Kartodihardjo, Hariadi

English

Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika

hariadi@apps.ipb.ac.idWide Scope of Forestry Issues and The Way of Thinking ThereoffHariadi KartodihardjoReceived February 14, 2019/Accepted March 16, 2019Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry,  University, Dramaga , Bogor, Indonesia 16680IPB  CampusIn the 3,630 pages of TROPICAL FORESTRYHANDBOOK (2016) compiled and edited by Laslo Panceland Michael Kohl was mentioned the importance of variationof approach both to stop the destruction of rainforest and tosustain the forest as provider of different function and serviceas part of the ecosystem. The book mentioned that thescientific background to rainforest was established in the 19century, with the dawn of systematic forest management, asintroduced and documented by Sir Dietrich Brandis(1824–1906) et. al   In addition to the previously mentionedprofessionals, the management of rainforest is also supportedby institutions contributing to a more wholesometh.1An event, situation or condition can be explaineddifferently through different aspect of science andknowledge. There are various theories and approaches,which will differ in depth and point of view. As to this point,understanding of forestry and its policies, particularly inIndonesia, tend to be analyzed from management and lawperspective. Therefore, there have been so many bills passedin the hope that the sustainable forest management would beattainable. In addition, rational choice and institutionalapproach have also been notably used, alongside materialist,(post) positivist, interest-based and resource-orientedfoundations, all of which have been subjected to popularcriticism. Alternatively, discourse theory has been discussedand applied as well in forestry policy analysis (Arts & Buizer,2009).It is essential to make the correct choice to explain any ofthe event, situation and condition, due to the fact that forestryissues need more than technical and objective solutions; itneeds more contextual and subjective socio-politicalsolutions both within and outside the forestry sector itself.The width of the forestry issues spectrum brings forth theissue of assembling and executing forestry policies, itsobstacles as well as the supporting forestry research fields.understanding of the subject. Department of Forestry, FAO,ITTO, ICRAF, CIFOR, IUFRO, and CATIE, all of whichhave committed international researches regardingrainforest and published related developmentsprofessionally.Spectrum of forestry issues  The book can be summarisedas an explanation to a wider scope of forestry, beyond whathas been known and developed as basic forestry science.2 Second, the abandonment of rights of local andtraditional societies. Any woodland that is being managed bylocal and traditional community is considered as uninhabitedand unmanaged. Therefore, those land, which traditionallyowned, managed, and was useful to the community would beHowever, why do degradation and deforestation ofrainforest continue to happen in wider scale? First, in regards of policy error. In every tropical country,the government set rules and regulations regarding state andowned forest. General review of those rules and regulationsexposed their weakness, which often brings forth undesiredeffect, in addition to encouraging contradictory communitybehavior. The limitation has not only been in terms of rulesand regulation of forestry matters, but also, moreimportantly, in the framework of law and policy of othereconomy-related sector, such as agriculture, land-use, andinfrastructure development, all of which have seriousconsequences in regards to forest management. In some countries, land rules and regulations bring forthstrong incentive for deforestation. For example, according toBrazil Constitution 1988, squatters have special privileges tostay in unused state-owned land, to which the deed will bereleased after more than five years. One effective way toprove the squatters' occupation is to have them proceed withdeforestation. Other tropical countries commonly havesimilar policies to encourage deforestation.Book ReviewISSN: 2087-0469J M H T 5urnal anajemen utan ropika 2 , (1): 65 April 2019EISSN: 2089-2063DOI: 10.7226/jtfm. 5.1.6521 The book explained about professionals related to rainforest, i.e., Andre Aubreville (1897–1982), a French forester specializing in botany and silviculture,Carlos Flinta and lately Julian Evans who contributed in plantation forest, Hans Lamprecht (1919–2012), who systemized tropical silviculture and contributedto the understanding of stand structure dynamics, Lamberto Golfari helped in understanding the required rainfall in determining the species for plantationforest, and Paul Westmacott Richards with its work about tropical rainforest ecology, as well as the systematic work of Heinz Ellenberg (1913–1997), whichenabled the ecological classification of forest worldwide and P.K. Ramachandran Nair, who set solid scientific background for agroforestry.Note:2 The book elaborated the basic science of forestry, woodland monitoring, silviculture, forest planning, engineering, economy/management, and humanresources in its 3,270 pages.taken over by the government. It enables concession andother permits to be made and distributed as forest tenure toextractive companies. By extension, the traditional wisdomand rights were being discarded. In many countries, thesituation has continued to this day. Third, implication of the weakness of forest and landrights. Regardless of the ethical implication of theabovementioned abandonment of community rights, whichimpacted in the volatility of forest economy, there arenegative consequences in regards of sustainable forestmanagement, which will be a significant factor encouragingforest resource abuse as well as deforestation. When there is apossible uncertainty of future economic benefit, there willalso be a limitation to the long term management of the forest.In this case, governments' policy of giving deeds toconcession company transformed into a strong motivationfor the communities that lost their bargaining power toproceed with deforestation and to liquidify their commercialresources. In addition, illegal and unsecured land will not be able tobe mortgaged, nor can it be used as a base for safe and securetransaction. Land security also cost an enormous sum toenforce the rights to the land (i.e, fence, patrol, etc.), in whichmost often the only way is through violence. The differencein perspective regarding land use rights between traditionaland local community on one hand and the governmentalongside concession companies on the other hand hascaused intense conflict in many tropical countries. Theseconflicts hinder sustainable forest management. Fourth, implication of the strength of rights of land andforest. As proven, rights to a secure land provide betteropportunities to create profit and economic efficiency, aswell as to gain better environment management. Localcommunity control is linked to local wisdom regardingproven and tested management system in order to maintainforest productivity. Traditional and local communities havebeen managing forest resources historically well, as source offood, medicine, wood, and fuel without exhausting themthrough a complex management system. In many cases,management community has proven effective, or moreeffective, in preventing deforestation than government-managed protected area. It proves that from economic pointof view, land security can reduce uncertainty, thereforeprovides incentive for manpower and time investment ofsustainably beneficial activities. Community empowerment, by enforcing their rights ofland is key, as one of the most effective tool to reduce povertyand developing rural population condition. This is due to thefact that many of the worlds' poorest population depends toforest as their livelihood. Many countries have designedpolicies to give land use permit, or even forest deeds totraditional and local communities due to the increase ofawareness that community forest management yield betterbenefit, as compared to government-managed forest.Fifth, bribery and corruption issue. Former rules andregulations generally do not specify the election of theconcession company, nor the fee and cost as well as theexecution of unspecified points in the concession contract.The vague condition causes bribery and corruption done bystate officials authorized to sign concession agreement.During the past few years, most countries have applied amore transparent regulation regarding the issue. In manycases, competitive and open bidding as well as appointedtender has been set to avoid making decision entirely freefrom the governments monitor. The results have been varied.As a rule of thumb, gratuity needs to be tightly controlled tominimalize collusion between bidders and to ensure ahealthy competition is at play. Sixth, the government of tropical countries generally failto collect the economic interest, which defined as aneconomic value that is more than the cost of collecting andmarketing the woods, which includes risk and profit analysisneeded to attract investors. In tropical countries with highlyvalued wood species, the deed could be higher, thus theopportunity for the government to collect it. However, theconcession scheme implemented in Indonesia and othertropical countries has not yielded its proper share. Often, thegovernment lacks the capacity to do a detailed inventory tothe concession area offered, alongside the know-how toeffectively estimate the cost and income opportunity.This failure to collect economic interest has caused theconcession holder to race in harvesting the most valuablespecies there is, which change the remaining forest conditionfor worse. Logging and road access then facilitate migrationsof farmers with no land, and penetrate area previouslyinaccessible, thus starting deforestation. Due to the remotelocation and the extent of the concession area, there has beenchallenge for public administration to monitor thedevelopment in the concession area, not to mention that thelight sentences for perpetrator will encourage illegal activityinvolvement. There is also the fact that the high profit fromconcession contract will provide more than enough financialresources to bribe the respective supervisor.Seventh, round log export ban. The purpose of this policyis to reduce reckless harvesting of valuable species, legal andillegally, to create incentive to export processed items withhigher added value, and to encourage the development ofdomestic industrial forest. Several tropical countries haveadopted the policy to limit the trade, specifically round logexport through export tax policy or direct ban. For example,Gabon, Brazil, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia,Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines hasapplied various export limitation, where some ban export ofvarious types of log, while others selectively ban it.Eight, forestry crime. The general cause of degradation ofrainforest is lack of local land use permit, which means smallincentive for local communities as well as commercialoperator to legally and sustainably manage the forest.It has been debated whether the ban of round log exporthas achieved its intended purposes. Experience shows thatthe ban generally has not been effective in reducingexcessive logging, as well as in creating an economicallyefficient forestry products processing industry. The longterm effect is even more complex. With the decrease of roundlog price, there will be more incentive to sustainably managethe forest, due to lower profit expectancy. This may lead toforest conversion into a more profitable alternative use. Theeffect will be stronger when there is a significant differencebetween the financial benefit level of forest and alternativeland use. Moreover, because round log is cheaper, industriestend to use it profusely and inefficiently to supply bothdomestic and overseas market.66Book ReviewISSN: 2087-0469J M H T 5urnal anajemen utan ropika 2 , (1): 65 April 2019EISSN: 2089-2063DOI: 10.7226/jtfm. 5.1.652Because the cause and process are different, the strategy andprogram to overcome the problem also differ. To effectivelyhandle forest degradation, it has to be seen not as thebeginning of the process, but as part of bad forestgovernance, which means it needs to be upgraded to maintainthe forest and its productive capacity. In many cases, thoseproduces of forest will be harvested, taken, processed, andsold illegally, thus making them forestry crime.(4) institutional economic theory, analyzing enforcementissues,Forestry crime is caused by uncertainty regarding landuse and its changes, land deeds and rights, as well asweakness in forestry law and policy framework. In general,the enforcement of rules and regulation in tropical countrieshas been weak, with corruption in many fields, lack oftransparency, and authority abuse, as well as lack ofinformation regarding forest source. A recent report showshow illegal logging links to humanity conflict, tax fraud, andloss of tax income for government. These factors also pose aserious challenge to a committed government to uphold lawand end corruption. Lack of obedience to forestry law andgood governance has wider consequences, environmentally,socially, and economically, causing political instability,widening of income gap, and the loss of biological diversity.Without comprehensive political goodwill to increaseobedience to forestry law, whatever action taken will havelimited success probability.Policy implication   The book of PRIVATE OR SOCIALISTICFORESTRY? Forest Transition in Finland vs. Deforestation inthe Tropics, 2012; Series Editors: Matti Palo dan Erki Lehto;481 pages, states a study with objective to reconstruct thetheory of sustainable forest governance. The term of foresttransition is used to describe the transitioning process fromforest destruction to forest preservation, presenting the caseof Finland and 72 tropical country, where Finland managed tophase through the forest destruction crisis, while the topicalcountries mostly failed.The result in summary shows that high forest value (highlog price), clear deeds/tenure of forest and land, combinedwith effective policies had supported the transition process inFinland. In contrast, low forest value (usually to protectdomestic industry) and corruption in policy execution hadprevented the transition process in tropical countries. Thequestion remains to determine the factors to support the riseof Finland forestry, which has happened since the beginningof the 20  century.th(1) context or the influence of social politic situation,(2) transitional theory by analyzing the development ofagriculture, i.e., competition in land use,(3) ecological economic theory, analyzing sustainabilityand co-evolution theory,In line with the scope of forestry analysis in the previousbook, this book states the integration of several theories todetermine the success factor of Finland as well ascontemporary modeling to learn more about the cause ofrainforest deforestation. The approach analyses theapplication of:(5) changes in institution and path dependency, power,government, and market;To face the abovementioned situation, forestry policyshould consider multiple factors. It should also be realizedthat in the process of policy making, there are interest clashand discourses, by multiple figures, involving resources andrules applied. The discourses meant are interpretationscheme, starting with formal policy concepts to popularnarration texts and storylines, which give meaning to thediscussed policy issues (Arts & Buizer, 2009).  The way toanalyze the ongoing forestry policies to be changed by a new,more comprehensive policy in line to the width of theforestry scope discussed in this book will contrast each other.The differences and competitions between new idea andstatus quo will cause polarization within group with the samediscourses to counter groups of other discourses.(6) property rights theory, includes the phenomenon ofopen access and transaction cost,The scope of the theory and the concept reflect the scopeof forest preservation issue in a country. It means that tochange deforestation into sustainable forest developmentone needs to solve the related problems, such as thedevelopment of land use sectors, the adjustment of producesustainability by taking into account the social, political,economic, and technological development, stronger lawenforcement, the consideration of social politicaldependence from previous administration, analyze mainfigures' attitude as result of gained rights and paidtransactional cost, as well as the consideration of efficiencyas result of the changes to the rights to the forest resources.Presently the focus has been shifted to key role of tenurerights (private vs. state), corruption, poverty, GNP/area,trade and productivity of agriculture as the main cause offorest transition (Chapter 5).The analysis on how to improve forestry policy needsenrichment to forestry policy research orientation. Theseresearches should be able to answer the question of what kindof coalition needed to frame forestry issues in wider scope,how to communicate the result, as well as how new policiesand decisions are discussed and made. Other issue includesthrough which part of government the move should bestarted to improve the policies effectively. Generally,In Finland, the focus of forestry policies lay on 12 aspectssimultaneously. Those aspects are ecological factors,knowledge institutions, property institutions, marketinstitutions, community institutions, state regulatoryinstitutions, enforcement of institutions, forest-baseddevelopment, coevolution of forestry and society, inter-sector impacts, international impacts, and non-corruptiveconditions.(8) efficiency property structure theory, and(7) Kuznets curve,(9) the concept of devolution of property rights.Forest management in Indonesia, for example, generallyhas not been able to meet all the approach mentioned above,because so far, the focus has ever only been to thesustainability approach in the concept of ecologicaleconomics, which so far has been done only statically withno regards to co-evolution as an effect to the changes of thestrategic environment. The same thing applies to othernatural resources management. One of the reasons is theweakness of counter discourses fought as new point of viewin forest management (Khan, 2010).67Book ReviewISSN: 2087-0469J M H T 5urnal anajemen utan ropika 2 , (1): 65 April 2019EISSN: 2089-2063DOI: 10.7226/jtfm. 5.1.652ReferencesArts, B., & Buizer, M. (2009). Forests, discourses,institutions: A discursive-institutional analysis of globalforest governance. ,Forest Policy and Economics11(5–6), 340–347.authority is considered as the figures' ability to mobilize theresources to reach the intended improvement to forestrypolicy. Only then the dynamics will be well understood. (Arts& Buizer, 2009). Palo, M., & Lehto, E. (Eds). (2012). Private or socialisticforestry? Forest transition in Finland vs. deforestation inthe tropics. London: Springer.Pancel, L., & Michael, K. (Eds). (2016). Tropical forestryhandbook. Second Edition. Berlin Heidelberg: SpringerReference.Khan, A. (2010). Kebijakan usaha kehutanan Indonesia:Sebuah analisis diskursus. Jurnal Manajemen HutanTropika 16, (2), 101–111.Book ReviewISSN: 2087-0469J M H T 5urnal anajemen utan ropika 2 , (1): 65 April 2019EISSN: 2089-2063DOI: 10.7226/jtfm. 5.1.65268

Wide Scope of Forestry Issues and The Way of Thinking Thereoff

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Wide Scope of Forestry Issues and The Way of Thinking Thereoff

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Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika