TITLE:
Exploring Potential of REDD+ Readiness with Social Safeguard through Diverse Forest Use Practices in Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia
AUTHORS:
Toshihide Yoshikura, Masahiro Amano, Gusti Z. Anshari
KEYWORDS:
REDD+ Readiness, Safeguards, Forest Gardening, Gunung Palung National Park, NTFP, Forest Use Rights
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.8 No.2,
March
6,
2018
ABSTRACT: Implementation is expected to be a measure for sustainable forest management by providing benefit for forest users based on their efforts. Without careful attention for the social safeguard, the mechanism of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation with forest management (REDD+) might cause negative impact such as depriving of customary forest use rights under unclear tenure and forest use rights typical in Indonesia. This study aimed to explore how REDD+ Safeguard can be applied in readiness activities by analyzing practical forest use situations in a conservation forest, the Gunung Palung National Park as study site. From the results of the questionnaire survey and interviews, characteristics of forest users were identified and compared. The households, mostly Malays, practicing traditional durian collection, were recognized as main forest users depending on on-farm income especially from non-timber forest product (NTFP). Since the income structure is relatively low and unstable, some of them practice farming in forest area or sell their forest use rights to other households. They are inclined to be lack in legal farm land and certain forest use rights. Based on the findings, consideration for diverse forest users and potential readiness activities were discussed and proposed. For achieving REDD+ implementation with sustainable forest management and social safeguard, it will be necessary to respect for customary rights and take comprehensive measures as readiness efforts.