The Challenges of SVLK Implementation in the Future

In 2020, PPLH Mangkubumi with the support from FAOEU FLEGT Programme gave training and assistance to indigenous people/local communities in Province of Central Kalimantan, North Maluku, West Papua, East Java, and Semarang Central Java; to carry out monitoring in 32 unit management, among others are 14 export oriented industries in Semarang Central Java, and 4 unit management in Province of Central Kalimantan, North Maluku, West Papua, and West Java. The monitoring activity is carried out based on upstream and downstream monitoring by indigenous people/local communities with the assistance of JPIK and PPLH Mangkubumi. Monitoring by indigenous people/local communities is very effective and efficient because the Monitors live nearby the monitoring location and the monitoring duration is also in along time.

The Challenges in the Implementation of SVLK in the Future

Eventhough SVLK has been a mandatory in trading and timber circulation in Indonesia, but SVLK still faces many challenges and dynamics as written before. With the issuance of Omnibus Law of Job Creation which then legalized to be Act UU No. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation (UUCK) obliges the change of regulations related to SVLK by adjusting the provision in UUCK. Although UUCK is critized, there are demonstrations until it is fulminated by various element of society such as students, academics, NGOs, in fact UUCK is still legalized with all the processes of formation that is considered defective. Like it or not, that’s what happened now, SVLK regulations also must change to adjust with UUCK.

There are points to be in the spotlight in UUCK, that is the looser permit in protected forest for corporations. The utilization of protected forest in the form of a utilization business permit and the collection of non-timber forest products permits. Initially, it is only given to individual and cooperative with legal basis Article 27 paragraph (1) and (3) of Forestry Act. However, UUCK broadens the subject that can use protected forest by adding state-owned enterprises, localowned enterprises, or private sector. Compared to individual and

cooperative, enterprises certainly has bigger capacity to utilize forest accompanied by the same risk of destructions. In line with the legalization of UUCK, now it has been determined Food Estate program as one of National Strategic Program. The determination of Food Estate Program is worried will have bad impact towards forest areas, especially protected forests, where the project converts protected forest as food estate land.

Surely this becomes the challenges of SVLK and on the contrary to the objective of SVLK, that is to realize good forest governance. However, in UUCK policy and its derivatives, that is food estate will give bad impact towards forest governance in Indonesia.

By considering those challenges, especially the risk of forest governance which has direct impact to indigenous people/local communities, the monitoring in the future should be directed to indigenous people/local communities as the main party. In 2020, we have tried to carry out it in 5 provinces in Indonesia that we will tell it in the next chapter.