Can traditional forest management protect and conserve ironwood (ulin) stands? An option and approach in East Kalimantan Wahyuni, T. Citation Wahyuni, T. (2011, November 10). Can traditional forest management protect and conserve ironwood (ulin) stands? An option and approach in East Kalimantan. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18056 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of License: doctoral thesis in the Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18056 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). 2 Description of the research area and methods 2.1. Introduction This chapter provides an overview of East Kalimantan in general and the three districts of Paser, Nunukan and Kutai Kartanegara in particular where the research was conducted. It covers the location, climate and geography, the land use systems and forest activities, as well as social-economic factors and human population. This chapter also examines the situation following the introduction of a policy of decentralization in 1998, which resulted in drastic political and economy changes, including an increase in local government revenues, a reduction in the role of forests in government revenues, an increase in the number of districts and the construction of many new district capitals and infrastructure facilities in the province. The chapter also discusses the methods used to analyse traditional forest management systems related to the management of ironwood, an inventory of the natural distribution of ironwood, the cultivation knowledge held by indigenous people, the current trade of ironwood products in East Kalimantan, as well as ironwood conservation efforts. The methods were developed based on references by botanists (Keßler & Sidiyasa 1994; Slik et al. 2007), ecologists (Suselo 1987; MacKinnon 1992), silviculturists (Masano & Omon 1983), economic-anthropologists (Dove 1988; Padoch & Peluso 1996; Peluso 1983, 1992) and anthropologists (Obidzinski 2003). The research is also supported by historical information about ironwood in Borneo and Kalimantan from various sources (Knapen 2001; Wadley 2005), including colonial literature. East Kalimantan is one of the richest provinces in Indonesia in terms of natural resources. The diversity of ethnic groups that live in this area reflects the diversity of resource control and tenure systems. Generally, within the communities of East Kalimantan, resources concentrated in a particular area (such as birds’ nest caves) can be considered private property. Some wild resources, such as rattan, are also domesticated 47 Can traditional forest management protect and conserve ironwood (ulin) stands? and planted by villagers in areas where they are abundant (Eghenter 2000b). However, scattered resources, such as gaharu or agarwood (Aquilaria spp.) (Momberg et al. 1997) and ironwood, tend to become common property because it is difficult to privatise these resources or allocate them to individuals. The changing economic importance of the province has also resulted in considerable social changes. Until two centuries ago, the majority of the inhabitants of the coasts and riverbanks of Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo) were Malay people, while indigenous inhabitants lived in the interiors. Gradually, other ethnic groups came to claim their economic niche: the Chinese, the Bugis from Sulawesi, and later people from other islands in the archipelago. This last group came as transmigrants or as spontaneous migrants. Their influx consistently pushed back the native Dayak people to more remote places. Along with booming timber and oil exploitation came at significant opening up of large parts of East Kalimantan. This was followed by large-scale agricultural development projects, which continue today. The native farmers, living in the remoter interiors, subsist on upland rice cultivation, produced in annually cleared swiddens. 2.2. East Kalimantan province Location The province of East Kalimantan is one of 33 provinces in Indonesia. It is located in the Kalimantan region on the eastern side of Borneo Island (see fig.2.1) between 04°024’ north latitude – 02°25’ south latitude and 113°44’ – 119°00’ east longitude. Its surface area is equal to 1.5 times the surface of Java and the Madura Islands combined (see fig.2.1). The province borders the neighbouring country of Malaysia and specifically, its states of Sabah and Sarawak (Statistics for East Kalimantan Province, www.kaltim. bps.go.id). The national and international borders of the East Kalimantan can be summarised as follows: • In the north, the province borders Sabah state (eastern Malaysia). • In the east, it meets Makassar Bay and the Sea of Sulawesi. • Its southern is adjacent to South Kalimantan province. • In the west, East Kalimantan borders Central Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and the Malaysian state of Sarawak. 48 Description of the research area and methods Climate and geography The province of East Kalimantan has a tropical climate. In 2009, the climatic conditions of the province reflected the patterns of a tropical zone of high humidity (an average of 80 per cent), with an average monthly rainfall of 122-267 mm, an average temperature of 23.42o-32.62o Celsius, and low wind speed (0.7–8 knots). The average annual temperature of East Kalimantan is 26° Celsius and the maximum temperature is between 22.6° and 35° Celsius. The average humidity is 1001.82 milli bares and the average rain fall is 19 mm per year (Statistics for East Kalimantan Province 2010, www.kaltim.bps. go.id). Climatic changes are caused by the fact that a major part of this province consists of forest. East Kalimantan has an undulating topography. The southern part of the province is a relatively urbanised area with fertile agricultural land and a well-developed road network. The remainders of the province is largely covered with rain forest and very sparsely populated. Road connections within the province and to other parts of Kalimantan are developing, which explains the relative importance of air and sea transport. The national road system in East Kalimantan covers 9,878.78 km, with 1,762 km of provincial roads and 8,116 km of regency roads (Statistics for East Kalimantan Province 2010, www.kaltim.bps.go.id). The province has a large network of rivers, which constitute the main route for communication and transport. Indeed, rivers are essential to people of East Kalimantan as traffic lanes for water transportation, water supply and habitat for aquatic fauna. Land use The province of East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, after Papua province. Administratively, the province is divided into ten districts or kabupatens and four municipalities or kotamadyas: Balikpapan, Samarinda, Bontang and Tarakan. The latter two fast growing towns have been designated as new municipalities. The districts are: Paser and Penajam North Paser (in the south) and Kutai Kartanegara, East Kutai, West Kutai, Berau, Malinau, Nunukan, Bulungan and Tana Tidung (in the north). Samarinda is the provincial capital. Three of these districts have been selected for in-depth study for this thesis; namely, Paser (in relation natural distribution and traditional forest management of ironwood); Nunukan (cultivation and conservation efforts of ironwood) and Kutai Kartangera (the chain of production to consumption) (see fig.2.1). East Kalimantan covers approximately 208,657.17 km2. This comprises 198,441.17 km2 (95.10 per cent) land and 10,216.57 km2 (4.90 per cent) seawaters, which is about 10.47 per cent of the total Indonesian land area. East Kalimantan land is used for industry (0.13 per cent), rice fields (2.07 per cent), plantation (2.20 per cent), forest (93.5 per cent), irrigation and others (2.13 per cent) (Statistics for East Kalimantan Province 2010, www.kaltim.bps.go.id). 49 Can traditional forest management protect and conserve ironwood (ulin) stands? Nunukan District Paser District Kutai Kartanegara District Figure 2.1. Map of East Kalimantan and the location of the research areas East Kalimantan has areas of forest, agricultural areas, shifting cultivation and plantations for oil palm. The development of timber estates and oil palm plantations has increased the conversion of forest areas. This conversion has particularly increased in recent years in areas where the national policy for developing two million hectares of oil palm is being implemented (FWI/GFW 2002). East Kalimantan is one of the Indonesian provinces involved in this policy implementation. Following a drastic reduction of labour in the forestry industry sector since 2001, oil palm has been valued as an important source of employment opportunities. This oil palm policy was also 50 Description of the research area and methods triggered by the condition that many parts of former logging concessions are viewed as unproductive land and are seen as prime locations for conversion to oil palm plantations. Based on the Statistics for East Kalimantan 2005, since 1980s, close to 600,000 ha of forest areas have been converted for oil palm plantation and another 1.6 million ha have been converted for the settlement of transmigrant, road construction, industrial estates and timber estate areas. Throughout East Kalimantan, road building and deforestation are closely linked. Construction of roads and the trans-highway have encouraged colonisation, which, in turn, has led to deforestation of large areas of lowland tropical