Official says local people crucial to forest conservation

Official says local people crucial to forest conservation

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

To support the government's forest protection program, the
participation of local people living in the vicinity of forests
is crucial to sustaining ecosystems and biological diversity.

Koes Saparji, the director general of forest and natural
resources conservation at the Ministry of Forestry, said that
currently national parks and other conservation sites throughout
the country were facing serious problems.

While the government was serious in its fight against
deforestation, forest fires, illegal logging and mining, illegal
hunting and fishing, and unregulated tourism that could further
damage the country's forests, there was also a need to reach
accommodations with local people who claimed to have the right to
benefit from forest resources.

"We have to empower local people living in and around forests
in order to improve their well-being by, for example, designating
buffer zones where people can earn a living without touching the
forest," he said.

Koes was speaking on the last day of a national seminar on
Developing Partnerships in Maintaining National Parks, which was
held from Aug. 29 to Aug. 31 in Bogor. The seminar was attended
by the directors of 150 national parks across the country and
leaders of communities living in and around conservation areas.

The seminar was also attended by the representatives of 13
international environmental watchdogs involved in empowering
indigenous communities.

Koes said that programs to develop local communities had been
recognized as being essential by a Minister of Forestry decree
setting out the ministry's strategic plan for the 2005-2009
period.

The decree states that the ministry's main priorities and
long-term programs consist of eradicating illegal logging and the
illegal timber trade, maintaining forests, greater reforestation,
establishing 20 more national parks, and improving the economic
circumstances of people living in and around forests.

As of last December, the country had a total of 519
conservation areas, including national parks.

Koes said that the most successful empowerment program
involved people living in the vicinity of Mount Rinjani, located
on Lombok island in the east of the country.

"The people there protect the forest by not cutting down the
trees for money anymore. They now make handicrafts. Some of these
are even good enough for export. We will introduce similar
programs in other areas. I hope we can now build cooperation
among all stakeholders to maintain our national forests," Koes
said.

However, Christin Wulandari of WWF urged the government not to
delay in rolling out empowerment programs.

"Based on surveys completed by our colleagues, there are more
than 12 million poor people living in the conservation areas. One
way to prevent them from abusing the forests to earn their living
would be to immediately implement welfare programs," she said.