8 The Role of Collective Action in Securing Property Rights for the Poor: A Case Study in Jambi Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Like many countries around the world (Colfer and Capistrano 2005), Indonesia has initiated a process of decentralization, particularly since the fall of Suharto in 1998. This process has included devolving extensive authority for day-today governance to the districts (kabupaten). In the forestry sector, district heads immediately began making use of forest resources as the main source of district income. Concerns over increased uncertainty and adverse impacts on the sustainability of resources, community livelihoods, and stakeholder relations led the central government to reduce the district heads' authority in 2002 (Barr et al. 2006; Dermawan, Komarudin, and McGrath 2006; Yasmi et al. 2006). A revised law on decentralization was issued in 2004, aiming to clarify the 1999 law on the roles and responsibilities shared among the government units and open opportunities for central and regional governments to improve their relationship while providing the regional governments with continued freedom to develop their regions. The new arrangements allow local communities to articulate their development needs and participate in policymaking processes. However, despite legal and institutional reforms, challenges remain. Longstanding conflicting laws on natural resources also complicate finding legal solutions to problems, and property rights remain unclear. Decisionmaking processes for land use planning and local communities' access to resources are also unclear. There are limited mechanisms for meaningful input from communities, particularly from women. Unclear property rights over forestlands in Indonesia are one of the contentious issues. The country's forest communities typically have traditional systems of land tenure that bear little resemblance to the land classifications recognized by the government. Although the country's forestlands are strongly controlled by the central government, much of the official forestland is actually inhabited by indigenous or in-migrating communities, leading to disputes not only between local communities and private companies but also between district and central governments. The district governments' demand for forest conversion in order to meet development needs also poses challenges. These challenges are put in sharper focus by the increasing national and global attention

Multi-level governance of forest resources (Editorial to the special feature)

“…These bridging institutions can straddle and mediate the divide between science and policy, and perform a range of important functions such as information brokerage, facilitation of knowledge co-production, mediation and conflict resolution and accountability (Swallow et al 2001;Cash et al 2006;Clark et al 2011;Bray et al 2012). Better information and skills may also be important as negotiation support to manage or solve conflicts among stakeholders with competing interests Komarudin et al 2011;Bray et al 2012).…”

Ante un futuro incierto: Cómo se pueden adaptar los bosques y las comunidades al cambio climático

“…Otro método consiste en vincular a comunidades específicas con actores gubernamentales, a nivel de distrito, tal y como se ha hecho en Jambi, en Sumatra, Indonesia (Komarudin et al 2008) o se está haciendo en sitios del proyecto de Mosaico de Paisajes en Guinea, Tanzania, Camerún, Laos, Indonesia y Madagascar (Pfund et al 2008). El uso de foros compuestos por varios grupos de interesados puede cumplir la función de aumentar la comunicación y colaboración entre niveles y actores (ej.…”

Integrating gender into forestry research: A guide for CIFOR scientists and programme administrators

“…Research also shows that when there are women in community forest user groups, and in decision making positions in those groups, the outcomes are better (Acharya and Gentle 2006). Women's participation was also found to mitigate capture of benefits by elites during decentralisation and to improve access to district level budgeting processes (de Vries and Sutarti 2006;Syamsuddin et al 2007;Komarudin et al 2008). …”

“…Agarwal (2009Agarwal ( , 2010 demonstrates how enhancing women's participation in decision making committees in community forest institutions improves forest governance and resource sustainability. Women's participation is also found to mitigate elite capture of benefits during decentralisation and improve access to district level budgeting processes (de Vries and Sutarti 2006; Syamsuddin et al 2007;Komarudin et al 2008). …”