The Riung Conservation Area in Flores, Indonesia: Lessons from Failure in Improving Governance, Managing Conflict, and Inducing Institutional Reform

Abstract

"The Riung Conservation area is located on the North Coast of the Ngada District on the island of Flores, in the Nusa Tenggara region of Eastern Indonesia. The area is a mosaic of forests interspersed with grasslands and a patchwork of small farms sloping downwards to the sea. The coastal zone of Riung is dotted with a number of small islands harboring outstanding reefs and marine life.

"...A number of original tribes settled the uplands at one time, but have since been resettled along the coast. Several fishing communities from Sulawesi and Selayar have also migrated to the area in more recent times. Facing recurring droughts and harvest failures, in the late 1980s, communities along the coast began converting forested areas back into gardens in order to ensure their survival. Ever since, government agencies responsible for the protection and management of these protected areas have tried to enforce existing laws to curb the encroachment. Squeezed between the coastal and terrestrial reserves, these communities have had little choice but to clash with government.

"This conflict was brought to the attention of the Nusa Tenggara Community Development Consortium (NTCDC), a multi-stakeholder network, by Sannusa, a local NGO working in the area. The NTCDC, through Koppesda4, then initiated an area wide participatory action research (PAR) and conflict resolution effort involving all stakeholders, including the seven villages in the area and several key agencies of the district government. The Ngada District Planning Board (Bappeda) was formally appointed to coordinate this initiative. The aim of this effort was to identify natural resource conflicts and to prepare the stakeholders to negotiate comprehensive solutions. In the process, a myriad of conflicts beyond the initial dispute around the land-clearings in the protected forest were uncovered, including many horizontal conflicts within the government and among the communities."