An Initial Assessment of the Potential Contribution of ‘Community Empowerment’ to Mitigating the Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation, in Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve
Indonesia has experienced annual forest fires that have
rapidly destroyed and degraded its forests. Fires in the peat swamp
forests of Riau Province, have set the stage for problems to worsen,
this being the ecosystem most prone to fires (which are also the most
difficult, to extinguish). Despite various efforts to curb deforestation,
and forest degradation processes, severe forest fires are still
occurring. To find an effective solution, the basic causes of the
problems must be identified. It is therefore critical to have an indepth
understanding of the underlying causal factors that have
contributed to deforestation and forest degradation as a whole, in
order to attain reductions in their rates. An assessment of the drivers of deforestation and forest
degradation was carried out, in order to design and implement
measures that could slow these destructive processes. Research was
conducted in Giam Siak Kecil–Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve
(GSKBB BR), in the Riau Province of Sumatera, Indonesia. A
biosphere reserve was selected as the study site because such reserves
aim to reconcile conservation with sustainable development. A
biosphere reserve should promote a range of local human activities,
together with development values that are in line spatially and
economically with the area conservation values, through use of a
zoning system. Moreover, GSKBB BR is an area with vast peatlands,
and is experiencing forest fires annually. Various factors were
analysed to assess the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation
in GSKBB BR; data were collected from focus group discussions
with stakeholders, key informant interviews with key stakeholders,
field observation and a literature review. Landsat satellite imagery was used to map forest-cover changes
for various periods. Analysis of landsat images, taken during the
period 2010-2014, revealed that within the non-protected area of core
zone, there was a trend towards decreasing peat swamp forest areas,
increasing land clearance, and increasing areas of community oilpalm
and rubber plantations. Fire was used for land clearing and most
of the forest fires occurred in the most populous area (the transition
area). The study found a relationship between the deforested/
degraded areas, and certain distance variables, i.e. distance from
roads, villages and the borders between the core area and the buffer
zone. The further the distance from the core area of the reserve, the
higher was the degree of deforestation and forest degradation. Research findings suggested that agricultural expansion may be
the direct cause of deforestation and forest degradation in the reserve,
whereas socio-economic factors were the underlying driver of forest
cover changes; such factors consisting of a combination of sociocultural,
infrastructural, technological, institutional (policy and governance), demographic (population pressure) and economic
(market demand) considerations. These findings indicated that local
factors/problems were the critical causes of deforestation and
degradation in GSKBB BR. This research therefore concluded that
reductions in deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR
could be achieved through ‘local actor’-tailored approaches such as
community empowerment.
[1] H. J. Geist and E. F. Lambin, “What Drives Tropical Deforestation: A
Meta-Analysis of Proximate and Underlying Causes of Deforestation
Based on Subnational Case Study Evidence,”LUCC Report series No.4,
116 pp., 2001.
[2] H. J. Geist and E. F. Lambin, “Proximate Causes and Underlying
Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation,”BioScience, Vol. 52, no. 4,
pp. 143-150, Feb. 2002.
[3] A. Agrawal, D. Nepstad, and A. Chhatre, “Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation,”Annu. Rev.f Environ.Resour.,vol
36, pp. 373-396, Aug. 2011.
[4] E. F. Lambin, et al., "The Causes of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change:
Moving beyond the Myths," Global Environmental Change, Vol. 11, no.
4, pp. 261-269, December 2001.
[5] A. S. Mather, C. L. Needle, and J. Fairbairn, “The Human Drivers of
Global Land Cover Change: The Case of Forests, ”Hydrological
Processes, Vol. 12, no. 13-14, pp.1983-1994, Oct. 1998.
[6] T. K. Rudel, R. Defries, G. P. Asner, and W. F. Laurance, W. F.,
“Changing Drivers of Deforestation and New Opportunities for
Conservation,” Conservation Biology, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1396-1405,
Dec. 2009.
[7] D. H. Boucher, et. al., “The Root of the Problem: What’s Driving
Tropical Deforestation Today? Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned
Scientists, 2011. [8] W. D. Sunderlin and I. A. P. Resosudarmo, “Laju dan Penyebab
Deforestasi di Indonesia: Penelaahan Kerancuan dan Penyelesaiannya,”
CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 9, 1997.
[9] S. Chakravarty, A. N. Dey, C. P. Suresh, G. Shukla, dan S. K. Ghosh, S.
K., Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Control Strategies” in Global
Perspective on Sustainable Forest Management, C. A. Okia, Ed. InTech,
2012, pp. 3-29.
[10] N. Hosonuma, et al., "An Assessment of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation Drivers in Developing Countries," Environ. Res.Lett, vol. 7,
no. 4, pp. 1-12, Dec. 2012.
[11] R. A. Houghton, "Carbon Emissions and the Drivers of Deforestation
and Forest Degradation in the Tropics," Current Opinion in
Environmental Sustainability, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 597-603, Dec. 2012.
[12] G. Kissinger, M. Herold, and D. S. Veronique, Drivers of Deforestation
and Forest Degradation: A Synthesis Report for REDD+ Policymakers.,
Vancouver, CA: Lexeme Consulting , 2012.
[13] S. Wertz-Kanounnikoff, and M. Kongphan-Apirak, “Reducing Forest
Emissions in Southeast Asia-A Review of Drivers Of Land-Use Change
and How Payments for Environmental Services (PES) Schemes Can
Affect them,”CIFOR Working Paper No.41, 2008.
[14] P. Antonio, et. al., Analysis of Key Drivers of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in the Philippines. Manila, PHP: GIZ, 2013.
[15] A. Sunkar, Sustainability in Karst Resources Management: The Case of
the Gunung Sewu in Java, Doctoral thesis, the University of Auckland,
2008.
[16] Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. Public
Participation in Protected Area Management Best Practice. Northern
Territory, AU:CNPPAM Benchmarking and Best Practice Program
2002.
[17] K. E. Maani and R. Y. Cavana, Systems Thinking, System Dynamics:
Managing Change and Complexity. North Shore, NZ: Pearson
Education New Zealand: 2007.
[18] S. R. Kellert, J. N. Mehta, S. A. Ebbin, and L. L. Lichtenfeld,
“Community Natural Resource Management: Promise, Rhetoric, and
Reality,” Society and Natural Resources, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 705-725,
2000.
[19] K. Brown, “Innovations for Conservation and Management Issues of
Prespa National Park, ”Hydrobiologia, vol. 351, pp. 175-196, 2002
[20] F. Berkes, “Rethinking Community-Based Conservation,” Conservation
Biology, vol.18, no. 3, pp. 621–630, May 2004.
[21] F. Berkes, “Community-Based Conservation in a Globalized World” in
Proc. of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of
America, 2007, pp. 15188–15193.
[22] A. Berghöfer, “Protected areas: The Weakness of Calls for Strict
Protection,” GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society,
Vol.19, no.1, pp. 9–12, Mar. 2010.
[23] Arnstein, “A Ladder of Citizen Participation, ”Journal of the American
Planning Association, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 216-224, 1969.
[24] J. N. Pretty, I. Gujit, I. Scoones and J. Thompson. A Trainer's Guide for
Participatory Learning and Action. In IIED Participatory Methodology
Series, 1995.
[25] T. H. Lee, “How Recreation Involvement, Place Attachment, and
Conservation Commitment Affect Environmentally Responsible
Behavior,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol.19, no. 7, pp. 895-915,
Sep. 2011.
[26] J. A. Pooley and M. O’Connor, “Environmental Education and
Attitudes: Emotions and Beliefs are What is Needed,” Environ. Behav.
vol. 32, No.5, pp. 711–723, Sep. 2000.
[27] L. C. Manzo, and D. D. Perkins, “Finding Common Ground: The
Importance of Place Attachment to Community Participation and
Planning,”Journal of Planning Literature, vol.20, no. 4, pp. 335-350,
May 2006.
[28] A. J. Walker, and R. L. Ryan, “Place Attachment and Landscape
Preservation in Rural New England: A Maine Case Study,” Landscape
and Urban Planning, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 141–152, May 2008.
[29] J. J. Vaske and K. C. Kobrin, “Place Attachment and Environmentally
Responsible Behavior,”The Journal of Environmental Education, vol.32,
no.4, pp. 16-21, 2001.
[30] WWF, Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biodiversity Loss and CO2
Emissions in Riau, Sumatera, Indonesia. WWF Indonesia Technical
Report:WWF, RSS GmBH, and Hokkaido Agricultural University. 2008
[31] D. Natria, “Pendugaan Potensi Emisi co2 Akibat Kebakaran Hutan dan
Lahan di Provinsi Riau tahun 2012,”Bachelor thesis, IPB, 2012.
[32] S. Ekadinata, M. van Noordwijk, S. Budidarsono, and S. Dewi, “Hot
Spots in Riau, Haze in Singapore: The June 2013 Event Analyzed,”ASB
Policy Brief No. 33, 6 p., 2013
[33] E. Wakker, and de R. Joanna. Greasy Palms: The Social and Ecological
Impacts of Large-Scale Oil Palm Plantation Development in Southeast
Asia: Friends of the Earth, 2004.
[34] D. Gaveau andM. A. Salim “New Data on Riau Fires Generate
Important Insights,” CIFOR Forest Blog, 2013. Available from
http://blog.cifor. org/17493/new-data-on-riau-fires-generate-importantinsights/#.
UdYjxDxBOqh. (Accessed 6 May 2015)
[35] E. Schlager and E. Ostrom, “Property Rights Regimes and Natural
Resources: A Conceptual Analysis,”Land Economics, vol. 68, no. 3, pp.
249-262, Aug. 1992.
[36] D. L. Carr, “Proximate Population Factors and Deforestation in Tropical
Agricultural Frontiers.” Popul.Environ.vol. 25, no.6, pp. 585–612, 2004.
[37] BPS, Buku Statistik Provinsi Riau. Riau, ID: BPS-Riau, 2013.
[38] Valentim, J. F. et al.,“Forces Driving Tropical Deforestation”, ASB
Policy Briefs No.6, Nov. 2003.
[39] C. Stevens, R. Winterbottom, J. Springer, and K. Reytar, Securing
Rights, Combating Climate Change: How Strengthening Community
Forest Rights Mitigates Climate Change. Washington, DC: World
Resources Institute, 2014.
[40] D. Boucher, P. Elias, J. Faires, and S. Smith. Deforestation Success
Stories: Tropical Nations Where Forest Protection and Reforestation
Policies Have Worked. Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative (TFCI):
the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), 2014.
[41] Directorate General of Protection and Nature Conservation (Dirjen
PHKA). Pedoman Kriteria dan Indikator Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di
Sekitar Kawasan Konservasi. Bogor, ID: PJLWA, 2007.
[42] F. Untoro, Evaluasi pelaksanaan Kesepakatan Konservasi Desa (KKD)
dalam Kerinci Seblat-Integrated Conservation and Development Project
(KS-ICDP) Melalui Analisis Stakeholders (Studi Kasus Kabupaten
Merangin, Provinsi Jambi), Bachelor thesis, IPB, 2006.
[1] H. J. Geist and E. F. Lambin, “What Drives Tropical Deforestation: A
Meta-Analysis of Proximate and Underlying Causes of Deforestation
Based on Subnational Case Study Evidence,”LUCC Report series No.4,
116 pp., 2001.
[2] H. J. Geist and E. F. Lambin, “Proximate Causes and Underlying
Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation,”BioScience, Vol. 52, no. 4,
pp. 143-150, Feb. 2002.
[3] A. Agrawal, D. Nepstad, and A. Chhatre, “Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation,”Annu. Rev.f Environ.Resour.,vol
36, pp. 373-396, Aug. 2011.
[4] E. F. Lambin, et al., "The Causes of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change:
Moving beyond the Myths," Global Environmental Change, Vol. 11, no.
4, pp. 261-269, December 2001.
[5] A. S. Mather, C. L. Needle, and J. Fairbairn, “The Human Drivers of
Global Land Cover Change: The Case of Forests, ”Hydrological
Processes, Vol. 12, no. 13-14, pp.1983-1994, Oct. 1998.
[6] T. K. Rudel, R. Defries, G. P. Asner, and W. F. Laurance, W. F.,
“Changing Drivers of Deforestation and New Opportunities for
Conservation,” Conservation Biology, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1396-1405,
Dec. 2009.
[7] D. H. Boucher, et. al., “The Root of the Problem: What’s Driving
Tropical Deforestation Today? Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned
Scientists, 2011. [8] W. D. Sunderlin and I. A. P. Resosudarmo, “Laju dan Penyebab
Deforestasi di Indonesia: Penelaahan Kerancuan dan Penyelesaiannya,”
CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 9, 1997.
[9] S. Chakravarty, A. N. Dey, C. P. Suresh, G. Shukla, dan S. K. Ghosh, S.
K., Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Control Strategies” in Global
Perspective on Sustainable Forest Management, C. A. Okia, Ed. InTech,
2012, pp. 3-29.
[10] N. Hosonuma, et al., "An Assessment of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation Drivers in Developing Countries," Environ. Res.Lett, vol. 7,
no. 4, pp. 1-12, Dec. 2012.
[11] R. A. Houghton, "Carbon Emissions and the Drivers of Deforestation
and Forest Degradation in the Tropics," Current Opinion in
Environmental Sustainability, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 597-603, Dec. 2012.
[12] G. Kissinger, M. Herold, and D. S. Veronique, Drivers of Deforestation
and Forest Degradation: A Synthesis Report for REDD+ Policymakers.,
Vancouver, CA: Lexeme Consulting , 2012.
[13] S. Wertz-Kanounnikoff, and M. Kongphan-Apirak, “Reducing Forest
Emissions in Southeast Asia-A Review of Drivers Of Land-Use Change
and How Payments for Environmental Services (PES) Schemes Can
Affect them,”CIFOR Working Paper No.41, 2008.
[14] P. Antonio, et. al., Analysis of Key Drivers of Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in the Philippines. Manila, PHP: GIZ, 2013.
[15] A. Sunkar, Sustainability in Karst Resources Management: The Case of
the Gunung Sewu in Java, Doctoral thesis, the University of Auckland,
2008.
[16] Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory. Public
Participation in Protected Area Management Best Practice. Northern
Territory, AU:CNPPAM Benchmarking and Best Practice Program
2002.
[17] K. E. Maani and R. Y. Cavana, Systems Thinking, System Dynamics:
Managing Change and Complexity. North Shore, NZ: Pearson
Education New Zealand: 2007.
[18] S. R. Kellert, J. N. Mehta, S. A. Ebbin, and L. L. Lichtenfeld,
“Community Natural Resource Management: Promise, Rhetoric, and
Reality,” Society and Natural Resources, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 705-725,
2000.
[19] K. Brown, “Innovations for Conservation and Management Issues of
Prespa National Park, ”Hydrobiologia, vol. 351, pp. 175-196, 2002
[20] F. Berkes, “Rethinking Community-Based Conservation,” Conservation
Biology, vol.18, no. 3, pp. 621–630, May 2004.
[21] F. Berkes, “Community-Based Conservation in a Globalized World” in
Proc. of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of
America, 2007, pp. 15188–15193.
[22] A. Berghöfer, “Protected areas: The Weakness of Calls for Strict
Protection,” GAIA-Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society,
Vol.19, no.1, pp. 9–12, Mar. 2010.
[23] Arnstein, “A Ladder of Citizen Participation, ”Journal of the American
Planning Association, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 216-224, 1969.
[24] J. N. Pretty, I. Gujit, I. Scoones and J. Thompson. A Trainer's Guide for
Participatory Learning and Action. In IIED Participatory Methodology
Series, 1995.
[25] T. H. Lee, “How Recreation Involvement, Place Attachment, and
Conservation Commitment Affect Environmentally Responsible
Behavior,” Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol.19, no. 7, pp. 895-915,
Sep. 2011.
[26] J. A. Pooley and M. O’Connor, “Environmental Education and
Attitudes: Emotions and Beliefs are What is Needed,” Environ. Behav.
vol. 32, No.5, pp. 711–723, Sep. 2000.
[27] L. C. Manzo, and D. D. Perkins, “Finding Common Ground: The
Importance of Place Attachment to Community Participation and
Planning,”Journal of Planning Literature, vol.20, no. 4, pp. 335-350,
May 2006.
[28] A. J. Walker, and R. L. Ryan, “Place Attachment and Landscape
Preservation in Rural New England: A Maine Case Study,” Landscape
and Urban Planning, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 141–152, May 2008.
[29] J. J. Vaske and K. C. Kobrin, “Place Attachment and Environmentally
Responsible Behavior,”The Journal of Environmental Education, vol.32,
no.4, pp. 16-21, 2001.
[30] WWF, Deforestation, Forest Degradation, Biodiversity Loss and CO2
Emissions in Riau, Sumatera, Indonesia. WWF Indonesia Technical
Report:WWF, RSS GmBH, and Hokkaido Agricultural University. 2008
[31] D. Natria, “Pendugaan Potensi Emisi co2 Akibat Kebakaran Hutan dan
Lahan di Provinsi Riau tahun 2012,”Bachelor thesis, IPB, 2012.
[32] S. Ekadinata, M. van Noordwijk, S. Budidarsono, and S. Dewi, “Hot
Spots in Riau, Haze in Singapore: The June 2013 Event Analyzed,”ASB
Policy Brief No. 33, 6 p., 2013
[33] E. Wakker, and de R. Joanna. Greasy Palms: The Social and Ecological
Impacts of Large-Scale Oil Palm Plantation Development in Southeast
Asia: Friends of the Earth, 2004.
[34] D. Gaveau andM. A. Salim “New Data on Riau Fires Generate
Important Insights,” CIFOR Forest Blog, 2013. Available from
http://blog.cifor. org/17493/new-data-on-riau-fires-generate-importantinsights/#.
UdYjxDxBOqh. (Accessed 6 May 2015)
[35] E. Schlager and E. Ostrom, “Property Rights Regimes and Natural
Resources: A Conceptual Analysis,”Land Economics, vol. 68, no. 3, pp.
249-262, Aug. 1992.
[36] D. L. Carr, “Proximate Population Factors and Deforestation in Tropical
Agricultural Frontiers.” Popul.Environ.vol. 25, no.6, pp. 585–612, 2004.
[37] BPS, Buku Statistik Provinsi Riau. Riau, ID: BPS-Riau, 2013.
[38] Valentim, J. F. et al.,“Forces Driving Tropical Deforestation”, ASB
Policy Briefs No.6, Nov. 2003.
[39] C. Stevens, R. Winterbottom, J. Springer, and K. Reytar, Securing
Rights, Combating Climate Change: How Strengthening Community
Forest Rights Mitigates Climate Change. Washington, DC: World
Resources Institute, 2014.
[40] D. Boucher, P. Elias, J. Faires, and S. Smith. Deforestation Success
Stories: Tropical Nations Where Forest Protection and Reforestation
Policies Have Worked. Tropical Forest and Climate Initiative (TFCI):
the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), 2014.
[41] Directorate General of Protection and Nature Conservation (Dirjen
PHKA). Pedoman Kriteria dan Indikator Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di
Sekitar Kawasan Konservasi. Bogor, ID: PJLWA, 2007.
[42] F. Untoro, Evaluasi pelaksanaan Kesepakatan Konservasi Desa (KKD)
dalam Kerinci Seblat-Integrated Conservation and Development Project
(KS-ICDP) Melalui Analisis Stakeholders (Studi Kasus Kabupaten
Merangin, Provinsi Jambi), Bachelor thesis, IPB, 2006.
@article{"International Journal of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences:70721", author = "A. Sunkar and Y. Santosa and S. B. Rushayati", title = "An Initial Assessment of the Potential Contribution of ‘Community Empowerment’ to Mitigating the Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation, in Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve", abstract = "Indonesia has experienced annual forest fires that have
rapidly destroyed and degraded its forests. Fires in the peat swamp
forests of Riau Province, have set the stage for problems to worsen,
this being the ecosystem most prone to fires (which are also the most
difficult, to extinguish). Despite various efforts to curb deforestation,
and forest degradation processes, severe forest fires are still
occurring. To find an effective solution, the basic causes of the
problems must be identified. It is therefore critical to have an indepth
understanding of the underlying causal factors that have
contributed to deforestation and forest degradation as a whole, in
order to attain reductions in their rates. An assessment of the drivers of deforestation and forest
degradation was carried out, in order to design and implement
measures that could slow these destructive processes. Research was
conducted in Giam Siak Kecil–Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve
(GSKBB BR), in the Riau Province of Sumatera, Indonesia. A
biosphere reserve was selected as the study site because such reserves
aim to reconcile conservation with sustainable development. A
biosphere reserve should promote a range of local human activities,
together with development values that are in line spatially and
economically with the area conservation values, through use of a
zoning system. Moreover, GSKBB BR is an area with vast peatlands,
and is experiencing forest fires annually. Various factors were
analysed to assess the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation
in GSKBB BR; data were collected from focus group discussions
with stakeholders, key informant interviews with key stakeholders,
field observation and a literature review. Landsat satellite imagery was used to map forest-cover changes
for various periods. Analysis of landsat images, taken during the
period 2010-2014, revealed that within the non-protected area of core
zone, there was a trend towards decreasing peat swamp forest areas,
increasing land clearance, and increasing areas of community oilpalm
and rubber plantations. Fire was used for land clearing and most
of the forest fires occurred in the most populous area (the transition
area). The study found a relationship between the deforested/
degraded areas, and certain distance variables, i.e. distance from
roads, villages and the borders between the core area and the buffer
zone. The further the distance from the core area of the reserve, the
higher was the degree of deforestation and forest degradation. Research findings suggested that agricultural expansion may be
the direct cause of deforestation and forest degradation in the reserve,
whereas socio-economic factors were the underlying driver of forest
cover changes; such factors consisting of a combination of sociocultural,
infrastructural, technological, institutional (policy and governance), demographic (population pressure) and economic
(market demand) considerations. These findings indicated that local
factors/problems were the critical causes of deforestation and
degradation in GSKBB BR. This research therefore concluded that
reductions in deforestation and forest degradation in GSKBB BR
could be achieved through ‘local actor’-tailored approaches such as
community empowerment.", keywords = "Actor-led solution, community empowerment,
drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, Giam Siak Kecil–
Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve.", volume = "9", number = "8", pages = "970-8", }