Yves Laumonier

Emily Fripp

Nining Liswanti

Marthina Tjoa

Thomas Silaya

Understanding the socio-economic conditions, the drivers for land use change and economic development, along with cultural and social characteristics, is essential to ensure that land use decisions are made that ensure positive economic and social outcomes are optimised. The CoLUPSIA socio-economic team researched the conditions facing communities and individual households across five pilot areas, each area representing different socio-economic and environmental/ bio-physical conditions. Household, village, key interview surveys and focus group discussions, were completed for 566 households, 19 villages, equivalent to approximately 7.6% of the total number of households and 20% of villages on Seram Island, Central Maluku. The results highlight the challenges that face the communities and how these vary across the pilot sites. For example in Pilot 1 on the north coast of Seram communities have growing populations, a lack of agricultural land with limited options to expand as they border the national park and in Pilot 2 alternative land uses for commodities and oil are posing challenges to the traditional way of life. On the south of the island in Pilots 3 and 4, the challenges of managing population and urban growth with access to land suitable for agricultural production, while maintaining use and access to natural forest (in part the national park) are increasing. The results of the socio-economic survey aim to provide a baseline that provides an understanding of the relationship between the communities on Seram and the natural resources  use and non-use, coupled with the needs for economic development. The resulting challenges and opportunities are identified and can be used in the development of land use planning processes and where possibly in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) schemes.

The case of Seram, Central Maluku

Socio-economic considerations for land use planning

Bayuni Shantiko

Tina Taufiqoh

Valentinus Heri

Understanding the socio-economic conditions, the drivers for land use change and economic development, along with cultural and social characteristics, is essential to ensure that land use decisions are made that ensure positive economic and social outcomes are optimised. The CoLUPSIA socio-economic team researched the conditions facing communities and individual households across four pilot areas, each area representing different socio-economic and environmental/ bio-physical conditions. Household, village, key interview surveys and focus group discussions, were completed for 876 households, 22 villages, equivalent to approximately 7.2% of the total number of households and 10% of villages in Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan. The results highlight the challenges that face the communities and how these vary across the pilot sites. For example in Pilot 1 is located within the boundaries of two national parks, land is more restricted as communities face unclear boundaries, and Pilot 2 located to the east of Putussibau, the villagers are heavily dependent on natural resources, with relatively limited economic opportunities but gold mining which has environmental consequence and face a legality issues. In Pilot 3 and 4, exhibit case of communities are more dependent on diverse source of livelihoods such as rubber production, gold mining and paid employment. Oil palm plantations increasingly become an alternative employment as well as has potential negative impact to environment. The results of the socio-economic survey aim to provide a baseline that provides an understanding of the relationship between the communities in Kapuas Hulu regency and the natural resources  use and non- use, coupled with the needs for economic development. The resulting challenges and opportunities are identified and can be used in the development of land use planning processes and where possibly in the development of Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) schemes.

The case of Kapuas Hulu, West Kalimantan

Socio-economic considerations for land-use planning

Fifteen years ago, approximately half the world population was estimated to live in continental and insular South-East Asia (Burma, Thailand, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines). Then the region had a population growth of four million people every month, and the problem of malnutrition was acute for the rural population. International agricultural development organisations decided that their primary aim would be to double existing levels of agricultural production and, taking account of population growth, to double it again by the end of the century (Whyte 1976). Today, while global issues have greatly affected the parameters of the problem, the situation remains both serious and difficult. Despite impressive efforts in education and health, Indonesia for example, where population (179 millions) growth eased off only slightly between 1980 and 1990 (from 2. 3 percent to 1. 9 percent), is having to cope with increasing difficulties in managing natural resources and particularly its evanescent forest assets which, until 1986, were the second largest source of national revenue. Indonesia has the second largest surface area of tropical rain forests in the world (after Brazil) and thus all the problems linked with management and disappearance of those forests. The latest estimate gives a figure of 109 million hectares of forest in 1990, of which 40. 8 million hectares are production forests (Anon. -F AO 1990).

The Vegetation and Physiography of Sumatra

Yves Laumonier

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