Appendix 1: Forest categories and management authorities
Te concept of ‘forest’ has multiple meanings and definitions, and there is considerable confusion where ecological, institutional and legal ownership issues interact at national scale, with further confusion added by interna- tional forest definitions in the context of climate policies that lack opera- tional clarity (van Noordwijk and Minang 2009). An ecological perspective on forests understood as ‘woody vegetation’ and the ecosystem services it provides, does not match with the institutional perspectives on ‘permanent forest estate’, and both apply to a considerable range of legal ownership per- spectives. While international forest definitions refer to a minimum area, a minimum (potential) crown cover and a minimum (potential) tree height and do not exclude plantation forestry or tree crop plantations from the for- est concept, the Indonesian forestry law of 1999, refers to forests primarily as the provider of functions. Forest essentially is to be understood as a land use designation (‘National Forest Estate’ or “Kawasan Hutan”), differenti- ated in the 1999 Forestry Law from land ownership. Only a small part (less than 20%) of the ‘kawasan hutan’ area has fulfilled the legal requirements for uncontested ownership by the State. Areas with high natural forest carbon stocks, orangutan populations and deep peat soils, such as remain in Tripa, are considered outside of this ‘National Forest Estate’ as concession rights for conversion to oil palm have been granted and the land belongs to the ‘other land uses’ category. Between 1990 and 2005 the CO2
emissions from
decrease in woody vegetation have been as large outside as inside the ‘ka- wasan hutan’ and lands outside the kawasan could maintain the current high forest-related emission rates from Indonesia as a whole for nearly 7 years before they would be fully depleted (Ekadinata et al. 2010).
Within the permanent forest estate, four functional categories are: Conservation Areas (Kawasan Konservasi), or “Protected Areas”, that are strictly protected. Tey include National Parks (Taman Nasional), Strict Na- ture Reserves (Cagar Alam), Wildlife Reserves/Refuges (Suaka Margasat- wa), Hunting Parks (Taman Buru), and Forest Parks (Taman Hutan Raya). Te Forest Parks are managed by Provincial or District Forestry Offices, all
other by the National Government (in this case the Directorate-General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Forestry), Watershed Protection Forests (Hutan Lindung), where use for ‘provisioning services’ is limited to collection of non-timber forest products such as honey, fruit, nuts. Tey are managed by the Provincial or District Forestry Offices. Production Forests (Hutan Produksi), that are allocated primarily for timber production. Tere are two categories of production forest: ordinary Produc- tion Forest and Limited Production Forest (Hutan Produksi Terbatas) with stricter guidelines. Logging Concessions (Hak Pengusahaan Hutan) can be issued in Production Forests by the National Government, based on recom- mendations from the Provincial and District Authorities. Natural vegetation on ‘degraded forests’ can be licensed for conversion to plantation forestry within this category.
Conversion Forests (Hutan yang dapat dikonversi) can be converted into non-forest uses, including tree crop plantations, open-field agriculture and human settlement. Once the Minister of Forestry grants approval, other state agencies take control over the licensing.
Perpendicular to these functional categories, is the issue of land owner- ship (including “Hutan Kota” or municipal forests, and “Hutan Milik” or privately owned forests) and ‘co-management’ regime, such as community- based forest management (Hutan Kemasyarakatan or HKM), village forest (Hutan Desa, as HKM this can apply to production or watershed protection forest lands), or Hutan Adat, where indigenous community rights regimes still apply.
Significant orangutan habitat and populations are found across the different forest categories, and effective conflict resolution of issues about legal land status is a prerequisite for effective conservation of remaining populations. Of specific significance in that respect are the Tripa swamp (‘other land use’) and Batang Toru (‘production’ and ‘watershed protection’ forest).