Rationale
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|
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| Punan
from the upper Tubu |
Up until now forests and forest products
have been of vital importance to Dayak swidden cultivators
and to Punan hunter-gatherers of East-Kalimantan.
Recent changes -economic growth, regional autonomy-
drastically modified the availability and accessibility
of forest resources. Neither noble savages nor primitive
polluters, forest people quickly adapted to the new
economic setting.
Objectives and field
Undergoing changes in the Malinau district
have many negative ecological and social consequences,
but also offer new economic opportunities. The project
aims at analyzing the responses of forest people to
the rapid modifications of their natural and socio-economical
environments, by focusing on the changing perceptions
and uses of forest resources.
The district of Malinau presents one of the largest
remaining lowland dipterocarp forests in Asia. It is
also home to the Bulungan Research Forest (BRF), a 321,000-hectare
area managed by the Center for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR) and to be developed as a model forest.
Duration of the project
The research project started in January
2001 and will last for 4 years.
Human resources and partnerships
IRD provides 2 permanent senior scientists
in agro-economy and ethno-ecology. The research project
is undertaken in partnership with the Forest Products
and People program of CIFOR. The project also collaborates
with other CIFOR programs, the Malinau district government,
the Directorate Gene-ral for Aquaculture, the Yayasan
Adat Punan.
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| Bulungan dream
team |
Funding
IRD : Research Unit 112 (From
Forest to Agriculture)
CIFOR: Forest Products and People Program
MAE: French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ITTO: Project Pd12/97 Rev.1 (F) Forest, Science and
Sustainability: The Bulungan Model Forest
Main results
The first surveys
reveal a general trend in securing cash income, even
among the most isolated Punan communities who are no
longer strictly dependent on forest products for their
subsistence. Rice almost completely replaced wild sago
as a staple food. In the remotest areas, eaglewood collection
is the only source of cash available. In other place,
temporary employment with concessionaires, migration,
and illegal logging have progressively replaced the
dwindling income from eaglewood. Rights on forest resources
and territorial claims are an increasing source of conflict
among numerous stakeholders.
Perspectives
In the near future, the project will
assess the impact of road building on isolated Punan
communities along the Tubu river, focusing mainly
on socio-cultural aspects, changes in perceptions
about the environment, land tenure and modalities
of access to resources.
The project will also be involved in development activities
by introducing cage fish farming of local species in
the Malinau district. The first trials will be carried
out in 2002 in collaboration with the Directorate General
for Aquaculture, Yayasan Adat Punan and IRD-Catfish
team.
Training & capacity building
The
project accommodates 5 Ph.D. candidates and numerous
Masters' students in the fields of ecology, forestry,
agronomy, agro-economy, ethno-ecology, anthropology
and geography. Numerous Indonesian and foreign students
join the program through internships at Cifor.
Selected publications
Obidzinzki
(K.), Suramenggala (I.), Levang (P.), 2001. - L'exploitation
forestière illégale en Indonésie
: un inquiétant processus de légalisation.
Bois et Forêts des Tropiques, 270 (4) : 85-97.
Levang (P.) et al., 2002. - "People's Dependencies
on Forests". ITTO Project PD 12/97, Rev. 1 (F),
Forest, Science and Sustainability: The Bulungan Model
Forest. Technical Report, Phase 1, 1997-2001. ITTO,
CIFOR, MOF, Bogor.
