“Now technology allows us to find out about changes in the landscape of forest areas easily, without having to go through complicated and lengthy processes. The ease of technology allows anyone to participate in protecting and preserving the forest”— Asri Nuraeni, Program Manager for Extractive Industry Forest Governance.
The findings of the 2014 National Natural Resource Rescue Movement (GNP SDA) initiated by the KPK show that 6.3 million hectares of mining concessions throughout Indonesia are located in protected and conservation forests. In fact, referring to the 1999 Forestry Law, open mining activities are not allowed in conservation forest areas and protected forests. The mining sector is one of the sectors that contribute to deforestation in Indonesia, especially in the province of West Papua. ESDM data noted that at the beginning of 2019 there were at least 38 IUPs in West Papua consisting of 15 clean and clear IUPs, 4 IUPs that had expired, 18 IUPs with non-Clean and Clear status, and 1 non-metal IUP which was part of IUPs are in the forest area. In fact, Papua’s forests are the last hope of intact Indonesian forests, as forest areas are decreasing in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The forests in Papua are the forests with the highest biodiversity in the world which are home to 20,000 species of plants, 602 birds, 125 mammals, 223 reptiles, including the iconic Papua Bird of Paradise. [1] Forests in Papua are also the third largest tropical rainforest in the world, with significant numbers making it important for Papua to take part in climate change action. In addition, the majority of indigenous Papuans also depend their lives on forests, so that if forests are degraded, many livelihoods for Papuans will be disrupted.
Global Forest Watch data show that from 2001 to 2018, West Papua lost 256 kilos of hectares of tree cover, equivalent to 149 Mt of CO2 emissions. The five (5) areas with the largest loss of tree cover are Sorong City, Sorong, South Sorong, Fakfak, and Manokwari City. [2] The highest level of tree cover loss occurred in 2015. In the same year, West Papua declared itself as a conservation province. The West Papua Provincial Government has reserved 70% of its territory as a protected area, as an effort to ensure the welfare and livelihoods of the Papuan people who depend heavily on forests and nature. However, the term “conservation” has now changed to “sustainable development”, which is contained in the Special Draft of Regional Regulation (Raperdasus) on Sustainable Development in West Papua. This Raperdasus covers biodiversity, land area, water conservation, sustainable forest management, animal husbandry, food agriculture, water resources and fisheries, mining, climate change, and green economy.
To maintain the preservation of forests in West Papua, PWYP Indonesia with the support of the World Resource Institute (WRI) in collaboration with Mnukwar Papua and other civil society organizations in West Papua, initiated the Extractive Industry and Forest Governance program. The program aims to increase community participation in conserving and monitoring protected and conservation forests, by comparing Global Forest Watch data, GLAD Alert, and mining data.
This program will use several approaches, namely capacity building for communities in application-based forest area monitoring and related mining management, which is one of the triggers for the loss of forest area. As well as policy advocacy from the findings of forest monitoring, and law enforcement on findings of violations in forest areas.
Outcome
Improvement in forest governance and extractive industries through community empowerment and policy dialogue between stakeholders.
First, increased understanding of the community and local civil society organizations (CSOs) about the mining value chain and forest monitoring instruments and community reporting. This can be achieved by providing training for local communities and CSOs, on mining value chains and forest monitoring instruments. And the joint production of knowledge through training modules and case studies from community stories as learning instruments.
Second, there are reports on the results of community monitoring related to the alleged mining operations in protected and conservation forest areas. This can be achieved through the formation and development of forest monitoring communities, as well as monitoring of mining activities by the community through overlaying mining data and Global Forest Watch and GLAD Alert data.
Third, mining licenses operating in protected and conservation forests are regulated. This is done through multi-stakeholder meetings involving the central government, regional governments and relevant actors to discuss community findings related to alleged mining operations in forest areas. And the existence of law enforcement for problematic licenses as a follow up to community reporting.
[1] Kartikasari, Sri Nurani (Ed), et al. 2012. Papuan Ecology. Jakarta: Pusataka Obor Indonesia Foundation and Conservation International. Page: XXXVII.
[2] http://bit.ly/2U5JakU (Global Forest Watch Platform) accessed on Tuesday, 27 August 2019, 11.00 WIB.