Forest resources conflicts in West Java and West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

The role of forests as a basis of human livelihood has occurred for a long time since the world’s early agricultural history. Throughout history, it has shown that the people’s living strategy has different patterns, influenced by culture and social changes. However, changes had to be carried out to respond to conflicts that occur due to the entry of state policy on the management of forest areas. By taking the exemplary case of conflicts in two locations, namely Mount Halimun Salak National Park (T.N.G.H.S.) located in the Bogor Regency, Sukabumi Regency and Lebak Regency, West Java and Banten Provinces, and Sungai Utik Forest, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan Province, through constructivist research methods and qualitative approach, the author can say that these forest resource conflicts always occur involving multiple parties with multiple interests. At least in the case of T.N.G.H.S. there are two parties in conflict, namely the State and the indigenous people of Kasepuhan, whereas in the case of Sungai Utik, it involves many parties, namely the State (Central Government), the State (Local Government), businessmen who are affiliated with the Central Government and businessmen who are affiliated with the Local Government and the indigenous people of Dayak Iban in Sungai Utik. Conflicts at T.N.G.H.S. occur because the state issued a policy on the expansion of the national park, while conflicts at Sungai Utik Forest occur because the state (Central Government) issued the Business License for Timber Management (I.U.P.H.H.K.) policy for businessmen, and the Local Government also issued the Business Licence for Plantation (I.U.P.) policy in the same region. Based on the phenomenon of conflicts in T.N.G.H.S. and Sungai Utik Forest, it can be said that conflicts of forest resources are conflicts of meaning, conflicts of tenur, conflicts of authority and conflicts of livelihood. Foucault's theory was used to see the conflict of meaning. The meaning is affected by the knowledge of the actor. This knowledge empowers the actors to claim the area as their property and gives them the power to control and to manage the forest resources. To analyze conflicts of tenur, conflicts of authority and conflicts of livelihood, the Dahrendorf conflict theory was used. Through the analysis of the Dahrendorf conflict theory, it can be said that the sharper the conflict of forest resources, the more visible the presence of the subordinated party and the other party that becomes the super ordinate. The indigenous people are the subordinated party, whereas the state is the super ordinate party. The more subordinated the people, the less the authority they have, and the more difficult the indigenous people obtain their interest on the right of access to forest management; thus the more resilient the people become in finding various supports for conflict resolution. Based on the phenomena found on location, conflicts of forest resources in the Kasepuhan community and the Dayak Iban community of Sungai Utik gave birth to a new theory, namely “the theory of social resilience in the fight over forest resources”. The resilience is understood as a struggle for survival. Each community has a different level of resilience. Communities with high resilience enable the resolution of conflicts by way of dialogue.