Bogor, December 9, 2017. Indonesian Forest Expo 2017 was an event that became a stage for Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) to tell the portrait of Indonesia’s forest conditions. For seventeen years, FWI monitoring Indonesian forest conditions where the never-ending forestry sector problems caused the deterioration of Indonesian forest quality and quantity. In Forexpo 2017, FWI presented these never-ending problems through the exploration show of music, theater, dance, and film.
In that event, FWI released a forestry independent monitoring portal, also studies and the film about overlap management of Indonesian forest. Through Forexpo 2017, FWI intended to tell the portrait of Indonesian forest in the last seventeen years and give campaign messages for the parties related to the importance of protecting the remaining Indonesian forest.
“The establishment of Forest Watch Indonesia was motivated by the injustice of information distribution, forest destruction, and many conflicts that occur in Indonesia’s forest resources management. On its journey, FWI has published several products containing forest-related information, such as a book entitled Portrait of Indonesia’s Forest Condition (PKHI), Fact Sheets, films, and many more. Organizing the Indonesian Forest Expo 2017 was a way for FWI to campaign the latest Indonesia’s forest conditions, ” explained Soelthon Gussetya Nanggara, the Executive Director of FWI.
The 2017 Forexpo event took overlap management issue of Indonesian forest in eight provinces that is East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, Aceh, West Sumatra, Riau, and South Sumatra. It is known that there are 9 million hectares of overlapping areas among the concessions of IUPHHK-HT (utilization permit of forest products on the industrial forest), HPH (the right to cultivate the forest), plantation, and mining. Meanwhile, the overlapping among four concessions with the traditional territory is 1.5 million hectares.
The case of overlap licensing in forest areas has inflicted an increase in deforestation, prolonged agrarian conflicts, and various further impacts such as socio-ecological crises, criminalization, human rights violations, and forced expulsion of local people or indigenous people from their own living space. FWI feels empowered to speak out about these problems to the government to resolve the overlap conflict problems that occur immediately and attract public participation in solving forestry sector problems.
Linda Rosalina, the FWI campaigners, explained the importance of reducing the Overlap management of the Indonesian forest. “There are the HTI (Industrial Forest Plantation) companies regime, HPH license holder, palm oil plantations, and the mining regime that become an actor causing the overlap in land and forest management. Although to improve forest governance in Indonesia, forest management must be free from all types of forest exploitation activities. But until this time, we still ignore the carrying capacity of forest resources and its sustainability.”
Forexpo 2017 was closed by Gema Suara Rimba (The Sound of the Jungle) performance that invited the community to participate in the campaign of realizing fair and sustainable forest management in Indonesia. FWI expected that Forexpo 2017 could increase people’s awareness about the importance of protecting Indonesian forests before it is too late. Also, it becomes a government’s reminder to protect Indonesian forests in accelerating the conflict resolution, so it does not make protracted.
Editor’s Note:
| Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI) is an independent forest monitoring network consisting of individuals who have commitments to realize a management process of forestry data and information in Indonesia. Thus, it can ensure fair and sustainable forest resource management. |
| A book entitled The Portrait of Indonesian Forest condition or PKHI is a book containing an overview of conditions and changes in Indonesian forest cover, which is produced by Forest Watch Indonesia. It contains the rate and projections of losing forest in the future, the performance of forestry sector actors in forest management, and its impact on losing forest. FWI has published three series of PKHI books that is PKHI for the period 1985-2000, 2000-2009, and 2009-2013. |
| Overlap is defined as chaos or irregularity. In this article, the overlap means overlapping or irregularities in forest and land management permits in Indonesia. |
For media contact: Soelthon Gussetya Nanggara, Executive Director of FWI. Email: sulton @ fwi.or.id; phone: +6285649638037 Linda Rosalina, Campaigner of FWI. Email: linda @ fwi.or.id; phone: +6285710886024