Deforestation in Indonesia: Tackling climate change and poverty
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Indonesia accounts for
some 25% of global deforestation. This places the country amongst the top ten
greenhouse gas emitters in the world.
The rapid depletion of the country’s resources is largely attributable to the
large-scale timber industries, which treat Indonesia’s forest estates as an open
access resource. Although the Indonesian forest sector generated $7-8 billion
per year in foreign exchange earnings over the 1990s, with weak rights and
a limited share in the revenues generated, many locals live in often chronic
poverty.
Reducing carbon emissions and safeguarding livelihoods
In response, DFID launched the
Multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme (MFP), in
partnership with the Indonesian Ministry of Forests, with the duel aim of
tackling both rural poverty and reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and
degradation. By building partnerships between
civil society and local and national government, as well by creating the space
for people dependent on the forests articulate their rights, the programme has
succeeded not only in lifting many out of poverty, but also ensured the
long-term preservation of natural resources.
This is exemplified by the case of the Hutan Jaya Lestari Cooperative, which
comprises 8,543 forest farmers in Konawe Selatan, South-East Sulawesi. By
working through the local NGO, the MFP has helped local people to develop strong
decision-making institutions, as well as gain access to local and international
markets for timber. As a result, local people now get 11 times what they used to
pay for their timber, and the profits are split evenly across the membership. In
May 2005, the Cooperative obtained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
certification, the first ever issued to a local community in Southeast Asia.
The case of Konawe Selatan is now a leading
example in efforts to secure community rights for forest resources. It is estimated that,
by giving local people a mere 10% more land to farm, around $850 million would
be generated and around 500,000 jobs created.
Konawe Selatan demonstrates how empowering communities and building institutions
can tackle the effects of deforestation and provide
solutions to problems of global concern, such as climate change.
Links
Read more about the Multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme in our case studies:
Last updated 23 November 2007
