Deforestation and its affects on climate change will be a major topic for delegates at next week’s international meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
A Charles Sturt University (CSU) project has been assessing social and economic options to halt deforestation in Indonesia, which has been estimated at about 2 million hectares each year and identified as a major contribution to global carbon pollution.
Senior researcher at CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Dr Digby Race, is leading a group of ten Australian and Indonesian scientists to identify ways in which forest growers and the forestry industry can forge fair and enduring partnerships.
Working with government agencies and non-government organisations on the Indonesian islands of Sumbawa and Sulawesi, Dr Race is helping develop a framework for contractural agreement between villagers and forest companies that do not encourage illegal logging.
“It is vital we find practical ways that tree growers and industry can move beyond short-term exploitative forestry, which will always be vulnerable to unsustainable and illegal practices,” Dr Race said.
“We know most growers and industry partners want to invest in forestry that is sustainable, more likely to deliver forest products of greater value, and can provide more benefits to villages.”
As part of the three year project, Dr Race and his research partners have found the key features of beneficial and enduring forestry partnerships include:
- Growers contracting experienced ‘middleman’ as brokers to act on their behalf;
- Growers being aware of the realistic costs of forest management;
- Industry being aware of how forests contribute to the resilience of rural livelihoods by providing a ‘buffer’ of food and medicine, fodder for livestock and building materials when conventional crops and practices fail;
- Industry being aware of how forest benefits may be accessed by the local community throughout the growth of the forest by providing payment for tree management activities undertaken by the local community; and,
- Both partners being transparent during the negotiation process and once a contract has been agreed.
Dr Race said that if fair and beneficial contracts are negotiated, both partners are more likely to be committed to their relationship and place a greater value on Indonesian forests, “so reducing the appeal of exploitative and illegal forestry”.
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