Traditional ecological knowledge on shifting cultivation and forest management in East Borneo, Indonesia

Abstract

Forest utilization of indigenous communities is intimately connected to experiences and knowledge arising from the interaction between people and their environment. The traditional ecological knowledge of the Dayak Tunjung communities in East Borneo offers an interesting example of the interrelation between agricultural food production, forest management and local culture. This study describes how the local villagers manage their rice cultivation system combined with forest succession based on traditional ecological knowledge. Data were obtained through direct participatory techniques by interviewing key informants about their practices and perception as well as field observations on farming activities and forest management. Traditional ecological knowledge on food production and forest management has evolved over many generations but is degrading rapidly. The Dayak people base their practices on a shifting cultivation system of rice intercropped with other foods, while at the same time maintaining forest succession after abandonment. Traditional knowledge relates to ecological reasons for different shifting cultivation stages, selection of suitable cultivation plots, soil classification and culturally embedded 'signs of nature'which signs to look out for during which month of the year and which activities to undertake. Throughout Indonesia, traditional ecological knowledge can prove to be instrumental for future forest resource and conservation management.

Traditional knowledge for sustainable forest management and provision of ecosystem services

“…However, the study also found that awareness of and compliance with traditional norms and practices are associated more with older village residents than with younger generations. This intergenerational erosion of forestrelated traditional knowledge, revealed both in this study and in that of the Ifugao communities in the Philippines (Camacho et al 2016) and among the Dayak Tunjung in East Borneo (Siahaya et al 2016), highlights the need for greater emphasis on both conservation of traditional knowledge and appropriate adaptation of traditional practices to meet the changing livelihood needs of younger generation without losing the multiple ecosystem service benefits that traditional practices have typically yielded.…”

“…Similarly, the study by Siahaya et al (2016) describes the traditional knowledge that has guided the development of upland rice cultivation based on sophisticated shifting cultivation techniques -gilir balikused by the indigenous Dayak Tunjung community in East Borneo, who for generations have relied on these practices to ensure their food security. A study of rural communities in northern Ghana by Boafo et al (2016) examines how traditional knowledge in its various forms -taboos and totems, customs and rituals, rules and regulations, traditional protected areas -still play an important role in managing ecosystem services in these villages.…”

“…Examples of such systems are discussed in the articles included in this short Special Issue of International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management (IJBESM). Three of the papers included in this Special Issue (Camacho et al 2016;Boafo et al 2016;Siahaya et al 2016) are based on presentations given at the 2014 International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) World Congress held in Salt Lake City, USA.…”

“…This collaboration included the organization of technical sessions which focused on the value of traditional forest-related knowledge for sustainable forest management at the 2014 IUFRO World Congress held in Salt Lake City, USA. Hence, three of the papers included in this Special Issue are a direct result of such technical sessions (Camacho et al 2016;Boafo et al 2016;Siahaya et al 2016).…”

Beyond Oil Palm: Perceptions of Local Communities of Environmental Change

“…Only participants from Buluq Sen recognized the importance of Supporting Service (e.g., soil fertility). Members of this community, which still practices traditional farming, determine soil fertility by observing a variety of rattan and other plants, including those from the families Zingiberaceae and Euphorbiaceae, and employ Myrtaceae as an indicator of soil infertility (Siahaya et al, 2016). These indicators are used to plan rotational fallow periods.…”