Forest Preservers Demand Rewards: Wonogiri, Central Java

By Barrie | October 24th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

Farmers who are actively involved in the sustainable development of community-based forests in Wonogiri, Central Java, say they are not reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication. “We used to experience water shortages every dry season. But now things are much better due to the formation of new springs that are constantly replenished by natural rainfall,” Mulyono, the chairman of one of the three community-based forest units in Wonogiri, Central Java, said.

“We’ve been able to convert barren, infertile and rocky land into green areas,” he added.

Mulyono’s community-based forest unit in Sumberejo, Batuwarno, Wonogiri, is one of five that have been certified by the Indonesian Eco-labeling Institute (LEI). Due to the abundant supply of water from the new springs, Mulyono said, the water demands of all the subdistricts in the area was being met.

The odd thing is, he said, the water was also commercially utilized by a state-owned water company to supply a nearby hospital and the firm’s customers.

Mulyono is of the opinion that such treatment is unfair. Siman, the chairman of another community-based forest unit in Selopuro, Batuwarno, Wonogiri, is also unhappy about the arrangement. “We are the ones who have done all the hard work but others don’t think there is anything wrong with benefiting the most from the arrangement without compensating us,” Siman said. “We’ve re-greened our barren land by ourselves — without any assistance from anybody or any institution — but we haven’t been paid for our efforts,” he said.

“We still need money to feed our families. We also demand justice,” Mulyono said.

Such demands seem reasonable at a time when global efforts to stem climate change could soon include paying countries in the tropical belt to not cut down their rainforests, beginning with a World Bank pilot project.

The World Bank is, for example, planning to start a US$250 million investment fund to reward countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Congo for “avoided deforestation”.

Aside from the absence of environmental compensation from the water springs, the farmers participating in the community-based forest units have not got fair prices from the sale of their logs either.

The farmers’ timber is viewed as the same as that harvested from other forests managed by state-owned forestry company Perhutani, which is in charge of managing teak forests on Java island.

“There is a missing link here. The market is waiting for certified products, but businesspeople are not so enthusiastic about investing there at a time when farmers have got nothing from their hard work in managing their forested land,” said Taryono Wijaya of non-governmental organization Persepsi.

“Something must be done, such as through the establishment of a wood workshop,” Taryono said, referring to the workshop established by the LEI in Selopuro with the aim of training locals to make high quality wooden articles.

– Hyginus Hardoyo