Survey report: Natural resource use, environmental management and the minorities in Indonesian islands

Abstract

Since 2010, we are conducting a survey on the living resources and the living culture of the inhabitants of Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. Indonesia is an island nation rich in natural resources and culture. Because Indonesia is a multicultural country with many languages, tribes and ethnic groups, understanding of Indonesia is essential for understanding the minority languages of each region. There are abundant resources such as timber and oil in the Kalimantan region of Indonesia. It has long been used as a colony of western countries, and resource plunder has occurred. In recent years, KORINDO (Korea-Indonesia Joint companies) have been involved in the illegal logging of wood in East Kalimantan, causing social problems. Indonesia is made up of more than 13,000 islands, and Bali and Lombok have a unique ecosystem and culture for each island, and many tourists are looking for it. Especially the Bali, which is a Hindu, is a very important tourist destination to be visited by tourists from all over Asia including Australia and Germany. Recently, however, environmental problems including marine litter have been raised, showing the limit of environmental capacity of Bali. The Indonesian government is, therefore, developing Islamic Lombok Island, as a tourist destination that is a substitute for Bali. Since most Indonesian islanders are engaged in fishing, they have been able to travel between islands and islands for a long time using vessels. To understand marine culture, life history and eco-cultural studies on the major minority tribes of each island are essential. In particular, it is necessary to understand traditional knowledge about how natural resources are used.