Institutionalization of corrupt activities among Indonesian rural household farmers in surround marginal teak forest areas

Abstract

Institutionalization of petty corruption among farmer households in the villages around the forest has focused on large and productive state forest areas managed by the State Forest Company (SFC). The activities occurred simultaneously. There is no data to reveal the activities. This research aimed to analyze how the corrupt mechanism transpired. A qualitative method was induced to detail the occasion of petty corruption at the teak stands. In-depth interviews with key informants, participatory observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with local communities demonstrated that marginal teak forests in Java, or at least in Lemah Gurih, are not accidental but seem “intentional” to support illegal logging practices. SFC’s conservatism in setting wood standards oriented to the global market’s needs and not adjusting to the increasing local market demand for teak wood triggered corruption. As a result, local forest officials can trade those wood products as personal income without violating company regulations. Simultaneously, together with the illegal wood collectors (IWCs), they also manipulate the calculation of timber yields to get unilateral benefits. The corrupt behavior is continuously institutionalized over generations by patron-client relationships, and they have become an integral part of the lives of local communities. The recommendation to reduce corrupt behavior is to improve forest management practices, a review of wood harvesting administration, wood quality standards, and changes in social relations between SFC and local communities to be a more formal relationship are critical.