Panca Nugraha, Central Lombok – Nearly 2,000 impoverished farmers living in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, have recently begun improving their livelihoods while protecting natural forest areas, through a community-based forest management program (HK).
The farmers, from two villages in the Batukliang Utara district, are expected to earn an additional Rp 2.5 million (US$225) per year thanks to a community-based forest management business license (IUPHK).
This license, which covers a 750 hectare plot of land, has been granted by the government and aims to preserve the protected Batukliang forest.
"Our community has been living in poverty just beyond the forested area for years without being able to enjoy its natural resources," Nahruddin, the village chief of Lantan in the Batukliang Utara district, told The Jakarta Post.
"The HK program provides the local community with the opportunity to better their lives while protecting threatened forests."
Lantan and Karang Sidemen are neighboring villages located on the fringes of the Batukliang Utara forest, which covers the southern slope of Mount Rinjani.
Through two farming cooperatives – the Lantan Village Mele Maju Cooperatives (KSU) and the Karang Sidemen Farming Community – the villages were granted the IUPHK license by Regent Lalu Wiratmaja on May 6.
The KSU Mele Maju and its 532 members are entitled to nearly 250 hectares of land, while the other larger cooperative is entitled to more than 400 hectares.
"Thanks to the license, we can benefit from all the products, other than timber, in the allocated location. This will be very beneficial for the local economy," said Nahruddin.
Non-timber products include honey, jackfruit, coffee, cacao and avocado.
Under the license, the community can manage the area for the next 35 years along with assistance from NGOs such as Konsepsi, the Nusa Tenggara Community Foundation, Indonesia Healthy and Prosperous Family Foundation and Transform NTB.
Lantan village is an impoverished community, even by West Nusa Tenggara's standards. Based on the number receiving direct cash assistance grants and the rice-for-the-poor program, at least 80 percent of a total 8,350 people are considered to be living in poverty.
For the majority of people, the main source of income is from working as farm hands or on rain-dependant properties and plantations. Many are migrant workers working in Malaysia.
Despite living directly near a forest rich in natural resources, until recently residents from both villages had no access to the area.
"By providing farmers with the IUPHK license, we expect now they can improve their overall wellbeing and boost their sense of connection with the forest by helping protect it," Wiratmaja said.
Central Lombok is one of the six regencies in Indonesia that has received a land reserve license for community-based programs from the Forestry Ministry.
Central Lombok was entitled to nearly 2,000 hectares of land in December 2007. Following an administrative verification and field survey by the Central Lombok Forestry Office, the two farming communities were deemed suitable for the IUPHK license.
Regent Wiratmaja said forest damage was growing at an alarming rate. In the past five years, 25 percent of natural water sources in Central Lombok have disappeared.
Data from the local forestry office show forest areas in Central Lombok cover nearly 23,000 hectares of land, with 3,000 hectares categorized as very critical.
"We cannot deny that damage to forest areas is linked to illegal logging, which in itself is triggered by poverty issues. We expect the HK program to restrict the rate at which forests are being destroyed, while empowering local communities," said Wiratmaja.
Director General of Soil Rehabilitation and Social Forestry at the Forestry Ministry Widiastuti said community-based forest programs aimed at rehabilitating state forests.
In 2007, the ministry, through government decree No. 37, announced that the HK program would reach a target goal of 14,000 hectares by 2014.
"Currently, around 11,500 hectares have been assigned to the community for protection, including farming communities in Central Lombok," she said during a ceremony for the handing over of the IUPHK license in Lantan village