How Effective is the Buffer Zone? Linking Institutional Processes with Satellite Images from a Case Study in the Lore Lindu Forest Biosphere Reserve, Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Biosphere reserves seek to reconcile nature conservation with local development goals, for example by delineating buffer zones of sustainable resource use around core areas with primary conservation objectives. Here we evaluate buffer zone effectiveness in reducing deforestation within the Lore Lindu Biosphere Reserve in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Socio-economic and remote-sensing data were combined in an integrated approach. We applied a systematic qualitative social research design and carried out in-depth interviews with local, sub-national, and national authorities. Data collected through the interviews were used to interpret satellite images: (1) spatially, that is, forest cover change in the buffer zone versus the core area and, (2) over time, that is, forest cover change as a response to changing management regimes and socio-economic processes in the region. For this purpose a time series of LANDSAT scenes from 1972 to 2007 was used to classify homogeneous areas of forest cover to detect deforestation. According to the satellite image analysis, the buffer zone in Lore Lindu was ineffective at reducing forest cover clearing in the core area between 1972 and 2007. Since management establishment in 1998, the deforestation rate within the core area even increased fourfold. The gathered data suggest that there are three main institutional drivers to account for this ineffectiveness: (1) Low awareness of boundary demarcation among the villagers due to the lack of participation during management and boundary establishment, (2) The fall of the national president Suharto in 1998, which subsequently triggered deforestation activities in the core area, as the park was perceived to be the local branch of the national, suppressive regime, and (3) The lack of implementation of the biosphere reserve concept at the national level, which leads to unclear responsibilities in the buffer zone as the legal backing for any cooperation in the buffer zone is lacking. Although it appears that the forest status in Lore Lindu is still good compared to other regions in Indonesia, attention must be given to the protection of the core area. We thus conclude that the biosphere reserve concept needs to be strengthened in Indonesia. Its implementation at the national level, including adoption of clearly defined regulations, would substantially contribute to reducing negative impacts on biosphere reserve management through, for example, carefully designed awareness raising programs.

Management Effectiveness and Land Cover Change in Dynamic Cultural Landscapes—Assessing a Central European Biosphere Reserve

“…There is an abundance of studies on land cover change in protected areas in tropical forest ecosystems which have focused mainly on deforestation and forest degradation (Nagendra et al 2010, Mehring and Stoll-Kleemann 2011, Barber et al 2012). In the context of Central European cultural landscapes, deforestation rates or overall land cover change are not suitable indicators of management (in-)effectiveness because these landscapes have been shaped and characterized by dynamic human uses and ongoing alteration for centuries (Antrop 2005).…”

Remote Sensing-Based Fractal Analysis and Scale Dependence Associated with Forest Fragmentation in an Amazon Tri‑National Frontier

“…Window analysis with designed convolution kernels has been widely applied to measure land cover pattern changes between time lags [31][32][33][34][35]. Alternatively, buffer analysis can be used to calculate land cover pattern changes but along multiple distance lags [12,36,37]. However, window analysis cannot capture the detailed information as the kernel operation blurs the images inevitably, and likewise, buffer analysis cannot characterize the spatial patterns within each buffer zone.…”

Land use planning around protected areas: Case studies in four state parks in the Atlantic forest region of southeastern Brazil

“…For example, the actions delineated in the management plans would need to be incorporated into municipal master plans (Neves, 2012), as well as into the plans of various public bodies, to ensure that they are implemented (Stockdale and Barker, 2009). The need to clearly define responsibilities for BZ planning and management (Wallace et al, 2005;Mehring and Stoll-Klemann, 2011;Guimarães and Pellin, 2015;Weisse and Naughton-Treves, 2016) is another challenge to face in BZ implementation, especially when considering that the areas around the PAs are commonly third-party properties (Vitalli et al, 2009). In light of this, incorporating a socioecological approach into the planning and management of BZs has been recommended (Palomo et al, 2014), since the participation of local people contributes to their compliance with requirements (Ostrom and Nagendra, 2006;Andrade and Rhodes, 2012).…”