Partnership Association for Forest Protection and Management: Breaking Ground for Community-Based Management in the Sesaot Protected Forest Area

Abstract

"This paper documents the efforts of a Forest Protection and Management Association established by a community bordering the Sesaot Protected Forest on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara province. The Partnership for Forest Protection Group (KMPH) was formed in 1995 to protect the forest from illegal fuel wood and timber extraction, mediate community disputes with the Forestry agencies, and rehabilitate degraded forest patches through joint management approaches. The formation of this group is unprecedented and therefore faces tremendous challenges in gaining legitimacy across institutions and neighboring communities.

"Located in an area of increasing population pressure and severe landlessness the basic conflict in Sesaot focuses on forest management and is viewed as a change in the status of the area from production to protected forest. The conflict centers around five basic issues: 1)coffee taxes levied against farmers for contract gardens located within the forest, 2) wood theft and illegal trade, 3) disagreement over selection and management of reforestation species, 4) squatters living within the forest zone, and 5) access to land within the forest use (buffer) zone for agroforestry gardens.

"Despite significant achievements over the past few years, the KMPH faces three major challenged in effectively protecting the forest: 1) government security agencies are not ready to devolve authority to the Forest Protection Association; 2) existing institutions feel threatened by the emergence of communities taking on patrolling and sanctioning roles; and 3) the lack of law enforcement in penalizing timber poachers only serves to undermine community efforts and discourage groups such as the KMPH.

"This case study offers important insights and lessons on the dynamics between the changing roles of the various stakeholders and the changing boundaries of the conflicts involved."