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A brighter future for Indonesia’s forests
22nd May 2007
More
than ten million Indonesians depend on the country’s forests for their
livelihoods. However, for a number of years Indonesia’s forests were badly
managed, with disputes often breaking out over access to land, illegal logging
being allowed to flourish, and forest workers struggling to make their jobs pay.
As these problems worsened and the pace of forest destruction grew, it was the
very poor who suffered most. The future looked bleak for Indonesia’s forests,
and so too for many ordinary Indonesians.
In 2000, an initiative established by DFID and the Indonesian Government set out
to make some long-needed changes. The Multistakeholder Forestry Programme (MFP)
ran until 2006, and during this time it brought about major benefits to, not
only the forest economy, but to the country as a whole.
Changing attitudes and changing fortunes
Some of the challenges faced by MFP, and the successes it achieved, are
illustrated in the Case Studies below. In addition, a full account of MFP has been
published at
www.mfp.or.id. What is
remarkable about the programme is that it made huge differences, but delivered
very little in the way of buildings, machinery or other kinds of hardware.
Instead, MFP concentrated on changing people’s attitudes and behaviour, and
worked hard to encourage the Government to make the right kinds of policy
reforms.
If the problems of Indonesia’s forests were going to be tackled, it was crucial
that the Government and the people shared a trusting and co-operative
relationship. As the Case Studies demonstrate, there are signs that this has
happened, and that Indonesia is better off as a result.
Inspiring solutions beyond the forests
“We
are not only earning more money now,” says one Javanese farmer who was given
access to state land though MFP, “but our cattle now have more fodder, and we
feel more secure.” You will hear similar across the country, with tens of
thousands of people having been lifted out of poverty by the programme. The
degradation of the forests, also, has been slowed down, and serious land
disputes have been settled.
The changes brought about by MFP have made real differences to people’s lives.
The people and the Government have learnt how to listen to each other and work
together, and this may have benefits beyond forestry, reaching into other areas
of Indonesian life. Thanks to MFP, fresh attitudes to long-standing problems are
in place, and the future of Indonesia’s forests - and of Indonesia itself -
looks a lot brighter.
Links
Read the Case Studies about the DFID's work in Indonesia's forests here: