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IUCNThe World Conservation Union

Forest PartnershipsEnhancing local livelihoods and protecting the environment

in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Edited by Maria Osbeck and Marisha Wojciechowska-Shibuya


The designation of geographical entities in this report, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of anyopinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, orconcerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those ofIUCN.

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The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Asia Regional Office

© 2007 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural ResourcesReproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without priorwritten permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged.Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior writtenpermission of the copyright holder.

Osbeck, M., Wojciechowska-Shibuya, M. (Eds) (2007). Forest Partnerships. Enhancing local livelihoods andprotecting the environment in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. IUCN, Bangkok, Thailand. 48pp.

978-2-8317-1011-2

Cover design by: IUCN Asia Regional Office

Cover photos: Local people, Papua New Guinea. A woman transports a basketful of baked sago from a pit oven back toRhoku village. Sago is a common subsistence crop in Papua New Guinea. Western Province, Papua NewGuinea. December 2004 CREDIT: © Brent Stirton / Getty Images / WWF-UK

Layout by: Michael Dougherty

Produced by: IUCN Asia Regional Office

Printed by: Clung Wicha Press Co., Ltd.

Available from: The World Conservation Union (IUCN)Asia Regional Office63, Soi Prompong, Sukhumvit 39Wattana, Bangkok 10110 ThailandTel: +662 662 4029Fax: +662 662 4388Email: [email protected]://iucn.org/asia

Forest PartnershipsEnhancing local livelihoods and protecting the environment in

Southeast Asia and the Pacific

Edited By Maria Osbeck and Marisha Wojciechowska-Shibuya

Contents

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 5

Acknowledgements 6

Foreword 7

Executive Summary 8

Nature and Poverty: How to Make the World a Better Place 11

Indonesia 18Case Study: Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods in Danau Sentarum National Park,West Kalimantan — the Case of Wild Honey Bees 20Best Practice: Major Indonesian NGOs Join Forces to Contribute to an InternationalStandard of Sustainability for Palm Oil Plantations 23

Malaysia 24Case Study: The Story of Ubra and the People of Uma Bawang 26Best Practice: Influencing Palm Oil Trade Policy in the Netherlands 28

Papua New Guinea 30Case Study: The Kiunga-Aiambak Road Project, Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea 32Best Practice: Managalas Organic Coffee Project in Papua New Guinea 35

Synergy in Action 36

Afterword 41

Annex 1. Profiles 42Annex 2. The Official Dutch Motion for Parliament 46Annex 3. Code of Conduct for Members of The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil 47Annex 4. Facts 49

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian NationsCAP: Consumers' Association of PenangCELCOR: Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights, Inc., Papua New GuineaCIA: Central Intelligence AgencyCIFOR: Centre for International Forestry ResearchDFID: Department for International Development (UK)DGIS: Directoraat-Generaal Internationale SamenwerkingDNSP: Danau Sentarum National Park, IndonesiaELC: Environmental Law CenterEU: European UnionFAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFLEG: Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in East Asia and the PacificFORCERT: ' Forest Management & Product Certification ServiceFPCD: Foundation for People and Community DevelopmentFWI: Forest Watch IndonesiaGFW: Global Forest WatchICS: Internal Control SystemIIED: International Institute for Environment and DevelopmentINGO: International NGOITTO: International Tropical Timber OrganizationIUCN: The World Conservation UnionLMROA: Lake Murray Resource Owners Association, Papua New GuineaMDG: Millennium Development GoalMOCP: Managalas Organic Coffee ProjectNGO: Non-Governmental OrganizationNTFP: Non-Timber Forest ProductNTFP-EP: Non-Timber Forest Product - Exchange ProgrammePPP: Population below US$1.00 Per Day Consumption PercentagePNGFA: Papua New Guinea Forest AuthorityPRF: Permanent Reserved ForestPRSP: Poverty Reduction Strategy PaperPwM: Partners with Melanasians Inc., Papua New GuineaRSPO: Roundtable on Sustainable Palm OilSAM: Sahabat Alam MalaysiaSLA: Sustainable Livelihoods ApproachUBRA: Uma Bawang Residents' AssociationUNDP: United Nations Development ProgrammeUNEP: United Nations Environment ProgrammeWAHLI: Indonesian Forum for the EnvironmentWPCC: Western Province Conservation CoalitionWRI: World Resources InstituteWWF: World Wide Fund for Nature

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Acknowledgements

This publication would not have beenpossible without the assistance ofnumerous individuals and organizations.The authors and the organizationsinvolved would like to thank the commu-nities and individuals who shared theirexperiences and told their stories.

The work underpinning this publicationis based on a collaborative effort be-tween several organizations including,Consumers' Association of Penang(CAP), Center for Environmental Lawand Community Rights Inc. (CELCOR),Friends of the Earth Netherlands,IUCN (the World Conservation Union),the IUCN National Committee of theNetherlands (IUCN-NL), the Non-TimberForest Products Exchange Programme(NTFP-EP), Partners with MelanesiansInc. (PwM, Sahabat Alam Malaysia(SAM), the Riak Bumi Foundation,Sawit Watch, WALHI, WWF-lndonesiaand WWF-Netherlands.

Other collaborators whose inputs havebeen instrumental in producing the pub-lication are Guido Broekhoven, Petervan Sluijs, Maria Cristina Guerrero,Rully Syumanda, Fitrian Ardiansyah,Abet Nego Tarigan, Damien Ase,Kenn Mondiai, Joanna de Rozario,Theiva Lingam, Ronald Gigmai, HeriValentinus and Jennifer Allan.

This publication is an output of theNatureandpoverty* Programme a jointeffort between the IUCN NetherlandsCommittee, WWF-Netherlands andFriends of the Earth Netherlands.

Special thanks to Robin Leslie for edit-ing this report.

The project and this publication weremade possible through support from theNatureandpoverty* Programme fundedby Directoraat-Generaal InternationaleSamenwerking (DGIS).

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Foreword

The importance of a healthy environ-ment for development is evidenced bythe Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,a comprehensive assessment of thestate of the planet's ecosystems carriedout by nearly 1,300 leading expertsfrom 95 countries. The study concludesthat 60% of the world's ecosystems aredegraded or unsustainably used. Thishas a direct impact on the livelihoods ofthe poor. "The loss of services derivedfrom ecosystems is a significant barrierto the achievement of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals to reduce poverty,hunger, and disease", summarizes theassessment.

In the Southeast Asia and the Pacificregion numerous people live in ruralareas and depend for their daily liveson products and services provided byforests, wetlands and coastal ecosys-tems, which also function as a fall-backwhen other sources of employmentfalter.

To meet the challenges of reducingpoverty and safeguarding naturalresources simultaneously, three or-ganizations have joined forces: Friendsof the Earth Netherlands, the IUCNNational Committee of the Netherlandsand the World Wide Fund for NatureNetherlands. Together they launchedthe Natureandpoverty* Programme in2003.

Partner organizations based inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific joinedthe programme to create an unprec-edented network of social, developmentand conservation organizations workingtogether for forest protection andpoverty reduction in Southeast Asiaand the Pacific. By collaborating acrosstargeted cross-cutting initiatives, thesynergy created allows the partners toextend their reach and enhance impact.

The Natureandpoverty* Programmein Asia has shown the importance of

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addressing legal ownership, access toecosystems and exclusion from deci-sion-making processes that affect howthese ecosystems are managed. Thispublication draws on lessons learned inforest management, community develop-ment, indigenous knowledge and accessto resources and social networks withinthe broad framework of the sustainablelivelihoods approach.

The contents reveal how building worka-ble partnerships among the considerablediversity of stakeholders is fundamentalin contributing to sustainable develop-ment. The Millenium Development Goalscannot be achieved in isolation butrequire collaboration among institutionsjointly contributing towards a similar goal.

As the remaining forests rely on dynamicinterconnections, so to must govern-ments, NGOs and the internationalcommunity to meet the challenges of ourgeneration.

Malaysia. Dawn over tropicalrainforest in Northern Malaysia.CREDIT: © Edward PARKERIMAGE

Executive Summary

VisionAs time passes, the world will havemore extensive, more diverse andhigher quality forest landscapes.These forests will meet humanneeds adequately, while conservingbiological diversity and fulfilling theecosystem functions necessary for alllife on earth.

ChallengeHow can governments, communities,NGOs, and the private sector moreeffectivly collaborate to improve forestgovernance in South East Asia and thePacific.

OpportunityThis publication provides examplesof efforts that are contributing tothe achievement of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs). Byemphasizing how partners in theNatureandpoverty* Programme haveworked collaboratively, it reveals thebenefits of building partnerships andhow effective partnerships between

local, national, regional and globallevels can contribute to sustainablesolutions.

By bringing together different groupswith different skills, partnerships canhelp to combine resources and pooltechnical skills to develop broad- andlong-term ideas and strategies neces-sary for change. This publication willshare some of the experiences ofworking in partnerships and describe anumber of outcomes.

ContextSoutheast Asia and the Pacific housediverse natural resources and humanpopulations. The forests have abundantbiodiversity and are home to many for-est-dependent indigenous people andother forest-dependent local communi-ties. For the inhabitants of Indonesia,Malaysia and Papua New Guinea,access to and use of natural resourcesare fundamental in sustaining andimproving their livelihoods.

Human development activities inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific have

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resulted in large-scale forest loss. Keydrivers behind forest loss are logging(both legal and illegal), plantation devel-opment (namely, palm oil) and mining.

This threatens the livelihoods of forestcommunities, which face dwindlingincomes and reduced access to andcontrol over natural resources.

Building PartnershipsTo meet the challenges of reducingpoverty and safeguarding naturalresources simultaneously, three or-ganizations have joined forces: Friendsof the Earth Netherlands, the IUCNNational Committee of the Netherlandsand the World Wide Fund for NatureNetherlands. Together they launched theNatureandpoverty* Programme in 2003.

Partner organizations based in SoutheastAsia and the Pacific joined the pro-gramme to create an unprecedentednetwork of social, development andconservation organizations workingtogether for forest protection and povertyreduction in the region. By developingpartnerships across targeted cross-cut-ting initiatives, the synergy thus createdallows them to extend their reach andenhance their impact.

In Southeast Asia and the Pacific nineorganizations — Sahabat Alam Malaysia(SAM), Consumer Association Penang(CAP), WAHLI Indonesia, Sawit Watch,the Center for Environmental Law andCommunity Rights (CELCOR), WWFIndonesia, the World ConservationUnion (IUCN), the Non-Timber ForestProduct Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) and Partners with Melanesians(PwM) — have launched the Forests,Plantations and Poverty Alleviation SubProgramme in recognition that naturalresources directly sustain the livelihoodsof many of the poor in rural areas. Thesubprogramme, which enables a syner-gistic alliance between NGOs of diverseperspectives, is a unique and promisingavenue towards poverty reductionthrough the sustainable management ofnatural resources.

Successful InitiativesA group of communities in PapuaNew Guinea evict a logging companythrough the courts: The Lake Murray

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Resource Owners Association in PapuaNew Guinea hired CELCOR in 2001and won their court battle against aMalaysian-based logging company— halting all logging in the Lake MurrayDistrict. Wildlife has since returned to theregion and the landowners are currentlypiloting an ecoforestry initiative.

Indigenous people protect their an-cestral forests in Sarawak, Malaysia:The Uma Bawang Residents' Association(UBRA) in Sarawak, Malaysia, a group ofindigenous forest people, has proceededfrom staging protests against loggers toestablishing dominion over their ancestralland and experimenting with sustainablelivelihood options. Winners of the 2002Equator Prize, their initiatives have en-sured a steady supply of forest resourcesfor future generations in the village.

Indigenous honey harvesters seekorganic certification: With assistancefrom Riak Bumi and the NTFP-EP,traditional honey harvesting in WestKalimantan has been chosen as a pilotproject for the Indonesian organic sealfrom BlOCert, which could eventuallyopen up possibilities for organic honeyexport to international markets, thusgenerating a diversified income stream.

Dutch Parliament agrees to developlegislation to ban unsustainablyproduced palm oil: Following the

"...implementation should involveall relevant actors, throughpartnerships, especially betweenGovernments of the North andSouth... and between Governmentsand major groups to achieve thewidely shared goals of sustainabledevelopment... such partnershipsare key to pursuing sustainable de-velopment in a globalising world."*

* United Nations Division for Sustainable Development.

(2003). Plan of implementation of the world summit on

sustainable development, p 1.

Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia. Truck bringing logs to clumping ground. Kimanis log clumping ground. Sabah,Malaysia. CREDIT: © WWF / Sylvia Jane YORATH

Sungai Pelaik villagewoman demonstratingtraditional weav-ing technique toGenevieve Labadan,NTFP ExchangeProgram. CREDIT: ©Abet Nego Tarigan

field visit of three Dutch MPs to thejungles of West Kalimantan, Indonesia— guided by Sawit Watch, WALHI,WWF Indonesia, Friends of the EarthNetherlands (Milieudefensie), IUCN-Netherlands and WWF-Netherlands— one of the MPs proposed a motionto develop legislation and instrumentsto ban unsustainably produced palm oil.It was upheld by the Dutch Parliamenttwo weeks after the trip. Resultingfrom the motion, the government hasrequested the development of instru-ments based on the Roundtable onSustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) criteria;this should be done in collaborationwith the private sector and NGOs. Theresult should be a comprehensive ap-proach leading to the exclusion of palmoil that does not follow RSPO criteria.

Sustainability criteria adopted bythe Roundtable on Sustainable PalmOil (RSPO): WWF Indonesia and theSawit Watch league, with a number ofNGOs and business entities, developedsustainability criteria that were ratifiedby the RSPO and voluntarily adoptedby corporate members of the RSPO.

Organic coffee enterprise in PapuaNew Guinea: The people of theManagalas Plateau in Oro Provinceof Papua New Guinea, assisted byPwM, are building an organic coffeebusiness to provide income. Having

auctioned off 15 tonnes in the first yearof operation on the local coffee market,the business plan calls for expansionand possibly international exports in thenext coffee season. The target for 2007is to produce 30 tonnes.

To support dialogues between gov-ernments, NGOs and the private sectorfor planning, monitoring and evaluationof forest management in SoutheastAsia and the Pacific.

Policy RecommendationsThe successful ventures presented inthis book need to be expanded andreplicated. Moreover:

Nature conservation NGOs need to en-compass social advocacy approachesand support local communities in theirforest-related undertakings.

Organizations experienced in providingor implementing alternative livelihoodprogrammes ought to document theirexperiences and disseminate them todiffuse the information and possiblyreplicate the programmes elsewhere.

To promote strategic and systematicthinking on livelihood alternatives toplantations, a good sustainablelivelihood analysis is needed. Activitiesrelated to capacity building for such ananalysis need to be supported.

Research is needed to increase knowl-edge and enhance analytical capacityto assess the social-cultural, economicand ecological impacts of large-scale oilpalm plantation development.

More marketing research is needed forthe viable development of other NTFPsbecause poor communities cannot affordthe costs of feasibility studies. Marketingresearch should be incorporated intoPRSPs.

There is a need to increase awarenessprogrammes to educate communi-ties on their basic rights so they candefend their land and themselves fromencroachment; also to educate them onalternative uses for their land.

The need for long-term involvementis rarely reflected in aid policies andsubsequently, NGOs and INGOs workon a short-term basis. Donor agenciesneed to increase support to national andlocal NGOs.

Enable collaboration between organiza-tions with different mandates so theycan contribute more effectively toachieving positive change by building ontheir respective institutional strengths.

Critical analysis of aid efficiency and itscontribution to achieving the MDGs isneeded.

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Nature and Poverty:How to Make the Worlda Better Place

Decades of international develop-ment work have yielded a deeperunderstanding of the sustainablemanagement of natural resources andpoverty, interlocking dimensions andthe drivers of human development.However, despite the considerableachievements in poverty reduction andenvironmental conservation, formidableimbalances have transpired throughmassive development — costing theworld immeasurable losses in biodiver-sity and livelihoods. Natural resourcesand the relative abundance of ruraland forest-dependent communitiesin particular have come under greatstrain in recent decades, primarily fromexternally driven development.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessmentwas commissioned by the UnitedNations' Secretary-General and pub-lished in 2005. It reported that humanshave significantly altered ecosystems,particularly in the last 50 years, aswe have been requiring more energyand other inputs to sustain welfareand economic development. This hasimposed increasing costs on ecosystemservices, exacerbated the risk of abruptchanges and locked some groupsof people into increased poverty.The 1,300 contributors to the reportconcluded by calling for substantialchanges in policies, institutions andpractices if we are going to reverseecosystem damage. They warned thatefforts will need to be stepped up on amuch larger scale than is currently thecase.

The forest resources of Indonesia,Malaysia and Papua New Guinea areparticularly rich in biodiversity as wellas providing homes to forest-dependentindigenous people. Yet the pristineforests are vanishing rapidly, millionsof hectares have already been clearedin aggressive large-scale operations.The key industries that drive forest lossare logging (both legal and illegal),plantation development (namely,palm oil) and mining; they all havestrong international links to capital and

commodity markets. While these large-scale development schemes do gener-ate income and employment for localcommunities, the main benefits accruelargely to outsiders, large corporations,the central government and the actorsin international trade and investment;local people are left to reap the costs ofenvironmental degradation.

Whilst globalization is a major driver ofthe rampant destruction of the forests inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific, it alsooffers opportunities for positive changewith benefits for both forest ecosystems— through reduced pressure and bettermanagement — and for local communi-ties — through development options.However, as the issues are becomingincreasingly complex, no single NGOcan address such challenges on itsown anymore. By reaching out, work-ing across traditional alliances andcomplementing environmental expertisewith social advocacy or business devel-opment expertise, NGOs can becomestronger.

This publication draws attention tothe dedicated groups hard at work inIndonesia, Malaysia and Papua NewGuinea; they are supporting forestcommunities in their efforts to defendthemselves against external forces andfind innovative ways to reap benefitsfrom the globalized economy.

Linking nature conservation withpoverty reduction and developingsynergy between a network of NGOs isa relatively novel concept. By bringingtogether different groups with differentskills, partnerships can help to combineresources and pool technical skills todevelop broad- and long-term ideasand strategies necessary for change.This publication shares some of theexperiences of working in partnershipsand highlight some of the outcomes.

The reality is that poverty reduction andthe environment are often inadequatelyintegrated in development programmes.Sincere efforts are needed to integrate

Excerpt from the EcosystemAssessment Report:

"The burning of 10 million hectaresof Indonesia's forests in 1997/98cost an estimated $9.3 billion inincreased health care, lost produc-tion, and lost tourism revenues andaffected some 20 million peopleacross the region."

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social and environmental consid-erations in development efforts. Thispublication raises the understanding ofthe linkages between poverty reductionand natural resource managementby building on concrete examplesfrom Southeast Asia and the Pacific— encapsulated in a series of casestudies and examples of best practices.The aim is to reach decision-makersat national and international levels,as well as international and nationalNGOs and donors. It is hoped that theinformation contained in this volumeon combining nature and povertyobjectives as a tactic to bridge thegap between sustainable ecosystemmanagement and poverty reduction willalert decision-makers to initiate suchprogrammes elsewhere and continue tosupport existing ones.

Combining nature and poverty objec-tives provides a promising avenuefor meeting the much discussedMDGs, which world leaders adopted

in 2000. While progress is admittedlyslow on meeting our commitments,dedicated groups and communities inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific havebeen hard at work experimenting withthe combination of nature and povertygoals — shining examples of howintegrated efforts to address MDG7 (ensuring environmental sustain-ability) will concomitantly contribute toachieving the other MDGs. The keyfinding is that an integrated approachis critical — not only for ensuringenvironmental sustainability as anunderlying driver for poverty reduction— but also through sharing assets andresources via expertly crafted partner-ships between cross-cutting social andenvironmental actors. Creating synergybetween North-South, South-Southas well as between grassroots civilsociety organizations by employingmutual capacities and networks in acomplementary fashion has resulted incross-regional collaborations and jointproject implementation.

The MillenniumDevelopment Goals1. Eradicate extreme poverty

and hunger.2. Achieve universal primary

education.3. Promote gender equality

and empower women.4. Reduce child mortality.5. Improve maternal health.6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria,

and other diseases.7. Ensure environmental

stability.8. Develop a global partner-

ship for development.

Source: UNDP website: www.undp.org/mdg/

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The Natureandpoverty* ProgrammeThe programme's overall objective hasbeen:

To protect forests, local communities,plantation workers and smallholdersin Southeast Asia and the Pacificfrom unsustainable and irresponsibledevelopment pressures generated bylogging, plantation development andresettlement and to promote sustain-able forest and plantation management.

Recognizing that pure conservationwork alone no longer suffices toprotect forests, the programme hasaimed to combine conservation andsocial approaches; it assists the ruralpoor in their struggle for land, (forest)resources and fair treatment and isjuxtaposed by pure conservation work— through community organization,policy influence and poverty reductionactivities.

A novel feature of the programme hasbeen the highly intensive interactionsbetween North-South, South-South, aswell as between grassroots civil societyorganizations. Natureandpoverty* pro-vides a framework for synergy by com-bining the organizations' capacities and

networks in a complementary fashion.Through the programme, partners areable to operate more effectively thanas individual organizations. Together,they are seeking solutions for improvingnatural resource management andreducing poverty.

Nature and Poverty: How?The vision for combining nature andpoverty objectives is resolving andimproving environmental and povertyissues by addressing both simultane-ously — thus poverty can be alleviatedand natural livelihood resources re-stored through sustainable ecosystemmanagement.

Stemming from the premise that forestconservation and the standard of livingof poor rural and forest-dependentcommunities are closely related, ifsuch communities have access toland and forest resources, they arecomparatively well-off. They may stillbe considered poor in terms of cashincome and formal employment andthey may lack access to basic socialservices, but access to agriculturalland and forests has generally keptthem free from hunger and poor health.In order to make their livelihoods

Kayan Mentarang NationalPark, East Kalimantan (K.Timur), Kalimantan (IndonesianBorneo), Indonesia. KenyahDayak people. Women col-lecting medicinal plants KayanMentarang National Park EasternKalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia.CREDIT: © WWF-Canon / AlainCOMPOST

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sustainable — so they can manageand recover from stresses and trauma— their capabilities and assets mustbe maintained or enhanced both nowand in the future, without underminingthe natural resource base. For localpeople, the sustainability of the forestis also determined by how the forestand water resources are managed ona larger scale: if overall the forests arenot managed in a sustainable manner,smaller site specific initiatives will havediminished success, ultimately increas-ing the vulnerability of the local peoplewho depend on the natural resources.

Institutional arrangements are instru-mental in achieving sustainability asthey directly influence environmental,economic and social outcomes:

Environmental sustainability isachieved when the productivity oflife-supporting natural resources isconserved or enhanced for use byfuture generations.

Economic sustainability is achievedwhen a given level of expenditurecan be maintained overtime. In thecontext of the livelihoods of the poor,

economic sustainability is achieved if abaseline level of economic welfare canbe achieved and sustained.

Social sustainability is achieved whensocial imbalances are minimized andsocial equity maximized.

Institutional sustainability is achievedwhen prevailing structures and proc-esses continue to perform over thelong term.

The reality is often that developmentprojects rarely put equal emphasis onall three aspects; they focus either onsocial or environmental sustainabilityor both, but less on integrating theeconomic dimension with environmen-tal and social counterparts.

Forces at Play in the ForestsThe Southeast Asia and the Pacificteems with cultural diversity andnatural ecosystems. The region isalso home to some of the few vastexpanses of undisturbed forests in theworld.

Over the past five years the Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest

- Local people -, Indonesia.Kayan Mentarang NationalPark, East Kalimantan(K. Timur), Kalimantan(Indonesian Borneo),Indonesia. Old man goingto the forest to gatherrattan, Apauping, KayanMentarang National Park,East Kalimantan (Borneo),Indonesia. CREDIT: © WWF-Canon / Tantyo BANGUN

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Friends of the Earthlogging campaign in theNetherlands. CREDIT:© Peter van Sluijs

rate of forest plantation in the world.'From 2000 to 2005, the region lostmore than six million hectares ofnatural forests, mainly converted toagricultural crops, including oil palm(see best practice page 23). PatrickDurst, FAO's senior forestry officerfor Asia and the Pacific, indicatedthat this loss of more than one millionhectares of natural forests each yearwas alarming.2

Despite marked differences and spe-cificities, the region's countries presentcommon significant trends:

The region's forests hold a remarkablerichness in biodiversity and are home toa host of forest-dependent indigenouspeoples and other local communities.

Pressures on forest resources largelystem from government policies, corrup-tion and weak law enforcement, com-bined with development trends drivenby regional and international commodityand capital markets.

Forest-dependent communities aredisadvantaged by such developmentpressures and face impoverishment,human rights violations and internalconflicts.

As a result, forest communities faceserious decline in quality of life in terms

1 FAO. (2005). Global forest resources assessment.

2 www.fao.org

of income, access to and control overnatural resources (natural assets).

Development vis-a-vis SustainabilityThe forest resources of Indonesia,Malaysia and Papua New Guinea arerapidly depleting. According to FAOduring 1990 to 2005, Indonesia lost28 million hectares of forest, Malaysiacleared around 1.5 million hectaresand in Papua New Guinea two millionhectares were deforested. The area ofprimary forests differs greatly within theregion. In Malaysia the primary forestcovers 18% of total forest area andin PNG the primary forest amounts to86% of total forest area.3

Large-scale development activitiesare typically developed and managedin a top down manner — they do notstem from locally-derived developmentneeds but from national level initiativesfor economic growth. Industries drivingforest degradation have strong interna-tional linkages to capital and commoditymarkets, such that the developmentof Southeast Asian and Pacific forestlands is also heavily driven by interna-tional demand for investment targetsand cheap commodities.

The development has been exces-sive, especially in Indonesia andMalaysia. Both countries have builttimber-processing capacities thatexceed the sustainable — and at times,

3 FAO. (2007), State of the Forest 2007

the legally permitted — log supplymany times over. Indonesia is facingparticularly pressing issues, especiallyso in the pulp and paper industry thatlargely relies on tropical forests for itsfibre supply. Since the downgradingprocessing and regulating exportvolumes are linked to dollar revenueand employment, Malaysia resortsincreasingly to log imports — mostlyfrom Indonesia — while Indonesia hasclamped down on production forestsrather than mill facilities, hence creatinghuge log shortages, which gives rise toillegal log trade within Indonesia andwith Malaysia.

Transparency and AccountabilityHuman rights violations, mistreat-ment of workers and environmentaldestruction have been recorded as theconsequences of large-scale industrialoperations in the remote forests of theregion, with little support afforded to theaffected local communities, workers,women, farmers and smallholders.

Market actors, such as financialinstitutions and buyers, have yet todemonstrate increased transparency.As a case in point, banks can declineto inform account holders about thepractices of their clients, based on the"investor-client confidentiality" clause,all the while stating that they operatein a corporate socially responsiblefashion. In consumer countries, such asthe Netherlands, companies also do not

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provide such information, which resultsin lack of transparency and preventsconsumers from assessing the impactsof their consumer behaviour.

UndervaluationSoutheast Asia and the Pacific's rapidexploitation of forest resources resultsin enormous losses (biodiversity,cultural diversity and indigenous knowl-edge, sustainable livelihoods, healthand natural resources). None of theselosses are measured in real monetaryterms and, hence, are not deductedfrom the turnover and profits gener-ated by forest development. The localcommunities however bear the brunt ofsuch losses, with studies and peoples'testimonies suggesting that they werebetter off without logging, oil palm andpulpwood plantations.

The costs of large-scale developmentare rarely accounted for when andwhere they take place, although thecosts of the 1997/1998 forest fires inIndonesia (which were largely set by

plantation companies to open up forestlands) were calculated to be US$2.3to 3.5 billion, in addition to the carbonreleases of an estimated US$2.8 bil-lion, according to the latest study byCIFOR.4

These costs are largely borne by thegeneral public, mainly in terms of thehealth impacts suffered by millionsof people in Malaysia, Indonesia andSingapore. Even in cases where thecosts have been calculated, they arenot accounted for in loans and com-modity prices.

Corporate Social ResponsibilityWithin the Netherlands, the private sec-tor is strongly inclined to communicateto its clients (consumers) that it oper-ates responsibly, including outside thecountry's borders. This applies to boththe timber and pulp and paper tradeand the financial sector. The significant

4 Colchester et al. (2006). Justice in the forest: Rural liveli-

hoods and forest law enforcement. Indonesia. CIFOR.

involvement of Dutch traders and finan-cial -institutions in the timber and edibleoils trade in Malaysia and Indonesia isa major opportunity to translate intentinto action.

Halting forest destruction is notsolely a Western agenda: ThroughoutSoutheast Asia and the Pacific, localcommunities are affected by deforesta-tion and logging even though some-times they have themselves becomeinvolved actors. Some have come toregret having allowed their forests tobe converted to oil palm or pulpwoodplantations, and many have not beenable to influence the decision-makingprocess.

Forest-dependent people are keyallies in conserving forest landscapes.Community-based forest managementsystems are win-win alternatives to theexisting system of forest exploitationthat best ensure sustainability andequity.

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Indonesia

East Kalimantan (K. Timur), Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Indonesia. Dyak indigenous people living in forest close to area of pre-FSC certified commercial forest.Near Berau, East Kalimantan. Indonesia. CREDIT: © Edward PARKER

National environmental policy"Clear commitment to protectthe environment and naturalresources, while simultaneouslyproviding for continued economicdevelopment." Statement ofenvironmental policies is providedin the Law of the Republic ofIndonesia No. 23 of 1997.

Indonesia is the world's largestarchipelago; spread across a chainof thousands of islands between theIndian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.It achieved independence from theNetherlands in 1949. It is a diverseethnic nation, with more than 300 locallanguages.

Indonesia is a heavily forested country,with almost 60% forest cover (105million hectares). According to theWorld Resources Institute (WRI),Global Forest Watch (GFW), and ForestWatch Indonesia (FWI), the rate atwhich Indonesia is losing its forests hasdoubled since the 1980s. The lowlandforests, the richest in the country, willnot survive for long on some of the big-gest islands.5

Country FactsPopulation: 234.7 millionCapital: JakartaGovernment type: RepublicIndependence: 17 August 1945 (de-clared); 27 December 1949 (recognizedby the Netherlands)Life expectancy at birth: 70.2 yearsAdult literacy rate: 90.4%Area: 1.9 million km2

Source: World factbook. CIA, 2007

Human development index rank: 108Source: UNDP. (2006). Human development report

5 Barber et al. (2002). Slate of the forest Indonesia. WRI.

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Millenium Development Goals

Goal 1. Eradicate extreme poverty andhunger.

Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and2015, the proportion of people whoseincome is less than one US dollar aday.

Indicator 1. Proportion of populationbelow US$1 (1993 PPP) per day (Table1).

Table 1

Goal 7. Ensure environmentalsustainability.

Target 9. Integrate the principles ofsustainable development into countrypolicies and programmes and reversethe loss of environmental resources.

Indicator 25. Proportion of land areacovered by forest (Table 2).

Table 2

Source: United Nations, Millennium Development Goals

Indicators. http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Data.aspx

viewed 29 January 2006.

Ten percent of the remainingtropical forests in the world are found inIndonesia. This forest hosts vast biodi-versity resources: 10% of all plant, 12%of all mammal, 16% of all reptile and17% of all bird species. These forestsalso provide livelihoods for approxi-mately 40 million indigenous peoples.However, at present less than 55% ofIndonesia's primary forest remains anddeforestation continues6.

As most remaining production forestshave already been logged at leastonce, pressure on these forests to bereleased for conversion into other land

6 FAO (2007) Stale of the World's Forests 2007

use mounted in the 1990s. The maindrivers behind conversion are oil palmplantations, pulpwood plantations andmining.

Based on Indonesia's recent poverty re-duction trends, the projections are suchthat the country is on track to achievingits MDG target on poverty reductionof 7.5%, or half its 1990 levels for thecountry as a whole7.

7 United Nations Country Team Indonesia. (2004).

Millennium Development Goals: Indonesia final report, p. 1.

Kalimantan (Indonesian

Borneo), Indonesia.

Forest along the Ella Ullu

river. West Kalimantan,

Indonesia. CREDIT:

© WWF-Canon / Alain

COMPOST

19

Case Study: Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods in DanauSentarum National Park, West Kalimantan — the Case ofWild Honey Bees

West Kalimantan (K. Barat),Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).Indonesia. Danau (Lake) SentarumNational Park, West Kalimantan(Borneo), Indonesia. October2004 Danau (Lake) Sentarum isone the most unique wetlandsin Asia, marked by outstandingbiodiversity. This area wasdeclared as a National Park in1999, covering 132,000 hectares.The park is located in the KapuasHulu District, which declared itselfa Conservation District in 2003.CREDIT: © WWF-Canon / RobBUITER

By Fitrian Ardiansyah, WWF-Indonesia, Abetnego Tarigan, SawitWatch, Maria Cristina Guerrero &Aloisa Zamora-Santos, NTFP-EP,Heri Valentinus, Riak Bumi andMaria Osbeck, IUCN

West Kalimantan is one of four prov-inces in Kalimantan, the Indonesianportion of the island of Borneo. Theprovince has a population of about3.74 million people (2000 Census)and major ethnic groups include theDayak, Malay and Chinese, whoconstitute about 90% of the totalpopulation.

The borders of West Kalimantanroughly trace the mountain rangessurrounding the watershed of theKapuas River, the longest river inIndonesia, which drains much ofthe province, namely the extensiveLake Sentarum area — an extensive

protected reserve of 132,000 hectaresof lakes and of seasonally inundatedforest ecosystems.

The Lake Sentarum area plays animportant role as a natural reservoirfor the mid- and downstreams of theKapuas River and watershed8. Ofparticular importance is the annualflooding regime (flood pulse), whichensures biological abundance that isextensively utilized by local peopleand forms a vital part of the localeconomy. In addition to fishing, lo-cal people depend on harvesting avariety of other terrestrial and aquaticorganisms for their livelihoods, manyof which are thought to be closely as-sociated with the energy and nutrientcycles dependent on the annual floodpulse phenomenon.

8 The Kapuas River is 1,143 km long and the watershed is

85,200 km2 in area.

Despite abundant rich naturalresources and biodiversity, threatsto the forests stemming from loggingand agricultural expansion have madelife increasingly more difficult for themajority of people living in the areawho remain below the poverty line.

Local NGOs have collaborated totackle the threats to Danau Sentarumand to provide assistance to localpeople in support of their livelihoods.They have played a role in providingcritical services in areas such as:Indonesian natural resource law;regulations on international invest-ment and relations; ways to registercommunity land; and negotiationtactics and strategies. Recent effortsby WAHLI, WWF-lndonesia, SawitWatch and Riak Bumi have focusedon facilitating a dialogue betweencommunities, other local NGOs andgovernment officials to find workable

20

solutions for the future managementof the Kapuas Watershed.

As sustainable management regimesin the upland areas impact the honeyharvesting activity downstream, inDecember 2006, Riak Bumi, WAHLI,Sawit Watch and WWF co-organized amulti-stakeholder dialogue with govern-ment and non-government actors,resulting in a declaration that commitscommunities upstream to end electro-fishing by 1 January 2007 and prohibitsthe use of small size nylon nets as ofJanuary 2008.'

Wild Honey Harvesting andMarketingNests of Apis dorsata, the giant honeybee, have traditionally been exploitedto produce large volumes of honey andwax for trade. The tikung system ofhoney collection is still practised by arelatively large group of the local popu-lation in the DNSP region. The honey iscollected via three different techniques:lalau (climbing up tall trees to harvesthoney), tikung (traditional honeyboardsystem) and repak (a place wherebees produce no more than one combon any kind of any tree branch — thefirst person to find the comb becomesits owner). Although the tikung systemis the most typical honey harvestingapproach practised in the park, honeygathering from tall trees that have beencolonized by bees is also popular in thisregion.

Apis dorsata wild honey has goodeconomic potential as a food product

as gatherers can obtain a high price.For local forest communities, wildhoney (an NTFP) can be an alterna-tive income source to help cover theirdaily needs. Sustainable harvestingof wild honey and management ofApis dorsata habitats are essential toprotect the forest and the environment.Honey harvesting is also an alterna-tive solution to mitigate de-forestationproblems that have surfaced in recentyears in Indonesia, resulting in thedegradation of natural resources andthe environment.

In this context, Riak Bumi initiated theIndonesia National Workshop on theWild Honey Bee Network in DanauSentarum National Park in January2005 with participants from Kalimantanand Sulawesi. This forum facilitated theexchange and sharing of experienceson the management and practicalutilization of wild honey bees by localgatherers; information disseminationand communication between areasemerged as a strategy for addressingforestry problems in Indonesia.

At the forum, participants raised con-cerns about the difficulty of marketingwild honey bee products. Discussionrevealed that harvesting practicesand postharvest processes result inlow quality wild honey; moreover localconditions, namely forest fire smokeand logging, exacerbate the problem.The participants agreed to work to-wards standardization to ensure goodquality wild honey in order to meetmarket demand. They also agreed to

set up a wild honey bee network tofacilitate support facilities and informa-tion exchange and dissemination.The network's goals are to improvethe quality of wild honey, to enhanceits marketing value and to generateincreases in volume and price. Suchaims will provide incentives to encour-age more gatherers to harvest honeyjudiciously and maintain natural beehabitats in the forest. Riak Bumi plansto select locations for extension inSumba, Flores, Sumbawa, possibly(later) West Papua and Mentawaiarchipelago.

Honey and beeswax is sold in localand regional markets; Riak Bumi hasworked to link communities and mar-kets directly to close the gap betweenthe producer and the final consumer.This has helped to channel increasedeconomic benefit to the local produc-ers that would have otherwise beendiverted at various levels of the mar-keting chain.

During the 2003 harvest season, RiakBumi helped package and market over1.5 tonnes of honey from participatingvillages and double the financial returnto the producers. With an additional 20tonnes of honey harvested annuallythroughout the DSNP area, this initiativecould potentially contribute to significantpoverty reduction for many communities.By helping new communities to improvethe quality and marketing of their honey,Riak Bumi will augment socio-economicbenefits to more villages.

Community meeting in Denau Sentarum, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. CREDIT: © Riak Bumi

21

The production cycle of organically certifiedhoney produced in Denau Sentarum, WestKalimantan, Indonesia. CREDIT © Riak Bumi

Fitrian Ardiansyah, World WideFund for Nature WWF-lndonesia:

"It is difficult for NGOs to determinewhat to prioritize because the com-panies are moving so fast."

"We need an integrated approachto the problems. Partnering with anetwork of NGOs made us expandour horizons, and build mutualunderstanding and relationships onregional issues to strategize andseek the optimal solutions."

"NGOs from the South have built agood working and sharing networkon rain-forest issues through thisprogramme; but what about theNGOs from the North?"

As honey gatherers increasinglyrecognize the enhanced financial valueof their honey, there is a correspond-ing marked shift in people's attitudestowards local forest protection, conser-vation and enhancement. This includesgrowing recognition among communitiesfor the need to work cooperatively toreduce the risk of fires; to adopt self-imposed rules to guide the communityin the use of forest resources; and tore-plant to enhance bee habitats andensure future wood-supplies. In 2000and 2001, four local villages in thepark worked together to reforest 120hectares.

Furthermore, while many bee-keepingprojects throughout the developing worldhave focused on the introduction of framehive bee-keeping systems, which requirethe importation of exotic bee species (i.e.Apis mellifera or A. cerana), the DSNPproject has emphasized the need toimprove upon the traditional honeyboardhunting system {tikung harvestingsystem), which works with the indigenousA. dorsata bee and is compatible with theecological conditions of the DSNP.

With Riak Bumi facilitating the trainingof six villages in improved harvest andpostharvest processing techniques,marketing of forest honey, as well as par-ticipatory reforestation of fire-damagedsites in seven villages, the communitieshave heightened awareness about theneed for baseline data to monitor honeyproduction, bee population ecology

and forest regeneration. As a result,permanent monitoring plots to gaugetheir achievements have recently beenestablished in the DSNP.

Furthermore, in June 2002, RiakBumi co-organized a workshop on"Anthropogenic Impacts on DSNP" thatconvened local communities, NGOs,government agencies and academicinstitutions. This resulted in a communitydeclaration committing them to partici-pate in the conservation and manage-ment of the park through specific clauseson customary laws, forest protection andapiculture development. The continu-ation and expansion of these activitiesreflect the park communities' recognitionof the critical link between livelihoodsustainability and the need for their activeparticipation in biodiversity conservation.

Organic CertificationIn 2006, BlOCert an organic certifyingbody in Indonesia, announced that ithad selected the Forest Honey NetworkIndonesia as its pilot project for organiccertification. Guided by BlOCert, RiakBumi, the national secretariat of thenetwork, and the NTFP-EP (headquar-tered in the Philippines) joined forces todevelop Local Standards and an InternalControl System (ICS) for the HoneyProducer Groups of the Wild HoneyHarvesters in West Kalimantan.

While various aspects of the manage-ment system need to be analysed todetermine whether the honey produced

22

by the network qualifies for organic certi-fication, the network seems to be well onits way to setting up its ICS and eventu-ally becoming certified. With a number offactors already working in its favour — asustainable management system andstrong established institutions that canmanage the certification process — theForest Honey Network Indonesia's madu(honey) may soon bear the organic sealand break into worldwide markets.

Best Practice: Major IndonesianNGOs Join Forces to Contributeto an International Standardof Sustainability for Palm OilPlantations

By Fitrian Ardiansyah, WWF-lndonesia& Abetnego Tarigan, Sawit Watch

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil(RSPO) was established by businessesinvolved in the production, processingand retail of palm oil — key membersinclude Malaysian and Indonesian palmoil companies and European processingand retailing companies. The RSPO wasestablished to counter the concerns ofenvironmental organizations that palmoil plantations were a major cause ofdeforestation and were being imposedon local communities without concernfor their rights, livelihoods or welfare andmanaged with insufficient concern for therights and welfare of plantation workersand smallholders.

The influential Indonesia NGO consor-tium Sawit Watch and WWF-lndonesia

— both RSPO Board Members — sawthe opportunity to promote and call forhigh social standards and environmentalcriteria for stakeholders in the oil palmindustry. Mutually supporting eachothers' experience and expertise, theydeveloped "Sustainability Criteria",which elaborate voluntary standards tobe adopted by the industry to ensurethat palm oil production is socially andenvironmentally acceptable.

In November 2005, the principles andcriteria (P&C) for "sustainable palm oil"were adopted by the RSPO GeneralAssembly. The standard is being testedthrough a two-year trial implementationphase wherein 17 large companies havevoluntarily committed to participate.Combined advocacy ensured that theP&C eventually included provisions oncustomary rights to land; free, prior andinformed consent; respect for ratifiedinternational law; workers' rights; non-discrimination; minimized and safe useof pesticides; fair pricing for smallholderproducts; recognition of high conserva-tion value areas; and other importantenvironmental aspects.

This partnership presents a concreteexample of effective synergy betweensocial and environmental groups and rep-resents an effort to bring the government,NGOs and the private sector to the table.The RSPO's sustainability criteria haveestablished a good basis for developingbest practices in the industry, haltingconversion of high conservation valueforests, promoting zero burning, and

phasing out the use of agrochemicals.Communities impacted are in agreementwith this standard and preliminary fieldstudies suggest that the draft standardwill offer significant protection. Lookingto the future, these measures — alongwith commitment from actors on theglobal supply chains — should proveinstrumental for the advance of environ-mentally acceptable practices in the palmoil industry.

Abet Nego Tarigan, Sawit Watch:"Partnership between NGOsincreases our access to informationand enriches our work."

Joanna de Rozario, NTFP-EP:"A community that increases qual-ity, increases its profit margin forthe same volume of honey."

Community Member"A key to ensure economic benefitand overall well-being for rain-forestcommunities lies in the ability toorganize."

23

Malaysia

Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia. Denseforest landscape of the northeasttip of Borneo, in the Malaysianstate of Sabah, the habitat of theendemic Bornean Pygmy elephant(Elephas maximus borneensis).Sabah, North Borneo, Malaysia.CREDIT: © WWF-Canon / A.Christy WILLIAMS

Malaysia was formed in 1963 through afederation of the former British coloniesof Malaya and Singapore, includingthe East Malaysian states of Sabahand Sarawak on the northern coastof Borneo. The first several years ofthe country's history were marred byIndonesian efforts to control Malaysia,Philippine claims to Sabah andSingapore's secession from the federa-tion in 1965. Malaysia is a multi-ethnicfederation of 13 states and three federalterritories.

At the end of 2005, forest land inMalaysia amounted to about 20 millionhectares or 60% of its land area, follow-ing the definitions and methodology asadopted and used by FAO in its Globalforest resources assessment 2005. Ofthis, an area of. Approximately 17 millionhectares of the PRFs are semi naturaland production forests with the remainingfour million hectares being primary for-ests. Hence, at the end of 2005, the totalarea under primary forests in Malaysiawas around 18% of its total land area.9

9 FAO. Global Forest Resource Assessment 2005.

Since the 1960s, Malaysia has pro-moted the establishment of commercialforest plantations. Malaysia has set atarget to establish 2.2 million hectaresof planted forests, especially in thestates of Sabah and Sarawak.10

Country FactsPopulation: 24.8 millionCapital: Kuala LumpurGovernment type: ConstitutionalmonarchyIndependence: 31 August 1957Life expectancy at birth: 72.7 yearsArea: 329,750 km2

Adult literacy rate: 88.7%Source: World factbook. CIA, 2007

Human development index rank: 6 1 "

10 www.fao.org/forestry

11 UNDP. 2006. Human development report.

24

Millennium Development Goals



Indicator 1. Proportion of populationbelow US$1.00 (1993 PPP) per day(Table 1).

Table 1




Table 2

Source: United Nations. Millennium Development Goals

Indicators, http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Data.aspx, viewed

29 January 2006.

In the past 40 years, environmentalproblems have been a major sourceof poverty and suffering in Malaysia.Peninsular Malaysia lost some 1.35million hectares of forest between 1966and 1985, while Sabah lost about 1.35million hectares between 1970 and1990; Sarawak is likely to be logged outvery soon according to ITTO. Seriousefforts are needed to plan resource usefrom a long-term perspective.

The government's commitment to pov-erty reduction has provided an importantrationale for deforestation, whetherfor government revenue generation orfor agricultural expansion, and recentnational figures indicate overall progressin meeting the poverty reduction targets.According to government claims, such

reductions have been due to variouspoverty reduction programmes includ-ing, the "new land development" — asuccessful attempt to provide land tothe landless and land-poor. Based onrubber, and subsequently oil palm, theseschemes accomplished the deforesta-tion of the bulk of the remaining acces-sible forest areas. In the mid-1970s,commercial logging was introduced togenerate national revenue. Followingnational regulations in the late 1990s,some of the larger and more success-ful Malaysian commercial companieshave moved abroad to new areas inSoutheast Asia and the Pacific12.

Malaysia has already achieved itspoverty target, following substantivepoverty reduction policies launched inthe 1970s, and aims to eradicate abso-lute poverty by 201513.

12 Jomo et al. (2004). Deforesting Malaysia - the political

economy and social ecology of agricultural expansion and

commercial logging. Zed Books Ltd.

13 United Nations Country Team Malaysia. 2005. Malaysia:

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Sabah (Borneo),Malaysia.Heavylogging activities inSabah, North Borneo,Malaysia. Caterpillarloading logs on a truck.This is the habitatof the rare Borneanpygmy elephant, whichis found only in thenortheast tip of Borneo,in the Malaysian stateof Sabah. CREDIT:© WWF-Canon / A.Christy WILLIAMS

25

Case Study: The Story of Ubra andthe People of Uma Bawang

UMBRA Project memebrs. Quotes listed below. CREDIT: © Abet Nego Tarigan

UBRA project members:

"Every day and every momentwhen I sit in the main village theelders keep saying to me: Are youdoing the right thing? All I can sayis that despite the long struggle Inever felt like giving up. For me itwas worth every minute fighting tokeep our forest." - Uloi Gao

"Each and every time we attendedthe court we never gave up."- Maring Saging

"I am worried about who will leadthe struggle when we old peopleare no longer here." - Anyi Saging

By Jok Jau Evong & TheivanaiAmarthalingam, Sahabat AlamMalaysia

IntroductionSarawak is known to have one of theoldest rain forests in the world. Thisancient forest has been an abode forits various indigenous people and itsprolific biodiversity. The Uma BawangResidents' Association (UBRA) is aninspirational effort by one indigenouscommunity to overcome the threatsof resource destruction and culturalerosion in today's Sarawak. In recentyears, the UBRA example has spread toother communities, thanks to the workof Sahabat Alam Malaysia and othercommunity development organizations.

UBRA's struggle is ongoing. It is vitalfor this venture to succeed, in order toprovide hope and a potential future forother longhouse communities facing thesame, all too common problems. Themembers of UBRA are determined tosucceed.

Equator Prize14

The seven recipients of the EquatorPrize 2002 embody the spirit of the sus-

14 The Equator Prize is a prestigious international

award that recognizes outstanding local efforts to reduce

poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of

biodiversity.

tainable communities' movement in thetropics. Chosen from a field of 27 final-ists, seven communities received theirawards at a ceremony in Johannesburgon 30 August 2002.

The Uma Bawang Keluan Communitywas rewarded for its outstanding effortsto reduce poverty and conserve biodi-versity. The community was applaudedfor using GIS mapping technology todefend customary land and forest rightsagainst illegal logging and subsequentlymanaging the area responsibly via cashincome projects that include communalrice farming and milling, handicraftmarketing and developing sustainableteakwood plantations. It is also involvedin the reforestation of degraded forestlands.

A Community Fighting to Preserveits ForestThe people of Uma Bawang belongto the Kayan ethnic group, which firstmigrated from West Borneo, in what isnow Kalimantan, Indonesia. The familygroup co-habits in a longhouse — itsfarms and gardens as well as water-courses and the surrounding forest atthe site extend for half a day's journeyby foot. Thus it is within this territory thateach longhouse community has accessto land for farming, to rivers for fishingand to jungles for hunting.

26

The 1980s brought disaster to UmaBawang. Conflict began when theSarawak State Government startedissuing timber licenses over areaswhere the community already hadnative customary rights that wererecognized and protected by state landlaw. The relationships among people inthe longhouse started to break down.Fortunately, in 1987, some people inthe longhouse looked for a solutionby organizing themselves into a groupthat would protect what remained. In

1988, UBRA was formed to assist in thestruggle. In 1990, UBRA was registeredby the Registrar of Society and legallyrecognized.

While UBRA was still being formed,forest destruction was proceedingvery rapidly and it was felt somethingneeded to be done immediately.Uma Bawang blockaded the loggingroad into their area. It was one ofthe first blockades in Sarawak, andhelped bring international attentionto Sarawak's logging problem. Theheadman and others who receivedgratuities, failed to participate. Thisblockade was eventually broken up bythe government.

In 1987, another blockade ended when42 villagers were arrested and heldwithout charge for two weeks. UmaBawang continued to protest for thenext several years, but the blockadestrategy was not a good long-term solu-tion as people could not be kept awayfrom their farms and other economicactivities forever. The blockade eventu-ally ended and so logging resumed.A long-term approach to developmentwas needed. The customary landclaims needed to be legally recognized.Logging and the problems it gener-ated would not disappear after a yearor two. These realizations led to thefragmentation of Uma Bawang and theformation of UBRA. A new, anti-loggingcommunity was formed and in March

1989, the community moved to SungaiKeluan and built its own longhousewith 20 family units (pintu). UBRA wasofficially led by Jok Jau Evong. UBRAis open to any interested members ofthe longhouse. Its main objective is topromote the rights and interests of theindividuals and the community. All plan-

ning, programmes and decisions aremade by consensus among members.Board members are elected every twoyears. Rules have been drawn up toserve law, order and justice. There isa disciplinary board with elder Kayansacting as advisors since they are wellversed in customary law.

UBRA Development ProjectsUBRA has since worked to initiatecommunity projects to benefit itsmembers such as a communal ricefarm and bank, the purchasing of acommunal rice miller that has helped tocut the cost of rice milling for members,free-range pig rearing and fish pondschemes, a crafts cooperative for thewomen as well as reforestation andagroforestry projects on communalplots

Village Mapping, 1995In mid-July 1995, UBRA started tostudy and develop basic survey/map-ping techniques at a mapping workshopheld in Keluan, assisted by some map-ping experts from the Borneo Project.This programme was jointly organizedby UBRA and SAM. Many people fromother villages also attended. This wasthe first community mapping workshopin Sarawak.

Later in May 1996, a full-scale land-use map of the Keluan project areawas successfully produced by UBRAmembers. This map is a very usefuldocument for resource management,and for regaining control over reservedareas of communal forest. It has alsobeen used to identify the boundariesbetween different individual land lots. Inthis way, disputes between landownershave been reduced. Some of the map-pers trained in these original workshopshave moved on to become experiencedmappers in local NGOs.

Protesting Oil Palm DevelopmentAfter years of protesting againstlogging, UBRA is now faced with thenew threat of large-scale oil palmplantations. In many ways oil palmis even worse than logging, becauseloggers come and go, while an oil palmplantation results in the forest beingcompletely cleared and converted into aplantation with 60-year leases or more.

Jok Jau Evong, UBRA, Malaysia:

"We feel safer because we aremore organized. Now, the compa-nies feel that they have to comeand ask permission from us tooperate in our territory."

"We need to be patient, straightfor-ward, disciplined and firm."

"If we have the knowledge, wecan make income from the forest.However, we still lack knowledgeon how to manage our resources."

Theiva Lingam, SAM, Malaysia:

"The poor indigenous communitiesare those that have lost their landsto logging or that have rivers toopolluted — from palm oil plantations— to fish in."

27

Indonesia. Palm oil(Sawi palm) fruit andderived products.Indonesia. Project num-ber: 9Z0379 CREDIT:© WWF-Canon / AlainCOMPOST

In 1998, the Sarawak StateGovernment gazetted a huge parcel ofland for the proposed Long Lama NCLOil Palm Project. All of Keluan's landswere included in this project. However,after continuous protests and lettersto the government that objected tothe policy and the process of projectimplementation, in December 2001,a response was finally received fromthe Ministry of Resource Planning ina letter stating that the area identifiedas Block C, including the Keluan area,would be excluded.

ConclusionThe Uma Bawang Keluan Communityhas come a long way in assertingits property rights. Although judi-cially it was defeated, politically it hasachieved marked success. It is oneof the foremost tribes in the countryto have organized its resources andaccess to them and subsequentlymanaged them sustainably in harmonywith nature.

This is evidenced by the fact that muchof Keluan's land was gazetted to belogged by the KTS Timber Company— however when the company recentlyreturned, rather than log straight away,it sought permission. This is proof thatthey recognize the community's efforts

and vigilance in defending its forests.Keluan has allowed some loggingrecently, but only selected loggingin limited areas chosen by the entirevillage. In return, people feel they werefairly compensated. As part of this deal,the logging company provided the woodto build the new Keluan longhouse.

Their journey to ascertain their rightspersists. Only through education andawareness on the importance of theirexistence will legislature give them therecognition that they deserve.

Best Practice: Influencing Palm OilTrade Policy in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, an important importerand trader of palm oil is also promotingpalm oil as an option for biofuel — withEU regulations driving countries to ex-pand their biofuel resources. Since palmoil plantations require the clearing of largeareas of rain forests in Southeast Asiaand the Pacific, the opening of anothermarket for palm oil in the form of biofuelmay dramatically increase pressureson rain forests in Southeast Asia andthe Pacific. In 2005, WWF-Netherlands,IUCN-Netherlands and Friends of theEarth Netherlands crafted a seriesof events aimed to inform, convinceand mobilize a select group of Dutch

28

members of parliament (MPs) to pushfor policy reforms on the issue ofsustainable palm oil within the DutchGovernment. Following a roundtablefor information disclosure, a group ofthree MPs travelled to West Kalimantanto conduct meetings at the nationalministerial level, provincial level andwith local communities as well as withbusiness people in Indonesia.

Although it may be too early to deter-mine the full extent, the field trip didhave a direct and significant effect:

A motion to develop legislation andinstruments to ban unsustainably pro-duced palm oil from the Dutch marketw.as proposed by one of the MPs uponreturn to the Netherlands and adoptedby a majority in parliament two weekslater.

For the first time in 12 years a "GeneralMeeting on Forests and Wood" will beheld in parliament to review the effec-tiveness of Dutch policies on this topicover the past decade.

Formal questions were raised inparliament to the minister askingfor increased budget support forprogrammes that work on the relationbetween nature conservation andpoverty alleviation.

An official governmental visit that hadalready been planned will most prob-ably include time to follow up on theinformal visit and provide opportunitiesto push for reforms on the Indonesianside.

Unsustainable palm oil and illegal woodissues are back on the agendas of par-liament, NGOs and the private sector inthe Netherlands.

Resulting from the motion, the govern-ment has requested the developmentof instruments based on the RSPOcriteria, to be done in collaborationwith the private sector and NGOs. Thisshould yield a comprehensive approachleading to the exclusion of palm oil pro-duction that does not follow the RSPOcriteria.

The Dutch MPs:"The Netherlands should establishgood criteria and conditions for oilpalm. People think oil palm can beused as biofuel for energy; althoughoil palm sounds like a natural prod-uct, the reality is that it is harvestedat the expense of Borneo." - BorisDittrich, Member of Parliament D'66

"We have had an impressive meet-ing with people living in the tropicalrain forest. People living insidethe forest are actually sufferinghardship. It is not without reasonthat there is a programme likeNatureandpoverty*. If these peopleare offered chances for survival(e.g. alternative livelihood options)than we can also ask them tosustainably manage their forests."- Henk-Jan Ormel, MP CDA

"If you want to preserve and protectthe tropical rain forest you shouldnot forget that there are actuallypeople living inside the forest andthat these people should have themeans to make a living and sustainthemselves." - Tineke Huizinga, MPChristenunie

"If one speaks about people, planetand profit one should also addressthese issues in this order." - BorisDittrich, MP D'66

29

Papua New Guinea

- Local people -, PapuaNew Guinea. A womantransports a basketfulof baked sago from apit oven back to Rhokuvillage. Sago is a commonsubsistence crop in PapuaNew Guinea. WesternProvince, Papua NewGuinea. December 2004CREDIT: © Brent Stirton /Getty Images / WWF-UK

Papua New Guinea is situated on theworld's second largest island and isprey to volcanic activity, earthquakesand tidal waves. The eastern half ofthe island of New Guinea was dividedbetween Germany (north) and theUnited Kingdom (south) in 1885. Thelatter area was transferred to Australiain 1902, which occupied the northernportion during World War I and contin-ued to administer the combined areasuntil independence in 1975. A nine-yearsecessionist revolt on the island ofBougainville ended in 1997 with apeace deal, after claiming some 20,000lives, but Bougainville still aspires tonationhood.

Country FactsPopulation: 5.8 millionCapital: Port MoresbyGovernment type: constitutionalparliamentary democracyIndependence: 16 September 1975(from the Australian-administered UNtrusteeship)Life expectancy at birth: 65.6 yearsArea: 462,840 km2

Adult literacy rate: 57%Source: World factbook. CIA, 2007

Human development index rank: 13916

Papua New Guinea contains thelargest intact tropical rain forest in thePacific region and the third largest onthe planet, at 9.4 hectares per capita(compare with 5.9 hectares per personin the rest of the region).15

15 FAO (2007) Stale of the Forest 2007

16 UNDP. (2006). Human development report.

30

Millennium Development Goals



Indicator 1. Proportion of populationbelow US$1.00 (1993 PPP) per day(Table 1).

Table 1

Table

2




Source: United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Indicators. http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Data.aspx, viewed

29 January 2006.

Strong cultural customary land tenuresupported by the national constitutionis a unique feature of forest manage-ment and policy in Papua New Guinea.About 97% of all land is held undercustomary title by resource owners.17

The country's rural population of overfour million (85%) depend on the forestfor its daily subsistence (providing food,medicine, building materials, cleandrinking water) and income generation.Many communities revert to strippingtheir forests to generate income. Asidefrom poverty, the lack of sustainablenatural resource-use alternativesperpetuates the problem. Degradationof natural resources is leading todeclining rural welfare and increasedpoverty - clear illustration of how lossof natural resources and poverty areintricately linked. The poverty rate inPapua New Guinea remains high, with

17 Filer, C. and Sekhran, N. (1998). Loggers, donors and

resource owners. London, MED,

little progress in alleviation having beenachieved in the past 20 years — a situ-ation compounded by the fact that thecountry's population has doubled duringthis time.18

Although government rhetoric disputesthe fact, industrial logging presentsa great threat to the ecology andpeople in Papua New Guinea.19 Thecustomary tenure has not guaranteedsustainable use, due to difficulties inidentifying traditional landowners, poorenforcement of the terms of land leasesand concessions to private operators,and disputes over the distribution of thebenefits accrued from logging.20

18 Government of Papua New Guinea and United Nations

in Papua New Guinea. (2004). Millennium Development

Goals: progress report for Papua New Guinea 2004, p. 9.

19 Greenpeace Pacific, WWF South Pacific Program.

(1998). Sustaining Papua New Guinea's natural heritage.

Port Moresby.

20 Hunt, C. (2002). Production, privatisation and preserva-

tion in Papua New Guinea forestry. IIED.

Papua New Guinea. Aerial

view of tropical rainforest

with meander river. Papua

New Guinea. CREDIT:

© WWF-Canon / Paul

CHATTERTON

31

Case Study: The Kiunga-Aiambak Road Project,Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea

Community members from theManagalas Plateau, Papa NewGuinea. CREDIT: © Kenn Mondial

By Damien Ase, CELCOR & KennMondiai, PwM

IntroductionLake Murray is situated between the FlyRiver and Strictland River in the MiddleFly area of the Western Province inPapua New Guinea. It is situated in oneof the largest wetlands and watershedareas of Papua New Guinea, home tothe last remnants of monsoon forestand part of the country's large expanseof tropical rain forest. As such it is veryrich in flora and fauna, mineral oil andhabitats for High Conservation ValueForest sites and species.

There are seven tribes in the LakeMurray area whose lives have beenhistorically enriched with food, clothingand medicine from the lake (LakeMurray) and the forests. They lead alargely subsistence life, surviving onthe abundance of food (from hunting)and medicine provided by their "forestsupermarket".

However in April 1994 the governmentgave approval for the constructionof the Trans-Highlands Highway thatwould link the Western Province andKomo in the Southern HighlandsProvince. A one-year Timber Authority(TA) was then granted to PaisoCompany Limited for the road thatwould link Aiambak (Lake Murray)to Kiunga enabling the extraction oftimber through road-line clearing only.Paiso Company PTY LTD subsequentlysubcontracted with Concord Pacific2' (asubsidiary of Samling) of Malaysia toundertake the TA.

The Malaysian-owned logging companyin theory has been building a roadbetween the small township of Kiunga

21 Concord Pacific is a logging company that has been

involved in illegal logging on the pretext of building the

Kiunga-Aiambak road. Concord obtained an illegal

extension to road alignment and the logging and so-called

"road building" has continued until court orders halted the

operation. The new TA is totally illegal — it was granted

without the approval of the Provincial Forest Management

Committee and without any attention to the detailed

procedures of either the 1993 Forestry Act or the 2000

Amendment Act.

32

and the village of Aiambak in LakeMurray. In practice the company hasillegally extracted timber from theregion's pristine rain forests. Sevenyears since the beginning of road con-struction, more than 179 km2 of foresthave been cleared but there is no andnever has been a functional highway.

The Kiunga-Aiambak Court CaseThe violation occurred when ConcordPacific started engaging in large-scalelogging which is prohibited under a TAlicense (it only allows for a maximumof 5,000 m3 of logs to be harvestedper year).

The logging activity has disturbedand degraded thousands of hectaresof the pristine forests, leading to anestimated loss of more than US$60million of potential revenue to locallandowners (PNGFA, 2001; PNGFAAnnual timber digest, 1995-2001).Forest disturbance resulted in ascarcity of game animals tradition-ally hunted as food, loss of cleanwater supplies and loss of traditionalbuilding materials and medicines.(Independent Review Team, 2001;Individual Project Review Report No.31).

The road project was clearly a veiledexcuse to log the forest. The land-owners' source of food and buildingmaterials was being destroyed beforetheir eyes.

This unsustainable industrial logginghas threatened the livelihoods andthe well-being of the communities inthe Kiunga-Aiambak area and madea significant contribution to poverty.The logging has directly and indirectlyaffected the lives of women in Kiunga-Aiambak, who are responsible for muchof the labour and daily sustenanceof the families. The negative impactsassociated with the current forest man-agement regime that takes men awayfrom their home (for temporary work atlogging camps), degrades streams andreduces the availability of NTFPs falldisproportionately upon women.

These incidents and damages prompt-ed the landowners to take the companyto court by engaging the Center forEnvironmental Law and CommunityRights (CELCOR) in 2001. After almosttwo years of working on this matter— complemented by a vigorous cam-paign by Greenpeace and other NGOs— CELCOR obtained court ordersagainst Concord Pacific and other de-fendants restraining them from furtherlogging of the area until the substantivetrespass case was tried in court. Theinjunctions were obtained on 7 July2003 and further orders were obtainedon 14 August of that year to restrainthe company from exporting logs. Asignificant milestone was reached inthe lengthy Kiunga-Aiambak case thisyear (22 June 2006) whereby the courtruled in favour of the clients (the Lake

Ronald Gigmai, CELCOR,Papua New Guinea:

"The globalization process hasto be a gradual one for poorand remote communities todevelop themselves and reapsome benefits."

Community meeting,Papa New Guinea.CREDIT: ©KennMondiai

33

Kenn Mondiai, ExecutiveDirector, Partners withMelanesians:

"For the project to work, thecommunity has to be united andpeople must sacrifice their time andresources to make things work."

"Communities need to know howthe forest supports their livelihoods,so environmental education andraising awareness are the first pointof entry into a community."

"For the project to work, thecommunity has to be united andpeople must sacrifice their time andresources to make things work."

"Communities need to know howthe forest supports their livelihoods,so environmental education andawareness is the first point of entryinto a community."

Murray landowners). It ruled that theTimber Authority (08) given to ConcordPacific to log in the area in 1994 hasalways been illegal. The defendants(the company) now want to settleoutside of court regarding the monies(US$500,000) held in the court trustaccount (from the logs that were soldat the time of the court trial). CELCORis liaising with the landowners andother stakeholders for the distribution ofthese monies. CELCOR will persevereuntil the case is satisfactorily settledand that landowners are adequatelycompensated for the environmentaldamage as well as for payment of theunpaid royalties to the landowners.

Following the Court CaseWhilst awaiting the trial, resource own-ers also discussed the possibilities ofventuring into other sustainable projectsto utilize their forest and water re-sources. Currently, logging in the areahas ceased and the logging companyhas moved out, yet CELCOR has faceda bigger challenge and responsibility inpursuing the case while assisting the lo-cal resource owners' association (LakeMurray Resource Owners Association[LMROA]) to build capacity and findalternatives to logging.

A Western Province ConservationCoalition22 of NGOs (both national andinternational) was formed in 2004 tocombine expertise and resources toassist tribes venturing into alternativeprojects. The LMROA has decided topursue ecoforestry as a sustainableway to generate income and employ-ment in the area. Greenpeace, vocal inthe campaign, as well as other nationalNGOs with expertise in alternativesustainable livelihood projects is nowfacilitating an ecoforestry initiative inthe area. Portable sawmills have beenintroduced and customary land demar-cations have been made pursuant toPapua New Guinea laws — with theassistance of a highly skilled foresterfrom the Foundation for People andCommunity Development, a local NGO.

In ecoforestry, the trees are harvestedusing portable equipment and milledon the spot, before the wood is car-ried or floated out of the forest. A firstshipment of logs was exported thisyear. Greenpeace is spearheading theinitiative in the area with support fromnational NGOs with the intention ofeventually handing the responsibilityover to the LMROA. Ecoforestry willallow the communities to continue livingin their forests in the same way theyhave lived for a thousand years and toearn income to support their children'sschool fees, build their own homes andprovide for other needs.

Following the success of the courtcase, people's livelihoods have beenrestored. The local landowners aresatisfied that the wildlife has nowreturned, making hunting easier for thelocal community. The animals had beenscared off by the loud noise induced bylogging practices.

With support from the NGOs, the re-source owners will eventually exercisetheir right to control development them-selves. These people are now choosingto care for their forests sustainably andto protect their way of life for futuregenerations. Greenpeace and CELCORhave partnered to build the capacityof the executives of the LMROA tospearhead the development initiativesthat they intend to pursue.

22 WPCC comprises CELCOR. Greenpeace Pacific,

and WWF-PNG, Foundation for People and Community

Development (FPCD). Environmental Law Center (ELC),

Barefoot Community Development Services, Conservation

Melanesia, FORCERT.

34

The organic coffee project in the Managalas Plateau, Papa New Guinea. CREDIT: © Kenn Mondial

Best Practice: Managalas OrganicCoffee Project in Papua NewGuinea

The Managalas Plateau, an areaof 360,000 hectares, sits some 800metres above sea level in a remoteregion of Papua New Guinea; it isaccessible by footpaths, a five-hourride in a four-wheel-drive and aonce-a-week Twin Otter flight service.Its 16,000 inhabitants have limitedaccess to markets and basic servicesand earn an average annual incomeof K150/year (US$50/year) per family.Income-earning initiatives are virtuallynon-existent.

Having worked with the ManagalasPlateau tribes for over 15 years,Partners with Melanesians Inc. (PwM)was in search of an alternative incomestream to combat depradations bylogging, oil palm and mining specula-tion. In concert with the community,an eco-enterprise project was set upwhich supports natural resource liveli-hoods and poverty reduction at thecommunity level. Under the leadershipof the PwM group, the people of theManagalas are experimenting with anew economic model.

Previously, the 3,660 coffee growerson the plateau had been hindered bypoor market access. PwM proceededto help the community secure somefunding through the Doen Foundationof the Netherlands to repair the roadand make it passable again, as afirst step to setting up the Managalas

Organic Coffee Project (MOCP). In theharvest season of 2006, PwM boughta vehicle and set up a collectionscheme, offering a higher price forthe coffee beans than that offered bythe independent buyers, thus creatingcompetition. Fifteen tonnes of thetribes' organic coffee beans were pur-chased, transported from the plateau,shipped to Lae, transported by roadto Goroka in the highlands and milledand graded in a hand-picked facility,and finally auctioned off at the localmarket. Profits have been stored ina trust fund and will be redistributedaccording to a pre-approved formula:Shared among an education andhealth trust fund and a road mainte-nance fund.

PwM, in partnership with the NTFP-EP, always sourced the consultantwho had experimented with a similarproject in the Philippines. The consult-ant assisted PwM in the developmentof a practical and viable design forcoffee production and drafted theMOCP's business plan. As adopted bythe community, the business plan setsout the roadmap to a viable eco-enter-prise, and ensures that the MOCP willbe handed over to a separate Boardof Directors representing the peopleand farmers of the Managalas Plateauin 2008 — transferred from PwM'sBoard.

The target for 2007 is to buy up to30 tonnes of the Managalas organiccoffee production and then test theinternational market and continue with

sales on the local market by auction-ing, according to the business plan.

Initially it was difficult to put a newbusiness system in place, especiallywhen local communities were unusedto it. Moreover there was a need tobuild local capacity to understand andmanage the system well accordingto the business plan, while not losingfocus on the importance of safeguard-ing the local environment and forest.Growing coffee on the ManagalasPlateau is very challenging work andunder the leadership of Paul Konia,the Manager of MOCP, the projectis progressing well, despite difficul-ties with road conditions, weatherproblems, delays in shipping andlandslides. But Paul confirms, "thereis light at the end of the tunnel for theManagalas organic coffee project".

35

Synergy in Action

Participants in SLA workshop (see page 14) visiting Sungai Peiaik village in Danau Sentarum, WestKalimantan. CREDIT: © Abet Nego Tarigan

Excerpt from the Plan ofImplementation of the WorldSummit on SustainableDevelopment

"... implementation should in-volve all relevant actors throughpartnerships, especially betweenGovernments of the North andSouth....andbetween Governmentsand major groups... to achieve thewidely shared goals of sustainabledevelopment. ..such partnershipsare key to pursuing sustainabledevelopment in a globalizing world."

The Millennium Development Goals,adopted by governments worldwidein 2000 require us to halve theworld's poor by 2015 and to ensureenvironmental sustainability — with de-forestation rates being a major indicatoragainst which to measure our progresstowards this goal. This publication isfurther evidence to the fact that thesegoals mutually re-inforce, or conversely,impair each other. Nature (or the envi-ronment) and poverty are two sides ofthe same development equation.

Poverty is more than lack of incomeand assets to meet basic humanneeds (food, shelter, clothing, primaryeducation and health); being poorshould also be seen not just in terms ofthe absence of assets and resources,but as the lack of capability to realizethese assets. This involves focusing

on what causes people's vulnerability,lack of access and use of resources, inaddition to identifying which structuresand processes affect people's ability toachieve a sustainable livelihood, suchas marketing systems (e.g. for incomegeneration based on NTFPs), tenurereform and policy changes that areoften institutional in nature.

Thus, poverty is not simply a lack ofassets, or a site-specific problem, butis subjected to deeper factors, such aslack of legal access to resources, exclu-sion from decision-making in resourcemanagement, inadequate marketingsystems and other limitations, includingpolicy constraints.

Tropical forests have more importantfunctions than providing logs to buildpatio furniture or being a parcel of landwaiting to be converted into shorter-term lucrative gains from monoculture.Countless studies have established thewealth of services that forests provide,namely to poor communities thatdepend on them for their livelihoods.Not only do they offer clean water,clean air, food, shelter and medicines,but they are also major sources ofenvironmental income: studies showthat nearly 1.6 billion people worldwidedepend on forests for their livelihoods,and that forest-related income providesa significant share of total householdincome in many regions of the world.23

The Natureandpoverty* Programmehas used the Sustainable LivelihoodsApproach (SLA) to link the conceptsof capability, equity and sustainability.Each concept is seen as both a good initself as well as an end (cf. box on SLA,p 12). The precise frameworks andtools used by the partners vary. Eachorganization has identified particularentry points for the SLA, which reflectboth the varying conceptual emphasesand the organizations' own strengthsand opportunities. While they arecomplex the following elements arecentral to the approach, that need to beunderstood, in order to find solutionsthat do not undermine the purpose ofachieving sustainable livelihoods:

23 FAO (2006) Better forestry, less poverty (FAO Forestry

Paper No. 149)

36

Causes of vulnerability — shocks andstresses in the economic, social andpolitical context, trends, seasonality,fragility of natural resources, etc.

Assets at the individual, household andcommunity level, comprising human,social, economic, physical and naturalresource components.

The context within which livelihoodsevolve — policies at both micro andmacro levels; civic, economic andcultural institutions, both formal andinformal; the nature of governance andits processes at all levels in society.

Livelihood strategies, including, but notrestricted to, consumption, productionand exchange activities.

Livelihood outcomes, assessed multi-dimensionally in terms of food and otherbasic needs security, greater sustainabil-ity of the natural resource base, reducedvulnerability and increased income.

Building Blocks: Partnerships

The onset of globalization (i.e. the freeflow of information, goods and people)has altered the playing field for all of usand externally driven development hasbecome a powerful force to contend with,bringing along extraordinarily complexchallenges that cannot be solved overnight. Then again, these complex reali-ties offer various windows of opportuni-ties. Forest products can be harvestedsustainably, manufactured and deliveredto consumers around the globe.

The major achievements of theNatureandpoverty* Programme havebeen the collaborations among thedifferent partner organizations. This isexemplified by the strengths and capaci-ties through synergistic partnerships forforest conservation and poverty reduc-tion in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.Alliances among non-naturally alignedpartners help an organization to extendits reach and magnify its impact bycombining skills, sharing information andpooling resources, among other benefits.

Several of the case studies and bestpractices presented in this publicationhave illustrated how sustainable liveli-

hoods can become reality when using apeople-centred approach; this allows theparticipation of the different stakehold-ers who rely on natural resources andthe actors involved in decision-makingprocesses to determine their use andmanagement. The interventions exempli-fied here are re-inforced through thesynergy of complementary organizations,the dividends of which are to be reapedby the forest-dwelling communities, suchas:

The honey bee case study in WestKalimantan: The aforesaid points havebeen addressed through the work ofa number of different organizations.WWF-lndonesia, Sawit Watch, WAHLIand Riak Bumi have jointly studied thedevelopment plans of the area includinglogging and expansion of large-scaleoil palm plantations and facilitateddialogues between communities, gov-ernment and the private sector to findsolutions for more sustainable develop-ment and to mitigate impacts. At thesame time Riak Bumi and the NTFP-EPhave been working with communitiesto generate economic profit from localNTFPs and honey products. Localgroups oversee the business to ensurethat it is properly managed and does not

harm the environment. West Kalimantanhojieyis in the process of gaining accessto international markets following organiccertification.

The development of an organic coffeeenterprise on the Managalas Plateauof Papua New Guinea: CELCOR andPwM have ensured that customary lawbe enforced to inhibit concession com-panies from claiming the forest frompeople in the Lake Murray area. PwMand the NTFP-EP have facilitated thedevelopment of local coffee enterprises.Upon PwM's efforts, the local com-munities have adopted the businessplan, with clear expectations on theirresponsibilities for the development of amanagement system; local people havebeen trained to implement the system,with regard to quality coffee grading,and the community mobilised itself torepair and maintain the roads, makingit possible to export the harvest. Thenegotiations involved in the Roundtableon Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) be-tween the government, civil society andthe private sector have led to the adop-tion of a set of global guiding principlesfor sustainable oil palm plantations: InIndonesia WWF-lndonesia and SawitWatch are facilitating consultations

Mapping exercise withvillagers in NangaLeboyan village inDanau Sentarum, WestKalimantan. CREDIT:© Hermayani Putra

37

with the government to convert thecriteria into national law and policy.WWF-lndonesia and Sawit Watch havealso worked with PwM and CELCORin Papua New Guinea to improve theinvolvement of civil society and thegovernment in the RSPO process.

In Sarawak communities have beenfighting for rights to their lands for morethan 25 years and with support fromSahabat Alam Malaysia, the case hasbeen brought to court. Gaining govern-ment recognition of customary law isa struggle for communities across theregion, which determines what type oflivelihood strategies people adopt asaccess to natural resources becomeslimited.

The Natureandpoverty* Programmeaffiliates continue to explore howsynergistic alliances among organiza-tions, serve to enhance their impact bymatching their activities, exchangingtheir expertise, learning from each otherand complementing their roles. Hence,allying a nature conservation approachwith a social advocacy campaign or abusiness marketing plan in a synergisticpartnership is a unique and promisingavenue to extend the NGOs reach and

to gain strength, ideas and skills. Deepin the woods of Southeast Asia andthe Pacific, social, development andenvironmental conservation NGOs arepartnering, building mutual trust andlearning to combine their strengths formore effective impact.

Be it among the NGOs of SoutheastAsia and the Pacific or between NGOsfrom the North and South, synergy is asophisticated process that evolves insteps:

1. Organizations have to becomeacquainted; this requires free flow ofinformation, accountability and ex-change of viewpoints and eventuallythis leads to trust and respect.

2. Identification of possibilities for col-laboration by exchange on strate-gies and experiences.

3. Adoption of mutual strategies andexperiences (cross-visits, jointtraining).

4. Identification of joint new (learning)activities.

5. The ability and willingness toadapt the (project) activities ofone's organization for the benefitof the overall (Natureandpoverty*)programme.

6. Ensuring accountability betweenpartners.

7. Changes in funding strategiesamong donors is a common reasonwhy partnerships are not continued.

The Natureandpoverty* Programme,was an experiment in developingsustainable partnerships The recurringmeetings among these northern NGOsand counterparts in Southeast Asiaand the Pacific re-inforced each other'swork and yielded valuable lessons,namely:

There is a need for forest communitiesin the region to share ideas and experi-ences on forest issues relating to effortsto halt illegal logging operations on theirland as well as their efforts in develop-ing alternative livelihood programmes.

It is crucial to develop viable alterna-tives for unsustainable approaches(logging, mining and oil palm plantationexpansion). It is imperative that civil so-ciety studies alternatives to plantationsand how to facilitate decision-makingand long-term thinking on this matter.The challenge is to offer viable alterna-tive livelihood options and communityforestry development opportunities and

Friends from WWF Indonesiaand WALHI in Denau Sentarum,West Kalimantan, Indonesia.CREDIT: © Hermayani Putra

38

NatureandPoverty Program partners meeting in Sarawak, Malaysia. CREDIT: © Abet Nego Tarigan

be prepared to also provide the meansto implement such alternatives.

Community mapping projects areof crucial importance to the landrights struggle. By defining their landboundaries on a map, the communi-ties can offer proof of the extent oftheir communal boundaries and theirnative customary land and thus asserttheir rights to it. Participatory mapsand natural resource managementplanning developed by communitieshave proven to be a vital basis for analternative regional planning process.

In specific cases (i.e. West Malaysia,Papua New Guinea [Lake Murray]),supporting and empowering local/in-digenous community groups with legalassistance and skills' developmenthas been extremely valuable in bring-ing the needs of community groups togovernmental attention.

In general plantation workers' aware-ness of their legal rights in relationto employment and social securitybenefits is very low.

Inspiration for Action: PolicyRecommendations

The successful ventures presented inthis publication need to be amplifiedand replicated. More, much more is

also needed if we are going to makeprogress on nature and poverty mat-ters. For instance:

Nature conservation NGOs needto encompass social advocacyapproaches and support local com-munities in their forest-relatedundertakings.

Organizations that have experience inproviding or implementing alternativelivelihood programmes ought to docu-ment their experiences and dissemi-nate them for analysis and possiblereplication.

To support strategic and systematicthinking on livelihood alternatives toplantations, a good sustainable liveli-hood analysis is needed. Activitiestowards building capacity for suchan analysis need to be supported.Studies are required to increaseknowledge and enhance analyticalcapacity to assess (sociocultural,economic and ecological) the impactof large-scale oil palm plantationdevelopment.

More marketing research is neededfor the viable development of otherNTFPs because poor communitiescannot afford the costs of feasibilitystudies. Marketing research should beincorporated into PRSPs.

SynergyPerson A as well as person B is tooshort to pick an apple from a treeon his own. Once person B sits onthe shoulders of person A, theytogether are tall enough to reachthe apple. In this example the resultof synergy is one apple. But whowill eat the apple?

There is a need to increase aware-ness programmes to educate commu-nities on their basic rights so they candefend their land and themselves fromencroachment and to educate them onalternative uses to their lands.

The need for long-term involvementis rarely reflected in aid policies andsubsequently NGOs and INGOs workon a short-term basis. Donor agenciesneed to increase support to nationaland local NGOs.

Collaboration between organizationswith different mandates ought to beenabled so that each can contributemore effectively to achieving positivechange by building on their respectiveinstitutional strengths.

Critical analysis of aid efficiency andits contribution to achieving the MDGsis needed.

It is important to note that, while thevalue of secure access rights has aneffect at the local level, the institutionalchange that supports it generally comesfrom policies or laws enacted at a stateor national levels. Addressing povertyreduction and the environment mustwork both at the local level — facilitat-ing equitable decision-making and dis-tribution of benefits within a community— and at wider policy levels — using

39

Peter van Sluijs, Friends of theEarth Netherlands:

"There is clear added-value to thepartnering of non-traditionally alliedNGOs: cross-fertilization of ideasand strengthening of capacities."

"If we lobby against the logging orconversion of primary tropical for-ests, we have the responsibility toprovide those communities living inthe forests with sustainable optionsfor their livelihoods."

"Policy dialogue is instrumental inengaging governments and makingthem aware of the issues regardingrain forests: Governments need toget input in terms of how issuesare best addressed, and thisprogramme shows that sustainableenvironmental management is es-sential in securing any progress inpoverty reduction."

"There is no blueprint for environ-mental sustainability or povertyreduction; we need to be very crea-tive and address the needs andissues as they occur."

policy processes to provide supportiveinstitutional mechanisms. Local actioncan be supported by different institu-tions: For instance, the communities ofthe Lake Murray region in Papua NewGuinea were able to regain control overtheir customary lands through the helpof CELCOR, a national NGO whichfought on their behalf in the nationalcourts.

Genuinely devolved and facilitated ne-gotiation in decision-making is essentialfor empowering people to manageresources. This does not mean thatthere is no role for central authorities insetting standards or broad objectivesfor natural resource and land manage-ment. The problem is how to do thiswithout undermining local decision-making and effective decentralization.

This publication has shown that thereis a need to make decision-makersresponsible for their decisions, withoutthe constraint of too many detailedguidelines. If sound local decision-mak-ing is to be possible, local institutionsmust be developed and strengthened.While they need to be accountable up-wards — in such matters as safeguardsfor environmental standards — theyalso need to be accountable down-wards, to the people they genuinelyrepresent. Developing institutions thatrepresent the poor is difficult, especiallybecause poverty is not a priority amonglocal elites, but it is an essential step.

A simple example of a transformingstructure or process might be a policychange in a case where forest-dwellingpeople are not permitted to harvest andsell timber. A change in laws governingtenure would enable them to turn apotential asset (or capital) into some-thing useful for livelihoods (and povertyreduction). Another example is thedevelopment of a marketing structureto enable people to sell their products,such as honey, to international markets.Institutional arrangements are oftentransforming structures or processes.

Conservation has contributed to humanwell-being by safeguarding global pub-lic goods and by maintaining ecosystemservices at regional and nationallevels. At times, however, it has also

contributed to local poverty by denyingpoor people control over and accessto the natural resources that underpintheir livelihoods. This has occurred bothin protected areas and with nationalizedresources, such as forest concessions,which often exclude use for localbenefits in the name of conservation ornatural resource management.

Conversely, while development can-not be achieved without economicgrowth, the overemphasis on economicdevelopment has in many instancesundermined the environment in waysthat affect the long-term benefits of de-velopment. Regardless of the benefitsreaped at a larger scale, developmenthas often occurred at a cost to thepoorest people and the environment.Hence, the call to re-invigorate sustain-able development presents majorchallenges to the development andconservation communities alike.

Having learned the lessons, the guidingvision for nature and poverty interven-tions lies in the need for corporate andgovernmental recognition of the com-munity agenda for forest conservationand land rights; the need for informedconsent and fair treatment of smallhold-ers and plantation workers; and theneed to build informed communitiesthat make wise choices in the market-ing of their resources.

The stories recounted in these pagesinspire. But they seem too few and tooslow. If under visionary domestic lead-ership local indigenous communitiesare going to empower themselves andchoose to build sustainable livelihoods,they will need assistance.

If we are to make any substantialprogress on achieving the MDGs, thelessons learnt in the plight of thesecommunities need to be replicatedand magnified, now. The NGOs thathave delicately and painstakinglyearned their trust are innovating to planintegrated approaches, amassing awealth of knowledge and ideas alongthe way — precious lessons on the wayforward. Their voices are echoing in theforests: Shall we stop and listen?

40

Local people, PapuaNew Guinea. BensbachRiver, Papua New Guinea.Young boy in tradi-tional dug-out canoe, nearBensbach tourist lodge, assun sets over the BensbachRiver, Western Province,Papua New Guinea.December 2004. CREDIT:© Brent Stirton / GettyImages / WWF-UK

Afterword

During a period when all countries arestriving towards meeting their targets, asset forth by the MDGs, it is particularlytimely for this publication to highlightthe issues at play for the remainingexpanses of rain forests in SoutheastAsia and the Pacific. Old growth rainforests are rich banks of biodiversity, ofvital importance, especially to the localpopulations who have derived their liveli-hoods from them for thousands of years.

Given that our Northern markets arelarge consumers of tropical rain-forestproducts, we have a keen responsibilityin refining our policies and market incen-

tive tools to support the sustainable har-vesting of rain-forest materials. The fieldtrip of the three Dutch MPs to the forestsof Borneo in 2005 vividly highlighted thelink between consumer behaviour in ourcountries and the destruction of tropicalforests in the Asia-Pacific region. Whilethe Dutch Parliament has adopted amotion to develop legislation for encour-aging the import of sustainable palmoil into the Netherlands, we call uponother consumer countries to follow thisinitiative.

The anecdotes in this book are resound-ing accounts of hope, validating the

fact that development does not have todestroy the environment and livelihoods.On the contrary, when governments,businesses and civil society collaborateinnovatively, we can produce harmoni-ous achievements for the well-being ofpeople and the global environment.

We congratulate the Dutch NGOsthat have creatively engineered theframework for the Natureandpoverty*Programme, and salute the work of theircounterparts in Southeast Asia and thePacific, who are relentlessly toiling onthe frontlines.

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Annex 1. Profiles

Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP)The Consumers' Association of Penang was established in 1970 to promote criticalawareness and action among consumers in order to uphold their inherent rights andinterests. CAP is a grassroots non-profit, NGO linking consumer issues with environ-ment and development issues. It fights for the rights and interests of all consumersthrough research, educational and representational activities. It is dedicated to helpingpeople become more responsible consumers and to protecting them from abuse andmalpractice in the marketplace.

Consumers' Association of PenangNo. 10, Jalan Masjid Negeri11600 PenangMalaysiaTel:+ 6 04 829 9 511Fax:+ 6 04 829 8 109Email: [email protected]

Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc. (CELCOR)The Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc. is a publicinterest NGO for law which was founded in February 2000. The main aim ofCELCOR is to provide legal assistance to landowners affected by large-scaleenvironmentally destructive projects including industrial logging, mining andoil palm plantation developments and to promote community-based naturalresource management through the promotion of effective law and policies.

The Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc. (CELCOR)Suite 6B, Level 2, Garden City Shopping Complex, BOROKOP O Box 4373 BOROKONational Capital DistrictPapua New GuineaPhone: + 675 323 4509Fax:+ 675 311 2106Email: [email protected]

Friends of the Earth NetherlandsVereniging Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands is the Dutch branch of theinternational network, Friends of the Earth. The mission of Milieudefensie is to contributeto solving environmental problems and to conservation of cultural heritage, as well as tostrive towards a sustainable society at global, national, regional and local levels, in itsbroadest sense.

As a non-profit environmental organization Milieudefensie carries out activities to: raiseawareness on sustainability issues among key stakeholders in society; develop strategicconcepts for sustainable development; and organize activities to promote the introduc-tion and implementation of innovative measures to achieve sustainable development.

Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth NetherlandsNieuwe Looiersstraat 311017 VA AmsterdamThe NetherlandsPhone: + 31 (0) 20 5507 340Fax:+ 31 (0)20 5507 310Email: [email protected]

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IUCN — The World Conservation UnionCreated in 1948, IUCN brings together 79 States, 114 government agencies, > 800NGOs and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwidepartnership. IUCN's mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughoutthe world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use ofnatural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

IUCN is the world's largest environmental knowledge network and has helped over 75countries to prepare and implement national conservation and biodiversity strategies.IUCN is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1,000 staff located in 62 countries.Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

IUCN — The World Conservation UnionAsia Regional OfficeRegional Forest ProgrammeMaria Osbeck63 Sukhumwit Soi 39Wattana, Bangkok 10110ThailandTel: + 66 (0) 2 262 0529-31Fax: + 66 (0) 2 262 0861Email: [email protected]

The IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN-NL) brings together the 35Dutch members of IUCN to increase Dutch support for the protection and conservationof nature, to reduce the Dutch ecological footprint and to support civil society organiza-tions in developing countries to undertake projects for the protection of our earth'snatural resources.

IUCN Nederlands ComitePlantage Middenlaan 2K1018 DD AmsterdamTel:+ 31 (0)20 626 17 32Fax: + 31 (0) 20 627 93 49Email: [email protected]

Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP)The NTFP-EP is a collaborative network of NGOs and community-based organizationsin South and Southeast Asia. The shared goal is to empower forest-based communitiesto make use of and manage forest resources in a sustainable manner. To this end, theNTFP-EP catalyses and supports activities that build up and strengthen the capacityof partner organizations in their work with forest-dependent communities, particularlyindigenous peoples. Partner organizations, while respecting the integrity of cultural tradi-tions, work together with communities in developing and implementing initiatives thatmeet local needs. The NTFP-EP strives to ensure that the benefits of these initiativesare equally enjoyed by young and old and by both men and women.

92-A Masikap Extension,Barangay Central,Diliman,Quezon City, PhilippinesTel: + 63 2 929 3665Fax: + 63 2 426 2757Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

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Partners with Melanesians Inc. (PwM)PwM was conceived by staff and students of the Language and Literature Departmentat the University of Papua New Guinea in 1985. Initially, PwM was set up to supportgroups and communities who were involved in education and development initiatives inrural communities of Papua New Guinea. As time progressed, PwM started work on theManagalas Plateau of the Oro Province in what has come to be regarded as one of thebest models of community mobilization and community development work for conserva-tion in the country. PwM is now embarking on a new strategy whereby it works hand inhand with the local community on capacity building, training and promoting eco-enter-prises activities for income generation as part of the larger conservation effort. Using theManagalas experience, PwM plans to expand to other new sites in Papua New Guineastarting in 2008.

Partners with Melanesians Inc.09 Croton Street, Sect 36 Lot 3 - HOHOLAPO Box 1910, Port MoresbyNational Capital District (NCD)Papua New GuineaTelephone: + 675 323 6344Fax: + 675 32 36345Email: [email protected]

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)Sahabat Alam Malaysia was registered as a society in 1977 under the Societies Actof Malaysia. SAM is a grassroot, community-focused NGO championing environmentand development issues. Its activities include educating the general public on the needfor ecologically sound development; assisting communities which have been adverselyaffected by so-called development; and advocating for a development model that isecologically sustainable, socially just and fulfils the human needs of the majority. SAMoperates out of Penang and Marudi, in Sarawak, and works together with communitiesthroughout Peninsula Malaysia and parts of Sarawak.

Sahabat Alam MalaysiaNo.21, Lintang Delima 1511600 PenangMalaysiaTel: + 6 04 659 6 930Fax: + 6 04 659 6 931Email: [email protected]

Sawit WatchThe Sawit Watch Association is an Indonesian organization that aims to counterbalancethe uncontrolled expansion of large-scale oil palm plantations. Since 1998, the secre-tariat has built a network of 50 local partners who work directly with around 75 affectedcommunities (approximately 40,000 families) throughout Indonesia. The Sawit WatchAssociation secretariat (15 staff) in Bogor has also built up partnerships with individualrepresentatives in Indonesia as well as in Europe.

Jl. Sempur Kaler No.28Bogor16129IndonesiaTel:+ 62 251 352171Fax: + 62 251 352047Email: [email protected]

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WAHLIThe Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI - Friends of the Earth Indonesia)is the largest forum of non-government and community-based organisations inIndonesia. It is represented in 25 provinces and has over 438 member organisa-tions (as of June 2004). It stands for social transformation, peoples sovereignty,and sustainability of life and livelihoods. WALHI works to defend Indonesia's naturalworld and local communities from injustice carried out in the name of economicdevelopment.

Indonesian Forum for Environment (WALHI)Friends of the Earth IndonesiaJl. Tegal Parang Utara No. 14Jakarta 12790, INDONESIATel:+ 62 (0)21 791 93 363Fax:+62 (0)21 794 1673Email: [email protected]

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)The WWF is one of the world's largest environmental conservation organizations.The organization builds concrete conservation solutions through a combination offield based projects, policy initiatives, capacity building and education work. TheWWF wants to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to builda future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by:• Conserving the world's biological diversity.• Ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable.• Promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

Established in 1961, the WWF operates in more than 100 countries working for afuture in which humans live in harmony with nature. Currently the WWF is fundingaround 2,000 conservation projects and employs almost 4,000 people across theplanet.

WWF-lndonesiaKantor Taman A9/Unit A1,Jl. Mega Kuningan, Jakarta 12950INDONESIATel:+ 62 21 5761070 ext 506Fax:+62 21 5761080Email: [email protected]

WWF-NetherlandsWereld Natuur FondsDriebergseweg 103708 JB ZeistTel: 31-900-1962Fax:31-30-693 04 08Email: [email protected]

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Annex 2. The Official Dutch Motion for Parliament

Dutch Motion for Parliament

Motion nr. 20 (30305)Proposed May 18, 2006Van der Ham, Dittrich, Hessels, Ormel en Huizinga-Heringa

Adjustment of the Electricity Law 1998 in relation to modifications in the way of promot-ing environmental quality of the energy supply.

The Second Chamber hearing the consultation,

Considering the need for a speedily transition to a more sustainable energy provisionand acknowledging that certain biofuels can offer good contributions for this.

Considering the fact that palm oil as such does have good potential to be used as a bio-fuel, but recognising that productivity of palm oil decreases after 20 years, its negativeeffect on the direct environment and knowing that expansion often negatively impactslocal populations and labour rights of plantation workers.

Observing that vast areas in the tropical forest of Borneo are severely endangered,where logging will take place to sell the timber and convert the land into palm oil planta-tions, as shown in recent plans of the Indonesian government to convert areas in andaround the heart of Borneo; an area larger than that of the Netherlands.

Considering that approximately one third of palm oil producing and importing companiesworld-wide have joined the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which hasdeveloped sustainability-criteria on the basis of which unsustainable palm oil can beidentified.

Observing that as a result of a growing world-wide demand for palm oil the volumeneeded by far exceeds the available landmass for palm oil cultivation, which results ina disproportionate pressure on the biodiversity in tropical land areas where palm oil iscultivated.

Concluding that Indonesia is one of the world's largest exporters of palm oil and theNetherlands one of the largest importers, requests the government to develop an instru-ments based on RSPO-criteria in collaboration with private sector and non-governmen-tal organisations to come to a comprehensive approach to exclude palm oil, also in theenergy sector, that is not produced according to RSPO-criteria.

Requests the government, to continue to support initiatives that contribute to the preser-vation of the remaining rainforests and indigenous way of existence, amongst others bymeans of supporting the dialogue with the Indonesian authorities on land rights issuesand viable economical alternatives for large scale palm oil production.

This motion is proposed by the members Van der Ham, Dittrich, Hessels, Ormel enHuizinga-Heringa. It has been given nr. 20 (30 305)

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Annex 3. Code of Conduct for Members of TheRoundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil

It is fundamental to the integrity, credibility and continued progress of the RSPO thatevery member supports, promotes and works towards the production, procurement anduse of Sustainable Palm Oil. All Ordinary and Affiliate Members must act in good faithtowards this objective and commit to adhering to the principles set out in this Code. ThisCode applies to all Ordinary and Affiliate Members of the RSPO with respect to theiractivities in the palm oil sector and its derivatives.

1. Promotion and Commitment

1.1 Member organisations will acknowledge their membership of the RSPO, its objec-tives, statutes and by-laws, the Principle and Criteria (P&C) and its respective nationalinterpretations and implementation process through informed and explicit endorsement.

1.2 Members will promote and communicate this commitment throughout its own organi-sation and to its customers, suppliers, sub-contractors and wider value chains wherenecessary.

1.3 Membership of the RSPO must be endorsed by a senior representative of the mem-ber organisation.

2. Transparency, reporting and claims

2.1 Members will not make any misleading or unsubstantiated claims about the produc-tion, procurement or use of sustainable palm oil.

2.2 Members are required to report annually on progress against this Code.

2.3 Members will commit to open and transparent engagement with interested parties,and actively seek resolution of conflict.

3. Implementation

3.1 Members to whom the P&C apply will work towards implementation and certificationof the P&C.

3.2 Members to whom the P&C do not apply directly will implement parallel standardsrelevant to their own organisation, which cannot be lower than those set out in the P&C.

3.3 Members are responsible for ensuring that their commitment to the objectives of theRSPO is underpinned by adequate resources within its organisation.

3.4 Relevant personnel within member organisations will be provided appropriate infor-mation that will enable them to work towards the objectives of the RSPO in their work.

3.5 Members will share with other members experience in the design and implementa-tion of activities to support sustainable palm oil.

3.6 Members to whom the P&C do not directly apply will actively seek to promote sus-tainable palm oil and will give support to those members engaged in implementing theRSPO P&C.

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4. Pricing and incentives

4.1 Members procuring palm oil will integrate implementation and independentverification of the P&C as a positive performance measure when assessing supplierperformance.

4.2 Members will adhere strictly to the RSPO anti-trust guidelines, and refrain fromany behaviour which can be construed as anti-competitive practice.

5. Breaches of this Code

5.1 Members will seek to resolve grievances directly with other member organisa-tions in a timely fashion, and will not make unsubstantiated allegations of breachesagainst other members.

5.2 Breaches of this Code, or the by-laws and statutes of the RSPO may lead toexclusion from the organisation.

5.3 Prior to taking public action in cases of unresolved allegations of breaches ofthis Code, members will report breaches to the Executive Board, which will deal withthe alleged breaches in accordance with the RSPO Grievance Procedure.

5.4 Executive Board Members who are found, after due inquiry, to have breachedthe Code, will be replaced.

Note: We have made every effort to ensure that the translations of this Code ofConduct are as complete and accurate as possible. However, please note that it isthe English language documents which should be treated as the official versions.

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Annex 4. Facts

"A country could cut its forests and deplete its fisheries, and this would show only asa positive gain to GDP, despite the loss of capital assets. If the full economic valueof ecosystems were taken into account in decision-making, their degradation couldbe significantly slowed down or even reversed."http://www.greenfacts.org/ecosystems/ - Point 3.2

"Levels of poverty remain high, and over one billion people have an income of lessthan $1 per day. Most of these people are very dependent on ecosystems, becausethey support themselves mainly through agriculture, grazing and hunting. Theregions facing the greatest developmental challenges tend to be those having thegreatest ecosystem-related problems."http://www.greenfacts.org/ecosystems/ - Point 3.3

"Changes in policy can decrease many of the negative consequences of growingpressures on ecosystems. However, the actions needed for this are much largerthan those currently taken. Most ecosystem services have already suffered, but thedamage would have been even greater without the conservation actions taken sofar."http://www.greenfacts.org/ecosystems/ - Point 8.1

"Environmental sustainability is the foundation on which strategies for achieving allthe other MDGs must be built, because environmental degradation is causally linkedto problems of poverty, hunger, gender inequality and health."

UN Millennium Project, 2005http://www.undp.org/pei/pdfs/SustainingEnvironmentFightPoverty.pdf

"The loss of services derived from ecosystems is a significant barrier to the achieve-ment of the MDGs."Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005http://www.undp.org/pei/pdfs/SustainingEnvironmentFightPoverty.pdf

In 1990, more than 1.2 billion people - 28 per cent of the developing world's popula-tion - lived in extreme poverty. By 2002, the proportion decreased to 19 per cent.United Nations, The MDG Report 2006, p. 4http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2006/MDGReport2006.pdf

Deforestation, primarily the conversion of forests to agricultural land, continues atan alarmingly high rate - about 13 million hectares per year. The current net loss isequivalent to about 200 square kilometres per day.United Nations, The MDG Report 2006, p. 16 & 17http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2006/MDGReport2006.pdf

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The World Conservation Union (IUCN)Asia Regional Office

63, Sukhumvit Soi 39

Wattana, 10110 Bangkok

Thailand

Phone: +662 662 4049

Fax: +662 662 4388

E-mail: [email protected]

www.iucn.org

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