, a woman tapper in this village,
claims to be able to collect around 6 kilograms a day from three
resin trees. At harvest time, she can collect at least 50
kilograms from 100 trees.
Plantation workers are usually allocated one kilogram out of
every three kilograms of resin harvested. In fact, only a few
owners of damar plantations do the tapping work themselves today.
Most of them have moved to the city and employ workers to take
care of the trees on a production sharing basis.
Middlemen buy the gum regularly at around Rp 3,500 per
kilogram, and it is then transported to Krui market in the
district town in West Lampung, before being sent to Bandarlampung
or Jakarta for export.
Tens of thousands of hectares of resin trees can be found
along the northern coast of Krui, West Lampung regency. Repong
damar, as the resin plantations are locally called, form a green
buffer zone bordering on the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS).
In existence since the 19th century, they not only protect the
park but also provide a source of livelihood for local people.
The resin of the Mata kucing tree (Shorea Javanica) has been
harvested by Lampung people since the 19th century. Most of the
plantations today are managed by local communities and have been
handed down from generation to generation, with a small portion
comprising replanted areas that have yet to enter into
production.
Figures from the Lampung Cooperatives and Trade Office show
that 80 percent of Indonesia's annual production of around 10,000
tons of resin come from Krui. More interestingly, almost all of
the resin produced in Krui comes from trees belonging to the
meranti (Dipterocarpaceae) family -- particularly Shorea javanica
-- that have been cultivated by the coastal people for over 200
years.
The country's natural forests produce three principal types of
resin: turpentine resin (from pine trees), copal (from the
agathis tree) and damar (from the meranti family). Damar is
generally seen as being lower in quality than copal or turpentine
resin, but the mata kucing variety, which comes from Shorea
javanica trees, is of the same quality as the other two.
Of the 70 villages in the Krui coastal region, only 13 (20
percent) do not have repong damar. Over half of the Krui
population is engaged in resin production as plantation owners,
middlemen, workers, wholesalers, hauliers and sorters. The Krui
green buffer zone is expected to be grow in the future.
According to Darsan (35), a Pahmungan villager, Krui people
have for centuries relied on resin for their living. Before the
region was exploited for the planting of oil palms, the resin
plantations in Krui covered hundreds of thousands of hectares.
With the opening up of the oil palm plantations, the area of the
resin zone declined and disputes with the oil palm firms became
commonplace.
"Locals are now united and no longer willing to sell their
resin plantations to large-scale oil palm companies," said
Darsan. Kurniadi, a facilitator with LATIN, a non-governmental
organization, said the resin zone cultivated by the Krui people
had become a part of Lampung's heritage and supported both the
economy and the TNBBS.
The Krui tradition also retains the rule that married couples
with children are required to make available damar seedlings for
planting. Adherence to local custom and tradition prevents any
random felling of resin trees. "A resin tree that is cut down
must at least be replaced by another. In this way, repong damar
will be conserved for future generations," Darsan explained.
However, Krui's resin plantations are facing a serious problem
with the conversion of 25,000 hectares to smallholder and nucleus
oil palm plantations since 1995, undertaken by PT Karya Canggih
Mandiri Utama. Problems have also arisen from Minister of
Forestry Decree No.47/Kpts-II/1998 on the special designation as
protected and limited production forest, which designations now
affect 29,000 hectares.
A number of environmental activists and researchers who have
studied Krui's repong damar believe that without proper control,
the community-based resin management system will break down.
The mata kucing variety of resin harvested in Krui is said to
be the best in Indonesia. By cultivating resin, local villagers
can afford to pay for their children to finish school, some of
whom have progressed to become local officials. Over six tons of
dry resin from Krui are exported. Krui's income from resin is
estimated at Rp 21 billion a year.
Sadly, the Krui resin industry faces problems connected with
an excessively long supply chain, the replacement of resin trees
with oil palms and the use of synthetic resin by major industrial
users, which has lowered the price of resin.
To the coastal people of Krui, the repong damar not only
provide income, but are part of their heritage and must be
maintained for their high economic and historical value. They
have proven that conserving forests by upholding tradition is far
more rewarding than simply airing highfalutin slogans.