OWT_Completion Report_Lambusango Forest Conservation Program

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perpetrators against the law or allow the local community to break regulations, such as allowing people to log natural forest, in exchange for ensuring their votes. This is the case for logging of 15 ha of customary forest in Wambulu Village (near Labundo-Bundo Village) during October 2008. The forest has a strategic position, as it is located along side the road to Labundo-Bundo. The forest also functions as the headwater catchment of Labundo-Bundo Village. The FCUL unable to prosecute the case as it not state forest. The question is why were local community brave enough to log natural forest so soon after the prosecution of thirteen settlers from the neighbouring village has sent shockwaves through the area. The answer is because their activities were supported by strong political connections. The case illustrates that dirty politics during the election of District parliaments, Bupati and Governor often creates entry points to uncontrolled natural resource extraction. Dirty politics has the potential to cancel out all the good work in education, awareness and law enforcement painstakingly introduced and enforced by the project!

Box 2.14. Project impacts on involuntary resettlement process framework

As stated in Appendix 8 (page 2) of the Project Brief, ‘Successful implementation of the project will affect access to natural resources so World Bank policy OP4.12 will be triggered’, this was done by allowing exploitation of the production areas of forest in exchange for preventing continued illegal logging and hunting in conservation forests. This scheme is widely known as the social forestry (SF) concept. Looking at the grass root level, local wisdom of the Lambusango community has been much eroded, especially since the arrival of Ambonese refugees in 1999. Generally speaking, granting state forest concession rights to the local community is considered to be ill-suited to the Lambusango project both as a way to empower the community and as a means to conserve the remaining natural state forest. There have also been enough examples in this country that this will only attract ‘free riders’ which make the whole forest resource open causing socioeconomic problems for the local community and devastating environmental problems for the forest environment. Community empowerment (and thereby forest conservation) should be conducted by reducing community dependency on forest products. It is believed that forest conservation cannot be simply achieved by changing main forest exploiter, from business entities to the local community. Conservation programmes should be able to provide enabling conditions for the local community to conduct conservation measures; this can be done in part through the development of sustainable livelihood models for the community living in the areas surrounding natural state forest. Related to World Bank policy OP4.12, LFCP implementation did not pave the way for the local community to have access to state forest nor forcibly resettle communities outside the state forest. This is clearly illustrated with the Wabou case, where LFCP did not recommend local government resettle the hamlet outside of the state forest, but instead worked with on reconciling the problems to find win-win solutions. At the same time, LFCP is looking for suitable alternative income sources to reduce pressure on the state forest. It is true that LFCP has assisted the legal apparatus to prosecute illegal settlers and loggers. Even so, the prosecution of local community has not merely targeted for repressive actions, to punish the local community, but more importantly, it is a way to educate the local community and to instill respect for the existing rules and regulations on forest governance. At the same time, efforts have been made to empower people and find alternatives livelihoods and raise awareness to improve perception, knowledge, attitude and practices leading to better natural resource management.

C1.

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Promote the global significance of the Lambusango Forest through the development of local-specific teaching materials thus raising awareness of the Lambusango Forest constituents and stakeholders at a local and national level

Dr. Edi Purwanto

C.1.1. Development and Distribution of Personal Organisers A personal organiser was designed by LFCP and distributed to decision makers in various local villages, government offices in Buton, Bau-Bau city, Kendari, Jakarta and Bogor as well as leaders in the private sector and NGOs. The organiser was designed to contain pictures of the Lambusango, highlighting both the natural beauty and the damage that can occur, as well as information on the biodiversity, threats and pressures on the forest and the work done by the LFCP. The intention is that these decision makers will use the organiser and as such be reminded every day of the importance of the Lambusango forests and of the work conducted by LFCP. The PM has designed the book and wrote the text, while Matoa Creative Design has completed the graphical design and printing. A thousand copies were printed. C.1.2. Development and distribution of three posters The first poster entitled ‘Lambusango Forests; Lung of the World at the Heart of Buton Island’. The main purpose of the poster is to make people aware of what is meant by the Lambusango Forest as well as its geographic position. The poster comprises of a drawing of Buton Island with the Lambusango Forests at the heart of the island with several key villages surrounding it. The first printing run was for 1000 copies and a reprint of another 1000 copies soon followed. The second poster entitled ‘Land resources surrounding the Lambusango forests: Neglected Potential Resources’ The main purpose of the poster is to make people aware that forest resources are not the only source of livelihoods, rather there is still plenty of land surrounding the Lambusango Forests waiting for serious cultivation. The third poster entitled ‘Lambusango, home to millions of life forms’ had a print run of 1,000 copies. So far, 600 posters have been put in wooden frames and installed in strategic public areas such as schools, mosques, restaurants, village halls, sub-districts offices, police offices, hospitals, hotels, banks etc. in Kendari, Bau-Bau and Pasarwajo plus villages surrounding the Lambusango Forest. C.1.3. Development and Distribution of ‘Lambusango Lestari’ Newsletter From September 2005 until February 2007 LFCP has published monthly ‘Lambusango Lestari’ Indonesian language Newsletter highlighting the importance of the Lambusango Forest and the work completed by LFCP. A thousand copies of each of the thirteen editions were distributed to the Lambusango Forest stakeholders in Buton District, Bau-Bau, Kendari, Bogor, Jakarta, and Lampung. The aim of the publication is to develop a critical mass of the local Lambusango forest stakeholders and also to act as promotion for the LFCP activities within the Indonesia conservation community. Summary of the newsletter on several editions is presented on Appendix G. C.1.4. Publication of two serialised books of short stories for children Two series of children’s short story books, ‘The adventure of La Madi and Bingo’, were produced to communicate the ideas of conservation and the Lambusango forest to children. One-thousand copies of each series were printed. The story was written by Dr. Edi Purwanto

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