CHAPTER III
People Monitor
W
hen we were child, we must remember about one of scenes in many cartoon, there was a figure who walked or ran, even when the figure was in the edge of cliffs, the figure will keep running. The figure thought as if there was still a foothold. The figure ignored the fact that there wasn’t ground under the figure feet. Then, the figure will only fall when the figure looks down and look at the cliff in shock. This scene remember us to always look down, look at the fulcrum from our steps in order to not fall down. In the beginning of this book, we propose two base of materials in the monitoring of SVLK, they are interest and knowledge which are considered important and applied. If the paradox occurs between the current monitoring effort which still includes many policy recommendations, but we said that deforestation decreases because of a credible SVLK, then why we aren’t back to the material base of interest and knowledge that can support the continuity and the more widespread SVLK monitoring. We submit monitoring by indigenous people/local communities with interest and knowledge material base that they have. We hope the government doesn’t use a premise that one can’t trust people: “people must be loved, protected, treated, controlled …. But can’t be trusted.” We have actually been feeling for a long time that there isn’t ground to step on and we are surprised after look down, then fall down. Now is the time for us to realize this. We hope this monitoring story of indigenous people/local communities in five provinces in Indonesia can give ideas and new policy in the future of SVLK monitoring.
