Land-use Decisions in Complex Commons: Engaging Multiple Stakeholders through Foresight and Scenario Building in Indonesia

International audienc

Fore-sighting transformation and development: lessons learned in engaging multiple stakeholders to improve land use decisions in Indonesia

As one of the most populated tropical forest countries in the world, Indonesia faces huge challenges in balancing development, livelihood improvement of its citizens and conservation of its natural assets. The potential impact of large-scale landscape transformation is unclear but could present a major challenge as government struggle to mitigate the impacts of economic development and population growth, while maintaining ecosystem services. Traditional use of land is often seen as conflicting with companies and state-owned enterprises over land-use. The provincial and district spatial planning authorities design Land allocation zoning and land use planning for period of twenty years. Many stakeholders are not involved in the process. An important step in trying to improve the current situation is to make informed trade-offs by facilitating the implementation of a more collaborative land use planning and allocation process that benefit all parties, seeking to take into consideration environmental and social issues. We conducted research using an applied fore sighting approach called Participatory Prospective Analysis (PPA) for two regencies. This method allows anticipating changes in land use or development through scenario-based approach, by conducting a series of multi-stakeholders workshop. The PPA group of "experts" involved district government, local community, customary leaders, private sector, NGOs and local universities. Most important results were consensus on the identification of policies and social variables as key drivers and scenario building. Scenarios provide information to deal with challenges and future consequences of various LUC. It enabled decision makers to anticipate actions to achieve the desired economic and conservation goals. The study has shown that by increasing the participation and integration capacity of all stakeholders, they are able to contribute more effectively to a better foresight for the future development, use and management of their land. (Texte integral

The evolving role of tropical forests for local livelihoods in Indonesia

The authors studied how the role and perceptions of natural forests have changed in seven villages along the Malinau River, East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Local people consider development projects, logging and mining activities, and floods as having the greatest influence on their livelihoods and use of forests. Access to and availability of valued forest products is perceived to have decreased and thus, while still of considerable importance, the overall role of forests has declined. New sources of income, farming opportunities, clinics and access to schools, as well as the village infrastructure, are the main positive changes in local livelihoods. While village life is improving, in general, villagers are concerned about the declining quality of their forests and the environment. The present study findings indicate that forest communities, often living in remote areas, support both development and conservation efforts. Giving greater control to local people in the management of tropical forests offers both environmental and development benefits

Recognizing local people's priorities for tropical forest biodiversity

Tropical forest people often suffer from the same processes that threaten biodiversity. An improved knowledge of what is important to local people could improve decision making. This article examines the usefulness of explicitly asking what is important to local people. Our examples draw on biodiversity surveys in East Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). With local communities we characterized locally valued habitats, species, and sites, and their significance. This process clarified various priorities and threats, suggested refinements and limits to management options, and indicated issues requiring specific actions, further investigation, or both. It also shows how biological evaluations are more efficient with local guidance, and reveals potential for collaborations between local communities and those concerned with conservation. Such evaluations are a first step in facilitating the incorporation of local concerns into higher-level decision making. Conservationists who engage with local views can benefit from an expanded constituency, and from new opportunities for pursuing effective conservation