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Indonesian Government Plans Forest Land Giveaway to Help the Poor
Camelia Pasandaran & Fidelis E Satriastanti | January 22, 2010

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The government on Friday said it would allocate 100,000 hectares of forest land to be declared Hutan Tanaman Rakyat , or “People’s Plantations,” as part of efforts to reduce poverty and cut greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable forestry practices.

“We’ve decided to give away 100,000 hectares of forest land to 10,000 households,” Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said at the vice presidential palace after Friday was declared National Day of Nature Conservation.

“In addition, we’re also going to give 40,000 hectares of forest land to 20,000 households for community-based forest management and 30,000 hectares to 11,000 households for village-managed forests.”

Based on a report by the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Center, poverty figures tend to be high in and around forests.

The country’s forestry policy has been criticized for failing to safeguard resources, while communities were frequently omitted from conservation programs.

Zulkifli said that the program could result in livelihoods for at least six people per household.

“If one hectare could result in Rp 200 million ($21,500), 10 hectares equal Rp 2 billion — it could increase our people’s welfare.

“ We don’t want them to be only workers, instead they should be masters of their own areas,” he said.

The plantations will be developed in 10 districts, including Jeneponto, South Sulawesi and Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra.

Wandojo Siswanto, head of the climate change working group at the ministry, added that the project was also part of the government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2020.

“It is related to how we can achieve the 26 percent emission cuts and was already set out in the ministry’s contract with the president [in the 100 days program],” Wandojo said, adding that a total of 500,000 hectares were targeted to become “People’s Plantations.”

The proposal is also intended to instigate changes to people’s way of life and attitudes toward the forest.

Wandojo emphasized the inextricable link between sustainable forestry management and climate change.

“It would also be a way to improve welfare,” he said. “Because people can enjoy the benefits of the forest without damaging it.”