Decentralisation of policies affecting forests and estate crops in Kutawaringin Timur district, Central Kalimantan

Abstract

S ince early-2000, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) has conducted research on the decentralisation of forest administration and policies affecting forests in Indonesia. This project has sought to document the real and anticipated impacts of decentralisation on forest management, forest community livelihoods, and economic development at the provincial and district levels. During the initial phase of this research, CIFOR conducted case studies in nine kabupaten or districts, in four provinces: Riau, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. These case studies were carried out in 2000, with follow up visits to some districts conducted in early 2001. As such, the findings presented in the present report and the companion case studies reflect the conditions and processes that existed in the study districts during the initial phase of Indonesia’s decentralisation process. The following reports have been produced by this project. The first of these represents a synthesis of the major findings from the nine case studies, accompanied by a historical analysis of forest administration and forestry sector development in Indonesia, and a discussion of the origins and legal-regulatory basis of the nation’s ongoing decentralisation process. Each of the nine case studies is published as a separate report (with the exception of the study districts in Riau, which have been combined) in order to make the information contained therein more readily accessible to decision-makers involved in the decentralisation process. It is hoped that readers of the case studies will refer to the synthesis report in order to situate the specific case study findings in a broader historical and policy context. During 2002, CIFOR will publish additional case studies from research on decentralisation and forests in West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya. CIFOR also plans to carry out follow-up research at several of the original case study districts, and will publish periodic findings from the sites.