To examine the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) program as an alternative to an oil palm plantation in West Kutai district of East Kalimantan, we determined the profitability of land use and REDD+, and the land use preferences and practices of the local people, as well as their participation in and preferences for forestry programs. Our findings indicate the following: 1) the profitability of an oil palm plantation was higher than that from other land uses and the REDD+ program; 2) the local preferences for land uses were mostly consistent with the profitability of the land uses, except for oil palm plantation due to non-financial concerns; 3) the local people combined each land use in accordance with their various needs; and 4) the local people were interested in a Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) program in nonforestry zones. Considering these evidences, an improved RHL program based on an intensive agroforestry system and a conservation-based REDD+ program based on existing customary conservation forest management by the local people are proposed. Given the high opportunity cost and the low preference for an oil palm plantation, designing the REDD+ program by paying attention to the non-financial benefits for a community is a way forward. To enhance the non-financial benefits, it is important to take into consideration local preferences and livelihood activities in designing the REDD+ program. This study also implies the need for a reconsideration of the position of participation of local people in the safeguards of REDD+.
Local people's'participation is highly recommended in protected areas (PAs) management.This study aimed at understanding local people's participation as "means" or tool and "ends" or empowerment in the management of Kinabalu National Park (KNP) in Sabah state of Malaysia and the Kayan Mentarang National Park (KMNP) in North Kalimantan of Indonesia, two important PAs located in the Heart of Borneo. Following Bali Guidelines by UNEP, three important aspects of public participation at the local level were evaluated by deploying qualitative research methods for key-informant interviews (KII), focus group discussions (FGD), and content analysis of policy documents. In KMNP, policies and legal framework primarily supported local peoples' participation as "means" in park management, which was also revealed from interviews with KII and in FGD. Local communities had access to surrounding natural resources for livelihoods which is considered to be participation as "ends." There was no policy support for formal participation of local people in KNP management, but recent informal permission to use designated park areas for farming and eco-tourism can be seen participation as "means" and as "ends." To achieve both of "means" and "ends" fully, participation needs to be integrated into national parks' legal system.
Rattan, rubber and oil palm, are produced in the tropics, of which previous researches were focused on the aspects of ecology and economy. This article aims to clarify the preference of swiddenners to such products and to understand their emic livelihood strategy. As a result, it was clarified that villagers selected the rubber production as the source of cash income because of high returns to works , and sustained the rattan production because of high flexibility in terms of daily use and so on. Villagers hesitated to introduce oil palm because of low flexibility and autonomy caused by oil palm company. On the other hand, villagers have expectation to high return to works. Therefore villagers accepted the development of oil palm plantation in upper river area where villagers have not practiced swidden yet, but refused around the village areas where the lands are de facto owned by villagers. We can conclude that the people take the mosaic livelihood strategy, where they try to combine the advantages and disadvantages of rattan and rubber production, and introduce oil palm plantation partially for avoiding the risks.
This study aims to holistically examine the process of integration of rubber production into swidden society, based on observations of Benuaq Dayak society in East Kalimantan. Before the introduction of rubber production, villagers livelihoods were based on swidden and rattan production, but household economies fared poorly owing to stagnating rattan prices. There was a high rate of rice self-sufficiency, while various work organization types and a collaborative work and profitsharing system played an important role in their livelihoods as a social safety net. The collaborative work and profit-sharing system was supported by a philosophy of mutual aid. After rubber production began, about half the villagers gave up swidden and the others switched to practicing swidden and rubber fields together. Their living standard was improved by cash income from rubber, and their rate of rice self-sufficiency dropped. A cash-income differential emerged among villagers, which caused social disruption such as arson and theft. The work organization was simplified from a collaborative work and profit-sharing system to an individual work and private-profit system. These livelihood changes and increasing cash income caused a social safety net malfunction, and impaired the philosophy of mutual aid.It is inferred that the introduction of rubber production offers the possibility of both environmental and economic improvements, but to accomplish the well-balanced development of swidden society it is important to reconstruct and maintain the social ties that have been weakened by rising cash income and simplified types of work organization. It is also necessary to establish new institutional social networks for cooperation with the government to adapt to market economy conditions.
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