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THE UNENDING

DISINTEGRATION OF

INDONESIA’S FORESTS

FOREST WATCH INDONESIA 2014

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Forest Watch Indonesia Jl. Sempur Kaler No. 62 Bogor West Java, 16129 INDONESIA Tel : +62 251 8333 308 Fax : +62 251 831 7 926 Email : fwibogor@fwi.or.id Website : http://fwi.or.id

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THE UNENDING DISINTEGRATION OF INDONESIA’S FORESTS1

All natural resources controlled by the State, namely forest, sea, or other aquatic resources, are continually facing degradation with the one commonality in that they are caused by poor government capacity in managing and utilizing these natural resources.2 The quality and quantity of Indonesia’s forest resources continue to degrade every year. The lack of ability to provide information on forest resources condition has often led to debates.3 The extent of forest degradation,4 high deforestation rate5 or actual conditions of remaining forests, are information that is difficult to obtain.

1 This information sheet is a summary of Potret Keadaan Hutan Indonesia (PKHI) (State of Indonesian Forest) edition III or PKHI for 2009-2013. 2 Hariadi Kartodihardjo and Jhamtani: Politik Lingkungan dan Kekuasaan di Indonesia. 2006. Jakarta: Equinox. 3 Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014. 4 Forest Degradation: reduction in tree density and/or increased disturbance to the forest that results in the loss of forest products and forest-derived ecological services.

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In the context of forest governance, availability of accurate forestry data and information is a critical factor. Data and information is needed not only by policy makers to make good forest management decisions, but also functions to link community and general public’s interest in implementing control and monitoring.6 This weakness has led to the inability of the produced forest resources policies to resolve site-level issues.

Weakness of forest governance implementation by the government has indirectly created room for corrupt practices. Corrupt and non-transparent legal, political, and economic systems that views forest resources only as sources of revenues and profits, have greatly contributed to forest degradation in Indonesia.7 Disparities due to poor government roles and capacity in executing monitoring functions provide incentive to unscrupulous forestry players to destructively exploit forest resources.8

State of Remaining Natural Forest By law (legality) state forest appears as if it can be maintained with great area and functions, but de facto conditions do not show such. With 131.28 million ha9 allocated as state forest, the gazetted state forest as mandated by the Forestry Law has only reached 14.24 million ha (10.9%) (RKTN, 2011). This condition comprises third-party rights in all forest functions, such as mining and oil palm plantation licenses, customary forest and private own forest/land. Not to mention the forest ecosystem integrity point of view of areas with good forest cover. In fact, forest cover in state forests is declining every year.10

5 Deforestation: All forms of land cover change from natural forest into non-forest areas caused by natural conditions or deforestation actors, both legally or illegally in a specific time period whether temporarily or permanently. 6 Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014. 7 FWI/GFW: State of Forest: Indonesia, 2001. 8 FWI: State of Forest: Indonesia 2000-2009, 2011. 9 Forestry Statistics 2012. This forest area comprises only forest situated on land. 10 FWI: State of Forest: Indonesia 2000-2009, 2011.

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Figure 1. Natural forest cover in Indonesia in 2013

Source: ETM+7 Satellite Image Analysis, FWI 2014

To 2013, only 82 million hectares natural forest cover remains, or approximately 46% of Indonesia’s total land area and 62.6% of the total forest area. Natural forest cover in every island up to 2013 is 29.4 million ha for Papua, 26.6 million ha for Kalimantan, 11.4 million ha for Sumatra, 8.9 million ha for Sulawesi, 4.3 million ha for Maluku, 1.1 million ha for Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and only 675,000 ha in Java.

Table 1. Indonesia’s natural forest cover in 2009 and 2013

Region Land Area (million ha)

2009 Forest Cover (million ha)

2013 Forest Cover (million ha)

Sumatra 46.616 12.610 11.344

Java 12.743 1.002 0.675

Bali, Nusa Tenggara 7.137 1.350 1.188

Kalimantan 53.099 28.146 26.604

Sulawesi 18.297 9.119 8.928

Maluku 7.652 4.577 4.335

Papua 34.632 30.006 29.413

Total 180.177 87.074 82.487

Source: ETM+7 satellite image analysis, FWI 2014

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According to provinces, in 2013, more than half (51%) of Indonesia’s natural forest area is found only in 3 (three) provinces: Papua, East Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. Eight provinces with the largest forest cover are Papua with approximately 25% of Indonesia’s total forest area, East Kalimantan11 with approximately 15%, West Papua with 11%, Central Kalimantan with 9%, West Kalimantan with 7%, Central Kalimantan with 5%, Aceh with 4%, and Maluku with 3.2%.

The policy on postponement of new licenses issuance and improving governance of primary natural forest and peatland,12 as an effort to balance and synchronize economic, social, cultural and environmental development, as well as reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Emission through reduced deforestation and forest degradation, has been underway for 3 (three) of the planned 4 (four) years planned. However, in reality, it cannot be said that the government has been successful in protecting Indonesia’s remaining forest through improved forest governance. FWI’s study found that there are still a lot of forest areas not yet protected by this policy. From Indonesia’s forest areas, only 54% or 44.3 million hectares is covered by this moratorium policy.

Continuous Forest Loss

Forest degradation that causes massive and continuous forest cover loss in Indonesia began in the early 1970s when forest concession companies were facilitated by the government and began commercial-scale exploitations. Based on data from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry (MoF), in 1985-1997 Indonesia lost 22.46 million ha forest area, or at a rate of 1.87 million ha/year. However, in 1997-2000 this rate accelerated to 2.84 million ha/year. SPOT Vegetation satellite image data indicates forest cover loss at 1.08 million ha/year for 2000-2007. Deforestation calculation based on 7ETM+ satellite image produced rate of 1.17 million ha/year. The latest calculation on Indonesia’s deforestation for 2006-2009 indicates rate of 0.83 million ha/year.13

In addition to official MoF data, there are other data versions estimating Indonesia’s forest cover degradation and loss. Forest mapping conducted by the Indonesian Government and supported by World Bank in 1986-1997 showed forest degradation rate of 1.7 million ha/year, with a sharp increase to more than 2 million ha/year (FWI/GFW, 2001).

In 2007, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) through its State of the World’s Forests report stated that Indonesia’s loss of Indonesia’s forests reached 1.87 million ha/year in 2000-2005. This condition places Indonesia in the second place of ten nations with the highest rate of forest loss in 2005.

11 Analysis using East Kalimantan administrative map prior to division into East and North Kalimantan Provinces. 12 Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011 concerning Postponement of New License Issuance and Improving Governance of Primary Natural Forest and Peatland. This moratorium was extended through Presidential Instruction No. 6/2013. 13 Ministry of Forestry, 2012. Penghitungan deforestasi Indonesia 2009-2011. Directorate of Forestry Resources Inventory and Monitoring. Directorate General of Forestry Planning. Ministry of Forestry. 2012.

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In 2011, FWI through its State of the Forest: Indonesia 2000-2009 explains that forest degradation rate is still considered high, with 1.5 million ha in 2000-2009.14

Matt Hansen from University of Maryland stated that Indonesia lost 15.8 million ha of its forest cover in 2000-2012, ranking the country as fifth after Russia, Brazil, USA, and Canada in forest loss.15 For the same time period, in his report titled Primary forest cover loss in Indonesia over 2000-2012, Margono et al. stated that average deforestation rate in Indonesia in 2000-2012 reached 0.8 million ha/year.16

For the latest conditions, the MoF stated in its 2014 Ministry Forestry Work Plan (Rencana Kerja Kementerian Kehutanan – RKTN) that deforestation and forest degradation rates for 2009-2011 has decreased rapidly with only 450,000 ha compared to 3.5 million ha in 1998-2002.17 MoF also stated in its press release that Indonesia’s deforestation rate for 2011-2012 reached 613,000 ha.18

Figure 2. Data on Indonesia’s Deforestation 1990-2012, Ministry of Forestry.

Source: Ministry of Forestry 2014. Potret Kondisi Hutan Indonesia, Presented by Directorate General of Forest Planning, Ministry of Forestry, in external review of State of the Forest: Indonesia 2014.

14 FWI: State of Forest: Indonesia 2000-2009, 2011. 15 http://www.mongabay.co.id/2013/11/15/temuan-peta-hutan-google-laju-deforestasi-meningkat-di-indonesia/ 16 Margono et al, 2014. Primary forest cover loss in Indonesia over 2000-2012. http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n8/full/nclimate2277.html#author-information 17 Decree of Ministry of Forestry No.44/Menhut-II/2013 concerning 2014 Ministry of Forestry Work Plan. 18 Press Release No. S. 409 /PHM-1/2014 concerning Indonesia’s Deforestation Rate in 2011-2012 only 24 Thousand Hectares. Center for Public Relations, Ministry of Forestry.

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Up to 2013, FWI found that deforestation tendencies were still high in the past four years (2009-2013). This finding contrasts MoF’s statement of drastically reduced deforestation,19 noting that in 2011 MoF implemented moratorium of new licenses issuance.20 FWI’s analysis based on Landsat satellite image interpretation showed that Indonesia has loss 4.5 million ha natural forest with rate of 1.13 million ha/year in the last four years.

Figure 3. Comparison of Natural Forest Cover Areas in 2009 and 2013

Source: PKHI 2000-2009, ETM+7 satellite image analysis, FWI 2014

Sumatra and Kalimantan are islands with largest deforestations compared to other islands. This condition is related to the direction of policies and space-hungry investments encouraged by the government with pretext of development needs, through expansions of industrial forest plantations, oil palm plantations, and new sites for mining exploitations.

An interesting finding is the large deforestation numbers in Central Kalimantan. In the end of 2010, Central Kalimantan was selected as pilot site for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation or REDD+ project in Indonesia. Satellite image analysis however showed that this province is ranked second after Riau for greatest forest loss of the last four years with 620,000 ha.21 Also in this period, the government enacted the new licenses moratorium to prevent further forest degradation and deforestation.22

19 Deforestation and forest degradation rate for 2009-2011 was only 450,000 ha, and reached 3.5 million ha in 1998-2002 (MoF Work Plan Document 2014); Press Release No. S. 409 /PHM-1/2014 concerning Indonesia’s Deforestation Rate in 2011-2012 only 24 Thousand Hectares. Center for Public Relations, Ministry of Forestry. 20 Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011 on Postponement of new licences issuance and improving governance of primary natural forest and peatland. Moratorium for new licences issuance was extended through Presidential Instruction No. 6/2013. 21 FWI, 2014: ETM+7 Satelite Image Analysis 22 Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011 and extended through Presidential Instruction No. 6/2013.

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Figure 4. Forest and Peat Clearing based on Indicative Map of New License Postponement 3rd Revision

Source: Ground check by FWI-Greenpeace, 2012

This finding indicates that deforestation still occurred when the moratorium was implemented by the government. This indication is strengthened by facts on the ground when FWI and Greenpeace conducted a survey on October 2012. Forest and peat clearing by oil palm plantations were recorded in several sites in Kapuas and Sampit Districts, Central Kalimantan. Therefore these conditions reflect that the moratorium is not yet effective to prevent degradation and deforestation.

Systematic Forest Degradation

The cause of deforestation can be grouped in two: direct causes and underlying/indirect causes.23 Direct causes of forest degradation and deforestation are: (1) conversion of natural forest into annual plants; (2) conversion of natural forest into agriculture and plantations; (3) extractive industry explorations and exploitations in forest areas (coal, oil and gas, geothermal); (4) forest and land fires; and (5) conversion for transmigration and other forms of infrastructures.24 In addition to the five aforementioned factors,

23 FWI/GFW: State of the Forest: Indonesia, 2001 24 FWI/GFW: State of the Forest: Indonesia, 2001; Indonesian Climate Change Sectoral Roadmap (ICCSR) Summary Report Forestry Sector, p. 2 (BAPPENAS, 2010)

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deforestation in some areas is actually caused by administrative regional expansion into new autonomous regions.25 Poor governance is identified as an indirect cause that drives forest resource degradation in Indonesia.

These high levels of deforestation and degradation have made Indonesia as a contributor of greenhouse gases emission. The largest portion comes from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). Forest and peat use change for industrial forests and plantations, as well as land use change into mines, are dominant contributors to deforestation. Satellite image analysis done by FWI showed that deforestation continues to occur due to poor performance of relevant actors in forestry and other sectors (Table 2).

Table 2. Forest Cover in 2009, 2013, and Deforestation in 2013 in Concession Areas

Concessions 2009 Forest Cover

(ha)

2013 Forest Cover

(ha)

Deforestation (ha)

Logging Concessions (Forest Timber Product Exploitation Permit for Natural Forest)

11,658,627 11,381,645 276,982

Industrial Plantation Forest (Forest Timber Product Exploitation Permit for Plantation Forest)

1,972,154 1,518,985 453,169

Mines 10,483,257 9,994,883 488,374

Plantations 2,049,864 1,533,899 515,964

Forest cover overlapping with logging, industrial forest, mine, and plantation concessions

7,793,425 7,209,264 584,161

Outside of concession areas 53,117,264 50,848,604 2,268,660

Total 87,074,590 82,487,281 4,587,309

Source: Data from ETM+7 satellite image analysis, FWI 2014

Forest timber product exploitation permit for natural forest (IUPHHK-HA), plantation forest (IUPHHK-HTI), forest area lease use for mining, and forest area relinquishment for oil palm plantations, in reality has provided opportunities for systematic conversion of natural forests.26 Removal of forest cover is done by design through government-designed license schemes, especially for land-based and large-scale businesses. Outside of these directly-influencing factors, in 2010 the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) stated that deforestation is also indirectly caused by poor governance. This is the most fundamental issue in Indonesia’s forestry sector. Poor governance will lead to destruction of forest resources. This weakness has provided room for corrupt practices and greatly contributed to forest degradation in Indonesia.27

25 Indonesian Climate Change Sectoral Roadmap (ICCSR) Summary Report Forestry Sector, p. 2 (BAPPENAS, 2010) 26 Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014 27 FWI/GFW: State of the Forest: Indonesia, 2001

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Figure 5. Relationship between Forest Governance Indices and Deforestation Areas in 5 Districts

Source: ETM+7 satellite image analysis by FWI; Forest Management Index, ICEL-FITRA, 2013

There are still other factors that affect deforestation, but it cannot be denied that poor forest governance accelerates forest resource degradation. Through its analysis, FWI found a correlation between forest cover loss and low governance index of a certain district. Based on assessments in 5 (five) districts, those with lowest governance indices had greatest deforested areas compared to the other districts (Figure 3).28 This weakness leads to the thriving abuse of authority by local governments in processes relevant to land clearing, providing licenses to private companies, and natural forest conversion non-compliant to existing regulations.29

Timber Companies’ Bad Performances

Until 2013, there are 272 forest timber product exploitation permit-holders for natural forest managing 22.8 million ha Production Forest. This number is a huge drop compared to that of 1993/1994 in which there were 574 licenses for 61.7 million ha. Many logging companies went out of business because of a number of factors, including high production costs due to (legal and illegal) fees during management and timber product transportation processes.30 Bankrupt, inactive, or abandoned concessions will cause at least 39 million ha production forest that will face open access de facto conditions.31 This condition will increasingly facilitate mines operating in production forests.32

28 FWI: Deforestasi: Potret Buruk Tata Kelola Hutan, 2014. 29 Ibid. 30 Presentation from Association of Indonesian Forest Concession Holders (Asosiasi Pengusahaan Hutan Indonesia – APHI) during discussion on forestry licensing issues with Directorate General of Forestry Enterprises in Surabaya, October 2013. 31 Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014. 32 Ibid.

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Figure 6. Growth of IUPHHK-HA Concessions in 1993-2013

Source: Forestry statistics data analysis, 1994-2013

From 272 companies with definitive licenses in 2013, less than 50% or only 115 concessions were still actively operating. According to their management performance, 67 concessions are not certified.33 The low company performance marked by lack of legality (Timber Legality Verification or V-LK) or sustainability (Sustainable Production Forest Management or PHPL) certificate will not ensure a sustainable forest management. Such natural forest concession operations contribute to deforestation in Indonesia.

Plantation Forests and Low Planting Realization Development of plantation forests or forest timber product exploitation permits for plantation forest (IUPHHK-HTI) in Indonesia aims to support timber industry growth through provision of raw materials of adequate and sustainable quality and quantity. In accordance to its objectives, development of forest timber product exploitation permits is expected to provide a supply of raw materials for industrial demands, including sawn timber as well as pulp and paper industries. However, plantation forest expansion is not accompanied by intensive planting in the allocated concessions. The aspiration for industrial plantation forest expansions is often driven by profits alone through the Timber Utilization License (Izin Pemanfaatan Kayu – IPK).34

33 Presentation by Hariadi Kartodihardjo and Grahat, “Kajian Kerentanan Korupsi Perizinan di Sektor Kehutanan, Studi Kasus IUPHHK-HA dan IUPHHK-HT”. Bandung 2014. 34 Manurung, E.G.T., R. Kusumaningtyas and Mirwan. Potret Pembangunan Hutan Tanaman Industri di Indonesia. Yayasan WWF-Indonesia. 1999

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Table 3. License, timber production, and realized planting developments for Industrial Plantation Forests

Year Industrial Plantation

Forest Area

New License

Area Timber Production (m3) Actual Planting (ha)

2000 4,753,134 3,783,604 82,317

2001 5,043,772 290,638 5,567,282 67,472

2002 5,379,422 335,650 4,242,532 118,508

2003 4,376,630 (1,002,792) 5,325,772 124,691

2004 5,802,704 1,426,074 7,329,028 131,914

2005 5,734,980 (67,724) 12,818,199 189,123

2006 6 ,187,272 452,292 11,451,249 237,099

2007 7,120,000 932,728 20,614,209 412,891

2008 7,134,832 14,832 22,321,885 305,465

2009 8,723,646 1,588,814 18,953,483 279,959

2010 8,975,375 251,729 18,561,413 457,239

2011 9,927,792 952,417 19,840,678 374,728

2012 9,834,744 (93,048) 26,123,583 399,176

Source: Analyzed from Forestry Statistical Data of 2000-2011, 2010 Quarter IV Reports, and 2011 Forestry Enterprise Development Realization Report Quarter II, MoF 2014 Work plan.

In 2013, the national timber production reached 46.6 million m3, an increase compared to 2012 with 45.5 million m3. This increase has been observed since 2008 with 33.3 million m3. Timber production from industrial plantation forests also tends to increase (Figure 4), but is still unable to become the primary supplier for timber industries, especially for pulp and paper. Contributions from plantation forest reached 28.9 m3 or approximately 63% of the total timber production.35

Figure 7. Comparison between Timber Supply from Plantation and Natural Forests

Source: Analyzed data from industrial raw materials supply, 2008-2013

35 http://www.investor.co.id/agribusiness/target-pengembangan-hti-tak-tercapai/67528

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The poor records of industrial forest plantation concessions did not dampen the government’s ambitions. In 2014, MoF targeted industrial forest plantation development acceleration through industrial forest plantation expansion to 15 million ha. The government hopes that this expansion can help increase timber production to reach 100 million m3/year.36

Conversion for Oil Palm Plantation Expansion

Sumatra and Kalimantan are target areas for oil palm plantation expansion. Expansion for this crop began since foreign investments were re-opened in 1967.37 In 2003, out of 5.25 million ha land allocated for oil palm, approximately 19% were located in Kalimantan and 72% in Sumatra.38 Oil palm plantation in Indonesia has reached 9 million ha or approximately 75% of the world’s oil palm plantations.39 In addition to industrial plantation forest, natural forest is often converted into plantations such as oil palm. In the last decade alone, land converted to oil palm plantations has increased, in which in 2013 the total land area for oil palm plantation reached 10 million ha.40

Government policies that encourage oil palm plantations are accepted positively by large scale businesses. Both tend to use economic considerations, therefore the consideration that plantation expansion sacrifices forest are often overlooked. The government expects that increasing revenue from new incoming plantations, while companies expect to save money from the more costly plantation intensification activities. According to CIFOR, in 2013 there is at least 4 million ha oil currently existing and productive palm plantations that originated from deforested land.41 In 2009-2013, there are at least 516 million ha deforested land in oil palm plantation concessions (FWI, 2014).

Until 2009, Sawit Watch pointed out that there are 590 plantation licenses given for forest areas, not only in production forests, but protected forests and conservation areas as well. These oil palm plantation concession licenses have exceeded 3 million ha. In the last five years in North Sumatra alone, 120,000 ha forest has been cleared for oil palm. And worse is that it is often found that companies clear land only with location permit from head of district, prior to obtaining land relinquishment licenses from MoF.42

36 Fact Sheet: Pengabaian Kelestarian Hutan Alam dan Gambut, serta Faktor Pemicu Konflik Lahan yang Berkelanjutan, by FWI, Jikahari, Walhi Jambi Chapter, and WBH South Sumatra, 2014. 37 Law No.1 of 1967 concerning Foreign Investments. 38 Fadzilah Majid Cooke. Recent Development and Conservation Interventions in Borneo. 39 http://energitoday.com/2013/03/25/ekspansi-korporasi-perkebunan-kelapa-sawit-dorong-deforestasi/ 40 http://www.pertanian.go.id/Indikator/tabel-3-prod-lsareal-prodvitas-bun.pdf 41 http://jurnalbumi.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/4-juta-ha-kebun-sawit-melalui-deforestasi/, accessed on 15 September 2014. 42 http://www.trp.or.id/detailberita/79/120000-Hektare-Hutan-Beralih-Fungsi-Jadi-Perkebunan.html

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Table 4. Number and areas of plantations within forest areas in 2009

Area Functions Licenses Areas (ha) Protected Forest 143 260,192.0 Production Forest 437 2,753,747.5 Conservation Areas 10 6,749.9

Total 590 3,020,689.4 Source: Sawit Watch, 2009

In 2010-2013, at least 597,700 ha have been relinquished for plantations, and this number is expected to increase along with increase in Indonesian oil palm production target growth of 30 million tons for 2014.43 The largest forest area relinquishment for plantations occurs in Kalimantan, reaching 195,200 ha.

Lease Use for Mining Investments

Forest resource degradation is also caused by mining exploitation activities through the forest lease use mechanism. Mining license development in state forest takes place not only in production forest, but also in protected forest covering 3.8 million ha (Table 5) which is vulnerable to environmental degradation and drives deforestation.

Table 5. Mine License Distributions in Protected Forests in 2013

Region Number of

Licenses

Areas according to Permit (ha)

Areas Overlapping with Protected Forests (ha)

Sumatra 338 2,049,119 783,861

Java 36 142,036 29,147

Kalimantan 364 3,018,108 272,066

Sulawesi 493 2,581,301 847,991

Maluku 165 893,354 168,105

Papua 121 4,098,737 1,571,199

Bali and Nusa Tenggara 120 918,745 203,416

Central Mining Licenses 1 44,067 39

1,638 13,745,467 3,875,824

Source: Directorate General of Minerals and Coal, 2013

The number and area of productive mine enterprises in state forests continue to increase and by the end of 2013 there were 681 companies operating in 461,000 ha.44 The number and area of mines in explorative stages in state forests amount to 552 companies in 2.9 million ha.45

43 44 Ministry of Forestry, 2013 in Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014. 45 Hariadi Kartodihardjo, Alih Fungsi dan Kerusakan Hutan Negara: Persoalan Empiris dan Struktural, 2014.

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The opportunity to utilize forest areas which should be protected continues to be pursued by the government, especially local governments. The large profits promised in licensing processes leads policy makers to flock issuing mining licenses. Profits from these natural resources interests are used by political elites to fund their political races.46 It comes to no surprise that there is a trend in mine concession expansion in districts rich in natural resources. Heads of districts race to sign agreements and cooperation with businesses to issue new licenses approaching the political year to maintain their power.47

Forest Fires

Forest fires were originally perceived as natural occurrences and cycles, but then there were considerations of the likelihood that land and forest fires are also triggered by intentional factors, such as hunting, land clearing, which are then called forest fires. Purbawaseso (2004) stated that Indonesia’s high rate of forest fires are mostly caused by intentional fires by humans, and a smaller percentage of the incidents are due to natural causes. Just recently, forest fires in Riau created major international impacts. The fires that occurred were 99% intentional to clear land for oil palm plantations.48 These forest fires indicate the involvement of numerous commercial activities.

Although the government has passed relevant regulations concerning land and forest clearing without the use of fires, anthropogenic forest fires still occur often. On July 2013, through satellite images, as many as 1,210 hotspots were recorded, in which 1,180 hotspots or 98% were found in Riau Province, Sumatra. This occurrence will continue if law enforcement against perpetrators is still weak, determination for environmental compensation is often unclear, and is not supported by calculation documents.49 The study conducted by Akbar et al. in 2011 stated that law enforcement conducted by government especially for land and forest fires is still weak. There has been no case of arrests or counsels due to fire violations.

Papua and Kalimantan as islands with the largest forest cover are vulnerable to fires for new plantation land clearings. Forest fires for land clearing that can occur in Papua and Kalimantan are estimated to continue along with the occurrence of new plantation clearings.

Improving Governance to Save Indonesia’s Forest

The effort to save Indonesia’s forest cannot be separated from resolving the problems that have accumulated in the previous period, whether of the real issues at the ground level, policy issues, or capacity of forestry implementers. Correct and fundamental identification of forestry issues using accurate information will determine the achievements of forestry

46 ICW: Menguras Bumi Merebut Kursi, Patronase Politik-Bisnis Alih Fungsi Lahan: Studi Kasus dan Rekomendasi Kebijakan, 2013. 47 ICW: Menguras Bumi Merebut Kursi, Patronase Politik-Bisnis Alih Fungsi Lahan: Studi Kasus dan Rekomendasi Kebijakan, 2013. 48 http://www.jpnn.com/read/2014/07/23/247980/BNPB:-99-Kebakaran-Hutan-di-Riau-Disengaja- accessed on 19 August 2014. 49 http://nasional.sindonews.com/read/754966/18/berhenti-membakar-hutan accessed on 19 August 2014.

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performance. These forestry issue resolutions do not only involve determining the actual problems, but a strategy is also required to implement these solutions. Next is to determine the optimal implementation of these strategies, and therefore forestry organizational and leadership is a necessity.

The unresolved accumulation of issues in the forestry sector is inseparable from the government’s lack of capacity and therefore becoming a driving factor of policies biased toward forest enterprises that is far from the principles of equality and sustainability. Forestry issues are becoming increasingly complex with minimum organizational capacity in the site level, including poor relations between central and local governments. A number of forestry issues are not immediately resolved because the government (such as Ministry of Forestry50) does not prioritize resolution of the root causes of these forestry issues.

Problem Identification and Proposed Programs Although there have been national programs in the past ten years, such as programs to address illegal logging, community empowerment through social forestry, implementation of timber sustainability certification and Timber Legality Assurance System (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu – SVLK), and program improvement and strengthening through REDD+ and new licenses issuance moratorium, these programs are still unable to address forest degradation. Conversion and land use change, reduced forestry functions, as well as land and forest conflicts, are still taking place in Indonesia. These occurrences continue to happen because the programs/policies developed are responsive in nature and fail to comprehensively address the main issues in the forestry sector, which is poor forest governance.

There have been breakthroughs in the Constitutional Court Decisions No. 45/2011 and No. 35/2012,51 have not been followed through by serious efforts to ensure certainty of forest areas and status of rights to forest resources. To address the forestry issues currently being faced, the following are several main programs that can be implemented:

Resolution of forest area claims and gazettement. This program is expected to be able to realize assurance of forestry management and businesses, including provide space for indigenous and local communities, through synergic cooperation between central and local governments.

Equitable strengthening for forest management and utilization. This program emphasizes in providing space for forestry development, limiting forest conversation and land use change, law enforcement, and ensuring forest management rights and/or access to indigenous and local communities.

Protection and restoration of potential forest resources. This program aims to increase the role of site-level organizations, including through Forest Management

50 Ministry of Forestry is now merged Ministry of Environment and Forestry since October 2014. 51 Constitutional Court’s Decision No. 45/2011 on review of Law No. 41/1999 on Forestry concerning forest area gazettement processes. Constitutional Court’s Decision No. 35/2012 on review of Law No. 41/1999 on Forestry concerning customary forest status of forest areas.

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Units (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan – KPH), to realize effectiveness of forest management. The presence of this organization will ensure forest and land rehabilitation, and room for community management, minimize open access in forest areas, and protect smaller islands from the expansion of large and exploitative companies. Forest Management Units must become an instrument in improving forest governance that ensures equality for stakeholders, especially indigenous and local communities.

Enabling Preconditions

The three programs can be optimally implemented if enabling preconditions have been met which makes it possible for forestry organizers to implement these programs. These conditions are created by improving knowledge and information system management, improving governance and conducting policy review, as well as conducting organizational capacity building for forest resources management, from planning to monitoring stages. Therefore the steps to implement for immediate improvements are the following:

First, strengthen data and information basis on forest resources as well as knowledge management, which are current critical points. Because of this current condition, decision making processes are often carried without the support of actual field conditions.

Second, various regulations still pose as weak points resulting in high economic costs. Therefore policy reviews to create good forestry governance is a prerequisite to implement the main programs. One of the policies to review is Law No. 41/1999, especially concerning forest area gazettement, recognizing indigenous peoples’ rights, status of customary forests, and strengthening law enforcement against forestry crimes.

Third, is to strengthen government’s roles in accommodating community’s rights and resolving land use conflicts in the district, province, and national levels.

Fourth, is to create fair and efficient competitive business climate through forestry product trade policy review and controlling transactional fees, especially in determining, recommending, and implementing licenses.

Fifth, natural resources management in general requires significant roles of organizations operating directly in the ground level, such as local forestry government agencies and Forest Management Units. Capacity building for these organizations is a prerequisite for the success of priority programs, and its implementation must be a priority.

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To focus on priority programs as well as their preconditions as described above, bureaucratical corrections is inevitable. The MoF’s organizational structure and functions that are still narrowly oriented toward licenses and commodity development must shift to strengthen forest management in accordance to its functions. Stakeholders’ involvement in forest management (planning, utilization, and monitoring) must be improved, while the tradition of developing and implementing closed regulations must be minimized. This can be carried out only with open and innovative leadership that is able to improve forestry governance. This form of leadership is expected to be able to urge a multi-door approach in law enforcement to restore the community’s trust in the forestry sector.

Glossary

Forest Loss or Deforestation: All forms of land cover change from forest into non-forest areas caused by natural conditions and/or deforestation actors, both legally or illegally in a specific time period whether temporarily or permanently.

Forest Degradation: Reduction in tree density and/or increased disturbance to the forest that results in the loss of forest products and forest-derived ecological services.

Forest: An ecosystem unit in the form of a landscape containing biological resources dominated by trees within their unity with the surroundings, all of which are inseparable.

Natural Forest: Forests composed primarily of indigenous trees that have not been planted by humans.

Natural forests exclude plantations.

Forest Cover (FAO): Land with tree crown cover of more than 10 percent of the ground and land area

of more than 0.5 ha. In addition, the trees should characteristically reach a minimum height of 5 m

at maturity

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