Who really owns West Java forests?

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Commission B of the West Java legislative Council, along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), is processing a long- awaited bylaw on forest management and the distribution of forest products.

The local administration's plan, however, has been opposed by locals, who have not been included in forest management for decades.

According to council records, the province has managed more than 1.5 million hectares of forest located in various areas, while 5 percent of the forest has traditionally belonged to indigenous tribes.

Like other forests in Central and East Java, most of the West Java forests has been controlled by state company PT Perhutani, which is under the central government.

Provincial administrations and indigenous people's participation in forest management have been denied.

Yudi Widhiana, a member of Commission B at the provincial legislative council, said 80 percent of the West Java forests had been controlled by PT Perhutani. The rest was controlled by the state Natural Resources Conservation Agency and the people, Yudi said.

Industrial and housing estates are believed to have contributed to deforestation.

In West Java, 70 percent of the 770,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed.

With the vast destruction of forest area, the question that remains is if the indigenous people still own the forest.

"The local administration has never kept reliable records on the forest. The forest's gradual disappearance has never been accurately recorded or made public," said Yudi.

The indigenous people of West Java have started to demand their right to manage the forest.

Representatives of indigenous people swarmed the provincial legislature on Wednesday to protest the interference of the legislature and NGOs in forest management.

Dressed all in black and wearing green headbands, locals rallied passersby in front of the legislative building.

It was the first time in history that locals from various areas of West Java marched to the legislature to protest the alleged mismanagement of forests.

In a meeting with members of Commission B of the legislative council, the indigenous people demanded their involvement in any forest management decision-making. They said they did not trust NGOs and legislators any longer.

"We no longer trust NGOs and legislators who always claim to represent the public. They are all nonsense," Akbar Saputra, a member of the indigenous delegate, said, while pounding the table in the meeting room.

Akbar, who is a resident of Kampung Lebak Samene Tanjungsari, Sumedang, burst into tears.

Other indigenous representatives from Kampung Naga Tasikmalaya, Kampung Dukuh Banjar, Ciamis and Gunung Paok, Sumedang, also attended the meeting.

They said that they had been gradually pushed out by outsiders, who had created problems with their forest-related policies.

A representative of Kampung Naga and Dukuh said that water had become scarce in their villages following the destruction of forests by outsiders.

A representative from Gunung Paok and Sumedang told those gathered at the legislative council that he was arrested and beaten by local policemen for reporting illegal logging in the village.

"The police told me to pay Rp 5 million if I wanted to be released. How could I afford that much money?" said the man. "I won't do anything if I see anymore illegal logging in the future."

Legislator Yudi said that the indigenous people were only complaining about deforestation in their areas, which caused an imbalance in the environment.

"Traditionally they have their own system of managing the environment. Hopefully, the bylaw will help them with better management of the forest," Yudi said.