The Forest People of Indonesia

“We used to own this land but now we are excluded,” says Jumi Iyah, a Suku Rimba woman who lives in the village of Simpang Macan in Jambi.

“Please do not move us again. We are happy to be here as long as we are allowed to collect rattan, damar and dragon blood.”

The Orang Rimba, who live in the Jambi forest, make their living by collecting forest products. The forest is of great importance to them, both for sustenance and for spiritual purposes.

However, illegal logging and agricultural expansion have led to widespread forest loss. Conversion of forest land to oil palm plantation is also widespread.

Happy face: A boy swings between palm leaves.Happy face: A boy swings between palm leaves.

These indigenous people have lived in this area for hundreds of years.

“We want our children to have the right to this land’s heritage, just as it was passed on to us by our parents,” says Ruslan, a community leader of Simpang Macan. “We want them to be able to make a competitive living out of the forest.”

Long ago, he realized there was less and less intact forest surrounding his community. His village now is entirely surrounded by oil palm plantations.

Simpang Macan is only 155 kilometers from Jambi city. Yet despite this proximity to a lively commercial center, its inhabitants are struggling to survive. Many village children are illiterate, which greatly limits their career options.

“Here only the kids below 12 years old want to go to school,” explains Sonhaji, a private teacher. “For those who older than that they already become too shy to study.”

Sonhaji is employed by Harapan Rainforest, a conservation organization in the area that is trying to restore the forest and improve its productivity for local people.

Real effort: Songhaji reads to his two students. Every day, he teaches in three villages.Real effort: Songhaji reads to his two students. Every day, he teaches in three villages.

Songhaji races his motorcycle down dirt roads every day to be able to teach all his 22 students, who live in three different villages.

Despite this door-to-door service, it is hard to educate the children. He has few books and despite his obvious enthusiasm, many of his students miss school, as they often have to help their parents harvest jelutung.

Few would dispute that forests are important. According to the World Bank in 2004, forest resources support the livelihoods of 1.2 billion people worldwide. Forests also provide essential ecosystem services and are home to the bulk of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.

Many local communities depend on forests as a source of fuel, food, medicines and shelter. The loss of forests could be disastrous to global efforts to alleviate poverty, and will also constitute an immense loss of irreplaceable biodiversity.

In December this year, people will witness the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen Denmark. At stake is nothing less than the future of the planet.

There is a growing recognition that forest conservation is a vital element in the struggle to control climate change. Forests store vast quantities of carbon but also absorb it from the atmosphere. Losing them is therefore a double loss for climate protection.

In the lead up to the Copenhagen conference, negotiators have begun to pay increasing attention to REDD (reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation) as a new tool to stabilize the climate.

In theory, it provides a mechanism whereby richer countries pay to reduce emissions from deforestation by financially compensating poorer ones.

Most experts now agree that there can be no solution to climate change without forests. The question now is how new REDD schemes can be engineered in order to maximize the benefit to local people, who are in the best position to protect the forests they depend on. But they will want assurances that basic needs, such as the need to combat illiteracy among the “Anak Rimba”, can be delivered if they are to support REDD projects.

The day’s routine: Women of Suku Rimba go to the remaining forest every day to collect vegetables and wood.The day’s routine: Women of Suku Rimba go to the remaining forest every day to collect vegetables and wood.

“Lack of clear rights on forest usage is the main reason why indigenous peoples like the Anak Rimba are questioning their future like this,” says Stibniati Atmadja of the Center for International Forestry Research.

“This lack of clarity cannot be sidestepped for long if countries are serious about adopting REDD schemes that truly benefit the people that depend on forests.”

REDD is not just about climate;

it is about the vulnerable people who will be most affected by climate change.

If it cannot deliver meaningful economic opportunities for forest communities, it will surely fail.
As Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo said last November, “There is no solution to deforestation without the support of forest populations.”

Whatever is agreed in Copenhagen, putting the welfare of the world’s poorest peoples at the
top of the international agenda remains a priority.

— Article by The Jakarta Post
— Photos by Yani Saloh

Posted in: English