A study on agroforestry activities in Tana Toraja, Indonesia

The basic human needs of food, shelter and fuel are often supplied by separate systems of land management. Building material and fuelwood are harvested from forests and food is produced from fields of herbaceous crops, fruit orchards and livestock grazing in pastures. Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees are mixed in the same land with food crops or pasture for domestic animals. This study was conducted to examine the agroforestry activities and to examine monetary values of goods collected by selected village communities in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The local government seat of Tana Toraja is in Makale, which comprises 47 sub-districts with 112 villages adjacent to Toraja Utara District and West Sulawesi Province in the north, Enrekang and Pinrang District in the south, Luwu District in the east, and West Sulawesi Province in the west. Monetary value of various agriculture and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) collected from the forest and the product cultivated and harvested from forestlands have been evaluated. Primary and secondary data were collected. Primary data consists of in-depth interviews, questionnaires distributed to selected 250 respondents, and site observations. Secondary data was collected through literature review through journals, articles and official government documents. Data collection was analyzed using Chi square test and SPSS. The multiple regression analysis was applied to develop agroforestry dependency model for the selected villages. This study revealed that more than half of the respondents were involved in agricultural and forest related activities, which is eighty-one percent. The highest income range is RM 901.00- RM1,200.00 (Rp 3,0M – Rp 4,0M). The Tana Toraja community heavily depends on agricultural and agroforestry related activities as their major source of income

Tumpangsari as Agroforestry Practices in Gunung Arjuna-Lalijiwo Forest Reserve, East Java, Indonesia

Agroforestry is a land that uses a management system in which trees are mixed in the same land with food crops or pasture for domestic animals. The interactions were reflected in community-based activities by utilizing forest land to cultivate crops using tumpangsari agroforestry system. The study was conducted at the Karangploso sub-district in Tawangargo, Donowarih and Ngenep villages in Universitas Brawijaya Forest (UBF) forest reserves. The objectives of this study are to examine factors contributing to the total area of cultivated land from tumpangsari agroforestry and to assess the impact caused by the transition of the forest management system on the socioeconomic in terms of income. Data was gathered through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and site observation. This study applied the dominant quantitative approach and less dominant qualitative as well as convenience sampling technique. Descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses have been used to analyze socio-economic factors contributing to the total area of cultivated land. The study revealed that the income of tumpangsari farmers at UBF have increased after five years of transition, from IDR1M - 2M to IDR 2M - 3M monthly. The highest income are from respondent who cultivated coffee, vegetables and other crops range between IDR 3M - IDR 4M or 10.1% of the total respondents and 1.7% earned more than IDR 4M monthly. In addition, 82.29% of farmers strongly agreed that UBF management play an important role in helping farmers in tumpangsari agroforestry practices to increased their family income.

Remote sensing for mapping RAMSAR heritage site at Sungai Pulai Mangrove Forest Reserve, Johor, Malaysia.

The Sungai Pulai Mangrove Forest Reserve (SPMFR) is the largest riverine mangrove system in Johore. In 2003 about 9,126 ha of the Sungai Pulai mangrove was designated as a RAMSAR site. RAMSAR sites are wetland areas that are deemed to have international importance and are included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. The SPMFR plays a significant socio-economic role to the adjacent 38 villages. Satellite remote sensing is a useful source of information where it provides timely and complete coverage for vegetation mapping especially in mangroves where the accessibility is difficult. This study was carried out to identify and map land cover types using SPOT-4 imagery at the Sungai PulaiRAMSAR site and its surrounding areas. Through unsupervised classification technique a total of seven classes of land cover type were mapped, where about 90% mapping accuracy was gained from the accuracy assessment. Later, vegetation densities were classified into five levels namely very high, high, medium, low and very low based on crown density scale using vegetation indices model such as NDVI, AVI and OSAVI. Results from NDVI and OSAVI model were almost similar but AVl model detected more on medium vegetation which did not show the real ground condition. The study concludes that SPOT-4 imagery was able to discriminate mangrove area clearly from other land covers type. Vegetation indices model can be used as a tool for mapping vegetation density level in the SPMFR and its surrounding area. Therefore Vl:s models from remote sensing are useful to monitor and manage the mangrove forest for sustainable management and preserve the SPMFR as a RAMSAR site in Peninsular Malaysia

Urban tree biomass estimation in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) campus.

Biomass is a renewable energy source refers to living and recently dead biological materials that can reduce green house effect and clean surroundings. To estimate tree biomass individually from imagery, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between attributes of stand structure obtained by field measurement and remote sensing image.This study was carried out to estimate tree biomass in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) campus. Five plots were established (40 m x 40 m) and all trees with diameters at breast high (dbh) more than 30 cm , tree height and canopy size were measured. Each trees biomass were calculated by non-destructive method. Results show that tree volume is ranged from 1.75 m3 to 24.73 m3, wood density is ranged from 0.99 t/m3 to 14.10 t/m3. The overall wood densities for five plots (30 trees) are 23.35 t/m3. Meanwhile the biomass estimated is 7,644 t/ha. Study demonstrate strong correlations (p < 0.05) between field measurement and IKONOS tree canopy estimates (r2 = 0.95). The results obtained from the analysis are encouraging especially canopy measurement where it can be incorporated to the existing mensuration models. Estimating tree biomass through satellite images are recommended because remote sensing through image processing has potential to estimate biomass in large area

Wood density and carbon estimates of mangrove species in Kuala Sepetang, Perak, Malaysia

Mangrove forests provide a broad array of ecosystem services including fisheries production, sediment regulation, wood production and protection from storms and waves. Mangroves also may have an important role as a pool in global carbon budgets and in mitigating climate change. Here we investigated the wood density and carbon content of the mangrove species in Kuala Sepetang, Perak. Using data from 13 mangrove species, the value for wood density and carbon were estimated. Wood density ranged from 0.33 gcm-³ to 0.64 gcm-³, where the lowest and highest values were given by Sonneratia caseolaris and Ceriops tagal, respectively. The carbon content was 42.48% on average, where Bruguiera cylindrical gave the lowest value at 45.13 % while Lumnitzera racemosa was the highest at 45%. These values suggest that Kuala Sepetang mangrove forest has the potential to sequester and store substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon

The Socio-Economic Performance of the Penan Community at Murum Resettlement Site, Belaga, Sarawak

Murum Resettlement Site (MRS) is one of the government’s programmemes aimed at ensuring a better future for communities impacted by Sarawak’s dam developments. The Penan was the largest community being relocated to MRS in 2013 before the construction of Murum Dam. This relocation programmeme has resulted in various impacts and reactions from those involved. The objective of this study was to examine the socio-economic performance of the Penan community after relocating to MRS. The study was conducted in December 2020 using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data were collected using questionnaires, in-depth interviews and site observations. A total of 269 head of households and six key informants were interviewed. SPSS software was used to analyze the data collected. Out of 24 aspects that were evaluated, a total of 11 socio-economic aspects were found to have improved well. These aspects were home ownership, household income, property ownership, job opportunities, level of skill and knowledge, educational facilities, electricity supply, road accessibility, communication facilities, religious building and sports/recreation facilities. Two aspects that remained good both before and after transferring to MRS were security and neighborhood relations. The four aspects that were getting worse were land ownership, access to forest resources, clean water source and air quality. The aspects that remained bad either before or after being relocation were saving, investment, level of education, transportation facilities, health facilities, business facilities and organized participation. Overall, the data showed that the families’ economic and social conditions had improved after they moved to the resettlement area. However, the study concluded that there is still room for improvement in terms of fundamental services, such as supplying every household with multiple clean water sources, more accessible healthcare services and better road conditions. Better road access comes with increased business and social activity, which in turn makes it easier for the Penans to find jobs and help to lift them out of poverty

Malay customary tenure and conflict on implementation of colonial land law in Peninsular Malaysia.

Since the independence in 1957, land tenure system in the Peninsular Malaysia (PM) has changed. The land law and regulations have been frequently amended so that the provisions and rationale of the laws can be properly understood and continuously evaluated to suit the current requirements. This paper review the Malay customary land tenure and the development of colonial land system, which has be examined through its historical evident with the aid of law cases. Even though the modern system of land tenure and land law has been widely observed and has governed land dealings in the country, customary land tenure system are still much influenced and practiced especially among the rural Malay society. The Malay customary law consists of customs and traditions of the Malay, which in the course of time acquired the character of laws and can be only, enforced by the chief or elders. It must be ancient, certain and reasonable and being in derogation of the general rules of law, and construed strictly. The paper identified the mixtures and interaction of both systems, which has been developed by the colonials to displace the existing indigenous Malay customary land tenure. The development of modern land tenure system was explained in the context of the different separate entities other than historical study on the previous land law before the commencement of the current act. Therefore, by combining the ancient Malay customary tenure, the period of colonial and the post independence land tenure system, this paper highlight a concise and comprehensive form of land tenure system that is being applied in the Peninsular Malaysi

The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) on GST compliance research model in Malaysia

The questionnaire was constructed based on four constructs which are knowledge attitude and communication channels as exogenous variables while GST compliance is endogenous variable. The questionnaires were distributed to the wood-based manufacturers throughout seven states in Peninsular Malaysia. 352 valid data was evaluated for the validity and reliability. The ultimate objective of this article is to acquire the best fit of a research instrument for the GST compliance study using structural equation model (SEM) that enable to taking into account the unreliable factors (items) between exogenous and endogenous constructs. The items of the constructs undergo the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) procedure involve of unidimensionality test, convergent validity, construct validity and discriminant validity. Followed by the measurement of reliability on all items using Cronbach alpha using SPSS and construct reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE) using AMOS. The result revealed the constructs of the research model achieved the validity and reliability for other further analysis in acquiring high accuracy on the prediction outcomes

Mangrove canopy density of Sungai Merbok Forest Reserve, Kedah from Landsat TM.

A study was conducted to analyse mangrove canopy density in Sungai Merbok Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) technique from Landsat TM data. Different mangrove canopy densities were produced by digital image processing. NDVI output from vegetation image was transformed into the density slice model and reclassified to produce new image value that led to the formation of different canopy density class. Ground verification was also made to support density classification accuracy. Approximately 82% of the mangrove density was classified correctly. Mangrove canopy density was classified into three NDVI levels namely high (0.52), medium (0.33) and low (-0.13). Remote sensing data can be a useful for the management of coastal vegetation such as mangroves which is found on a large scale in Malaysia

Forest law enforcement and offences in the state of Perak, peninsular

The forestry sector is undergoing substantial policy change in response to broader developments such as economic growth, globalization of economic, privatization and trade liberalization. Forest law enforcement is a critical part of forest management since it directs the relationship between many parties, particularly timber companies, with the forest asset. The objective of the study was to identify the awareness of forest law enforcement and offences in the state of Perak. The research was conducted with a questionnaire survey with 5-point Likert type answering options among 400 local respondents from ten mukims namely Pengkalan Hulu, Belukar Semang, Gerik, Belum, Kenering, Kerunai, Temenggor, Lenggong, Durian Pipit and Temelong. Mean perception score was 3.126 which indicated respondents agreed with the awareness forest law and offences issues. The SPSS shows the perception score significantly differed among different age groups, however there was no difference of perceptions among other variables such as race, religion or education level. The study concluded that regardless of socio-economic factors the respondents have concurred with the situation of awareness on forest law enforcement in the studied mukims