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Home > Research > Forests and Governance > Main Activities > Decentralization that Benefits Communities: Involving Local Forest Communities in Multi-Stakeholder Policy Development at the Kabupaten Level

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Decentralization that Benefits Communities: Involving Local Forest Communities in Multi-Stakeholder Policy Development at the Kabupaten Level

Project Rationale

To enable local communities to better benefit from decentralization and to develop the long-term institutions to protect their interests in forest management, this project conducted action research to empower communities through (1) better linkages between village and kabupaten-level decision-making and (2) improved multi stakeholder debate and negotiation related to forest management. The work focused on Kabupaten Malinau, in East Kalimantan, with activities to share the lessons learned in local governance and forest management and scale up the impacts to other kabupaten or districts in Indonesia.

Project data

Duration: January 2002 - May 2006

Donor: MFP-DfID

Location: Malinau District, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Partners: Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Malinau, and the villages of Long Loreh, Sengayan, Bila Bekayuk, Pelancau

CIFOR team: Eva Wollenberg, Godwin Limberg, Ramses Iwan, Made Sudana, Asung Uluk, Njau Anau, Steve Rhee

Methods

The project uses participatory action research to develop institutional lessons about (1) the meaningful involvement of local communities in the informal and formal tata ruang (land use) process coordinated by Bappeda, and occurring at both the Kabupaten and desa levels; (2) processes for local people to stake claims to resources and take advantage of changing economic opportunities without compromising long-term resource options; and (3) identifying effective mechanisms for inter-community communication and coordination, e.g. through a “Forum Masyarakat Adat,” “Malinau Task Force” or third party NGOs. Together with our partners, CIFOR seeks to improve both civil and state governance structures to improve negotiation by communities with other stakeholders, including other communities, towards the end of identifying policies and institutions for more effective and socially just coordination of land claims and forest management.

CIFOR works most closely with the local government of Malinau (Pemerintah Kabupaten Malinau) and five local communities as partners. Our ultimate target area is the 27 villages of the upper Malinau.

During the course of this work, the research would examine and seek to contribute to more general debates conclusions about:

  1. How can community representation in the land use planning process be improved to ensure more accountability and accommodation of multiple interests within communities?
  2. How can the role of local communities and other stakeholders be improved in the land use and resource management planning process at the kabupaten level to ensure regular meaningful input, transparent and accountable decision-making and fair benefits?
  3. How are formal and informal claims to resources made and acknowledged? How are formal and informal agreements about land use made and acknowledged? How can they be more sustainable and just?

Outputs

Informal Newsletter

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