The rationale behind allocating such areas is that their conversion into tree plantations will provide raw materials for the timber processing industries without endangering the environmental or social benefits natural forests provide.

But environmental issues rarely ever involve simple black and white decisions. What some stakeholders may claim is a ‘win-win’ solution might be considered a “win-lose” scenario by others. What is needed are appropriate tools and systems for measuring just how much winning and losing actually goes on.

With its commitment to reducing poverty through sustainable forest management, CIFOR was interested in looking at this issue from the perspective of local people and how they weighed up and reached decisions concerning proposed changes to their surrounding lands.

CIFOR undertook this research in Sumatra, where 41% of Indonesia’s total HTI permits have been allocated and where five large plantation companies are authorized to convert some 300,000 hectares each of logged forest land into tree plantations.

CIFOR worked with communities managing logged-over forest areas located nearby or within these five concessions, examining the various uses locals made of the land and the forests and the products they harvest from them.

Applying a range of tools, including participatory measures and surveys previously developed by CIFOR’s Douglas Sheil to assess biodiversity in Kalimantan, it became very clear local people rely heavily on these forest areas for a range of daily and recurrent products and services.

CIFOR’s assessment revealed that over 300 products from these lands are considered important for the local people. They include a range of construction materials, medicines, plant foods, tools and firewood.

These products are used for both subsistence and generating income. Given that the areas studied have weekly markets and the local people are accustomed to using money and understand its value, we were able to calculate a monetary value for the forest products villagers harvest.

Our research determined that the local people’s valuation of their areas’ products range from US $349 to $731 annually per hectare. This variation in value reflects each area’s differing diversity and quantity of certain products, its land quality, the size of its village and its proximity to markets.

The findings are particularly relevant to HTI companies in Sumatra. Far too often these companies believe that land is worthless or empty and would be better converted into plantation. And far too often the local communities have little or no legal rights in the matter. But, as our research demonstrates, the land is not worthless. It is an important source of livelihood for local people.

If HTI companies paid more attention to what local villagers want from their forests, they would better understand why many locals are so opposed to establishing monoculture tree plantations. With this information they could better ensure people’s participation in tree planting on the long term.

So far, the offers from the companies have been much lower than the people’s own estimate of how the land benefits them. Obviously, if companies want long term community support for their land conversion schemes, they must offer benefits at least equal to those presently generated from the areas targeted.

Although the information gained from this research is of undoubted value, the real benefit may lie in how plantation companies are now able to make better land use decisions. They can now do this by using the tools currently available for quantifying the value locals place on forest and forest resources and hopefully make better informed land-use decisions.

If companies use these simple and inexpensive methods to better understand people’s needs, they could develop agreements with local communities that have a greater long-term chance of succeeding. Indeed, one plantation company CIFOR worked with has already acknowledged the importance of these tools and is training its staff in how to use them.

Once companies and communities better understand each other’s needs, it may then be possible to find ways to use Indonesia’s rich forests to reduce poverty and improve economic growth — without destroying the environment at the same time.

Julia Maturana’s research was funded by the Dutch Government and conducted with the generous assistance of Asia Pulp and Paper, Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, Barito Pacific Timber and Toba Pulp Lestari.

The above article is based on “Moving Towards Company-Community Partnerships: Elements to take in to account for Fast-Wood Plantation Companies in Indonesia” (2005) Center for International Forestry Research. Bogor, Indonesia. Further details: j.maturana@cgiar.org  or r.go@cgiar.org