Info Sheet #ClimateJustice
Encouraging People-Land Management; for Recognition and Protection
Doc .WALHI
By the time Jokowi haze visiting (Blusukan) in Sungai Tohor village, Riau Province in November 2015, was a great expectation for Cik Manan. Cik Manan is people from the village of Sungai Tohor that “challenging� Jokowi to visit into the village. The first, Cik Manan really have a big hope that no more forest and peat fires next year, considering at least 17 years Riau always experienced of forest fires and haze. Secondly, he hopes that the government revoked the licenses of companies which have been doing the bad practice in managing their concession. Especially when he was visit, President Jokowi has ordered revocation of licenses of companies that have doing environmental crimes. The third great expectation of Cik Manan certainly related to the struggle that had been done, keeping the peat and simultaneously managed the source of life from the sago plant with the principles of sustainable and equitable.
Sungai Tohor Village was located on the Tebing Tinggi Island, subdistricts of Tebing Tinggi Timur, District of Kepulauan Meranti. This region was located in the peatland area and small islands, whose advocacy was accompanied by WALHI Riau. Sungai Tohor communities actually have the knowledge to manage the source of life, through the sago plants that managed with local wisdom. Unfortunately, the government didn’t give stronger support and protection for the management model used by the communities that provide economic and ecological values. Destruction of the land of people begins from the concessions granted to the large-scale corporations, both monocultures (oil palm and tree plantation) and the mining industry through the permits granted by the government. Those permits was often overlapping, and even being in the territory of the community either in residential, farm, or agricultural area.
People land-management is now endangered by the siege of mining industry, oil palm plantation, infrastructure development, reclamation project of coastal and sea, as well as the property and tourism industry. For exmaple, Sago plant of community in Tebing Tinggi, Kepulauan Meranti, Riau eliminated year by year since the 1970s when the government began to open the logging industries (HPH) and more massive in 1997. Irony, the government didn’t support for strengthening the economic resources of people and recognize of people-land management, the opposite happened. Violence resulting in death, criminalization, and even people who reject them will be stigmatized as a group of anti-development or anti-investments. In 2004, WALHI identified area of peopleland management, including community initiatives to save the environment. There are at least 5.4 million hectares that can be mapped and urged to be recognized and protected by the government. Unfortunately, these numbers continue to decline, until the remaining 4.7 million hectares in 2009 due to the urging of the extractive industry that increased massively.
They are also rehabilitate coastal areas with mangrove planting and endemic tree seeding. Although the land subsidience and intrusion of sea water cannot be stopped completely, but it can be seen that all began to change, mainly related to decrease the number of plants that died due to sea water intrusion. Sago from communities have provided livelihood for the people on the one hand. On the other hand, forests and peat land ecocystem also settled in stable condition. Sago requires wet lands and heterogenic forest conditions.
“Sago is not only a source of income, but also our source of life. By relying on sago, then we need to preserve forests and peatlands that are not dry, still wet, because sago live in wet soil,� (Wak Nung, the old man from Sungai Tohor)
Doc. Kilang Sagu
The role and existence of Sago plant in maintaining the ecosystem of peatlands can be seen from the local wisdom in cultivating sago, example; sago grows along with the natural tree species in the forest. There is no monoculture cultivation that more hospitable environmental. Initiatives undertaken by the people in Sungai Tohor covered efforts in maintaining of peat by blocking the canal to prevent fires, and manage the sustainable of sago.
Doc. Melanie Subono in Sungai Tohor
In Indonesia, ranging from Papua in the east to Aceh in the west, it was countless communities who have wise parctice and knowledge in managing their area, including in conserving forests, water resources, coastal, or unique ecosystem, such as peat and limestone (karst).
PEOPLE LAND MANAGEMENT
THREAT CONFLICTS
UNRECOGNIZED BY THE STATE
CRIMINALIZATION AND VIOLENCE BY THE STATE AND CORPORATE
EXPANSION OF LARGE SCALE PLANTATION & MINING
INDONESIAN FOREST
132
70.6 MILLION HECTARE
INDONESIAN FOREST AREA
STATE CORPORATION COMMUNITY
57 4.7
PRESIDENT COMMITMENTS 12.7 million hectare
RIGHTS TO LAND FOR COMMUNITY
Commitment and Challenge We know that, GHGs emissions from Indonesia mostly from LULUCF with the emissions problem from forest fires were mostly derived from peat. COP 21 Paris should be a momentum for the country in this case for the Indonesian government to change the paradigm in addressing climate change, especially in mitigation that has always projects-based and bring the people as the object of the project itself. In the national policy, the President had committed to provide 12.7 million hectares of forest to the people through the social forestry social mechanism (Hutan Kemasyarakatan/HKM). For WALHI, this policy is certainly must to be welcome, because it shows the concern of the government to the hope of people which was embodied by this aďŹƒrmative policy. Unfortunately, there were some efforts to hamper this way that was by reducing the spirit of the policy. Indeed by including ecosystem restoration and use of REDD and REDD+ mechanism which the goal of these projects was carbon trading. If so, it means that again, the people will be removed from this fight. This policy eventually became no longer an aďŹƒrmative policy for the people who have been marginalized. Although the efforts pushed revocation of licenses has not been successful, but rightfully proud was at Sungai Tohor, Kepulauan Tebing Tinggi. In 2014, there were fires in the concession area of PT. NSP measuring of approximately 2.400 hectares, in 2015 there is no point. ZERO HOTSPOTS. It means that, the local communities with their local wisdom have contributed greatly to the reduction in Greenhouse Gases (GHDs) emissions on the one hand, and on the other hand have has made efforts to decrease the ecological disaster, including the impact of climate change. Should these efforts and community initiatives recognize by the parties that negotiate in the UNFCCC in COP 21 Paris, as part of the mitigation efforts that should be supported.