Basics of agroforestry, good practices in community-based forest management and threats to the system in West Kalimantan context
by Kristianus Atok
Abstract
Agroforestry is a sytem of intentional planting of trees among agricultural crops in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways. In a simple definition, agroforestry is planting trees in a agricultural system. Within the context of West Kalimantan, agroforestry is a form of Dayak local knowledge in community-based forest management. For the Dayaks, forests are the blood of life that connects the past, the present and the future. Clearing a forest is like entering a new world. To do this one needs special knowledge and the comprehension of the ”other world”, and other kind of preparation. One a person or a group of people decide to enter the forest, they should first ask permission to the forest ”ruler”. The Dayaks consider their natural environment sacred. They believe they have to share the forest with other spiritual beings. That is why they make ritual of nyangahatn to ask permission to the spiritual beings living in the forests as a first step before they clear a forest. Ladakng (rice field) – kabon (garden) – kompokng/panamukng/timawakng (types of agroforests) constitute a cycle in agroforestry. When we understand this system we will not be trapped into false view that a forest is merely a cluster of trees. A forest is a life of the people living in and around it regardless the fact whether the State recognizes it or not. Good comprehension of the agroforestry system will ease us to help indigenous communities face the growing threats posed by logging concessionaires and oil-palm estates.
1. Introduction
In rice cultivation, we know wet cultivation and dry cultivation. In Indonesia, wet rice field is called sawah while the dry one called ladang. In West Kalimantan, wet rice fields are found in river valleys and along the hollows of hills. Most of the rice field areas in this province have no irrigation system. Dry rice fields are found at the hilly areas and forested lands. Dayak community in the sub-district of Sebangki, for instance, plant hard crops such as rubber trees and fruit trees on their rice fields after the harvest. When planted with hard crops, the area is not called ladang (dry rice field) anymore, but kabon (garden). When the fruit trees become productive and even reach ”old age” the garden is then called kompokng atau panamukng. When such area happens to be a former settlement or old village, the area is called timawakng. So ladang-kabon-kompokng/timawakng can be considered as agroforestry model of West Kalimantan.
1.1. Dry Cultivation
The Dayaks in most parts of Landak District and surrounding areas call an area with trees and other growth that grow naturally udas. Udas means natural forest. When udas is touched with human intervention (cultivation) it goes into the category of balubutatn. It means that the piece of land is no more a natural phenomenon, but it is already a part of human intervention. How a piece of forested land is engineered (cultivated) will determine the label it will bear. In the context of dry and wet cultivation, balubutatn refers to a piece of land already affected by human cultivation and at once it also refers to the notion of dry cultivation.
Based on the management pattern and the types of plants, the Dayaks (in most parts of Landak district – Dayaks of different linguistic groups in different areas tend to have similar system but they use different terms in accordance with their respective language) categorize lands in the context of dry land cultivation, into balubutatn (rice field area),kabon, and kompokng/panamukng. Specifically, balubutan refers to a piece of land on which dry rice cultivation is done. On this land, however, very often not only rice is grown. People usually plant short-lived crops on the same piece of land. Kebun (kabon) dalam terminologi orang Dayak adalah lahan pertanian yang diatasnya ditanami satu jenis tanaman dominan berupa tanaman perdagangan berusia muda. Sedangkan kabon hampir sepadan dengan istilah Kebun (kabon) campuran,yaitu lahan pertanian yang diatasnya tumbuh beranekaragam jenis tanaman umumnya terdiri dari tanaman keras. Kompokng adalah hamparan kabon berusia tua yang memiliki cirri ekosistem khusus (mirip hutan lebat). Karena tanaman yang tumbuh diatasnya dominan pepohonan dan struktur vegetasinya hampir menyerupai hutan alam,kabon dan kompokg bisa dipadankan dengan istilah wanatani atau agroforest.
Uraian pada bagian-bagian berikut ini akan memberikan gambaran diakronis bagaimana orang Dayak mengelola sumber daya hutan untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya.
Community-Based Forest Management
It is hard to determine since when the Dayaks develop their land-clearing cultivation. However, data exploration in the field as well as secondary sources study show that evolutive and linear pattern of forest resource management pattern is not relevant to the context of the Dayak. Within the Dayak communities forest product collecting activities can proceed simultaneously with other activities such as cultivating rice and managing hardwood cash-crops. Even the forest product collecting activities that they have conducted since many centuries before in fact is not done for merely subsistent purposes as some anthropologists generally think but they do it for more economic purposes.
The tie between the tribal or traditional communities with the capitalistic market economy is actually not an exeption or deviation, rather it is an inevitability in the history of human (Dove 1994:383). Studies in different parts of the world show systemic link of economies of hunting-gathering communities, horticulturalist and communities of other modes of production. As in other different parts in the tropical areas, the forest dwelling communities in Southeast Asia have had historical involvement in the market economy, especially in non-timber forest products (NTFP) (Dove 1994), and the Dayaks in Kalimantan have long been witness of this history.
Forest Product Collecting Activity
Tropical forests as the home of the Dayaks provide various resources to subsist their basic needs. For many centuries they have utilized the forest resources in many ways, one of them is by collecting forest products. They collect forest products for at least two purposes: to subsist thei basic needs and for cash
Other collecting activities for subsistence is done by the women. They collect vegetables, fruits and edible plants. Dayak people in most parts of Landak District term this activity bagago jukut ka abut-abut (ngago angkayu’, ngago ui, naremang, ngago solekng). This activity is done in leizure time
Firewood collecting can be categorized into subsistent activity. This category of activity also include activities of collecting wood for construction, collecting rattan, bamboo and other material plants for domestic use. These activities are done by the men.
Collecting forest products for cash is done by the men. In the past the forest products collected for cash include sugar palm. Palm sugar still constitute a prominent (processed) forest product of the Dayak community in the sub-district of Sebangki up to the present, apart from the palm fiber and its wood.
The palm sugar is produced through processing sugar palm juice. The juice is obtained from sugar palm tapping. Since there are various types and quality of sugar palm trees and due to the undeveloped technique of tapping, the community do not yet produce it in optimal volume.
It should be kept in mind, however, that the cultivation of sugar palm is not a final step of for forest product collecting activity of the Dayak community, nor the activity is the beginning of the swidden cultivation step. Records of the economic activities in the past of this province show that the damar (resin from shorea spp) has already known long before the communities knew how to produce palm sugar. In the old days, the community used damar for lighting their longhouse. They also used to start fire and for filler in boat construction.
To close this section, it is note-worthy that in addition to damar and palm sugar juice collecting activity in the past community members also collected rattan and gaharu (eaglewood). At the time, the four forest products were at good market. The rattan collecting activity was still done up to 10 years ago before the forests were destroyed by logging activity and converted into oil palm estates.
Forest Clearing for Agricultural Lands
It is estimated that the migration of the ancestors of the Dayak communities from the high lands to the lower lands has occured since 3 centuries before. The migration was driven by the need for more lands. If it is true, then, the activity of clearing forests for agricultural lands in the management territory of Dayak communities has been conducted at least since three hundred years ago.
It is easy to imagine that forest clearing activities done by the previous generations of Dayak communities were targeted at creating agricultural fields on which they cultivated subsistent crops such as paddy and various kinds of vegetables. However, I think the opinion that the main purpose of the forest clearing is merely for subsistence, as expressed by Mary & Michon (1987:42) is a debatable one. Dove (1994) is one of the writers who doubts their arguments. In this paper, the arguments pertaining this subject will be discussed in the following section.
Forest clearing tradition of Dayak communities obviously shows that the first cultivation activity done on the newly opened land is growing dry-field paddy and vegetables. However, they are not ”moving” cultivators who open a plot to grow paddy and then leave it fallow for years and open another plot to grow paddy in the following season. Dayak communities clear natural forests (primary or secondary) and cultivate the plots in a long process so that in turn the plots are reprocessed into ”forests” in different pattern. The ”re-processed” forests are the kompokng.
Local Knowledge Pertaining to ”Forest Opening”
For the Dayaks, clearing a forest is like entering a new world. Therefore, one or a family or a group of family need to know some knowledge and need to make preparation before deciding to ”enter the forest”. Their presence in the forest will not be for just a short period, say, one or two seasons as their crops get ready to be harvested. Their presence will be for teens of years and even decades as their plots in turn become kompokng or panamukng . The Dayaks see forest not merely as land with trees and other growth and animals living within; rather they believe that forest is also the home of spiritual beings. Therefore, in addition to knowledge concerning the physical characteristics of forest, Dayak communities take into account belief system and forms of rituals in forest management.
First of all, we will here discuss the knowledge pertaining to physical characteristics of forest. Knowledge on the fertility of forest soil and seasonal cycle are basic for a young Dayak man to open a forest. There are two ways to estimate forest soil to be converted to paddy field, i.e. (a) by examining the colour and the looseness of the; (b) by observing the types of dominant vegetation growing on the plot; (c) by observing the roots of the growth and solidity of wood profiles; and (d) characterizing the topography of the area.
In general it can be said that the black, loose soil (alluvial) is the best soil and suitable for almost all types of crops. Medium quality of fertile soil is characterized with the reddish colour and loose texture and contains a little sand. This type of soil is suitable for almost all types of crops, but the crops growing on this type of soil yield less and live shorter. Infertile soil is characterized by its reddish colour, contains no sand and solid. The following is the table of soil fertility range based on the local knowledge of Dayak communities :
Soil Typology Table
No FERTILE
1 Tanah itapm (black, loose soil)
2 Tanah Kalabu gambur (grey loose soil)
3 Tanah cokalat-kuning (yellowish-brown loose soil)
4 Tanah bapasir (sandy soil)
5 Tanah putih (lime soil)
6 Red, sandy soil
Red, solid soil
NOT FERTILE
Source: Interviews
In addition to colour and looseness of soil, another indication of soil fertility is the types of vegetation growing on it. In general it can be said that a plot of land has fertile soil when the leaves of the vegetation growing on it are deep green in colour. More specific indication of soil fertility is the presence of wild banana trees (called locally as angkulukng kara’), and the presence of climbing plants or liana (ui). Fertile soil is also indicated by the easiness of underbrush to be uprooted; this type of land certainly has loose and damp soil (the soil contains enough water for plants). When the plants growing on the plot have elastic small branches, then it is very sure that the plot has fertile soil.
The Range of Fertility as Indicated by the Presence of Certain Types of Vegetation
FERTILE
Big trees quite far apart one to another, elastic branches, not easy to
Fig trees
Climbing plants (liana)
Trees with thick foliage
Rattan (ui saga)
Green rattan and “bracelet” rattan
Ferns
Dense dwarf trees, trees grow close one to another, unelastic branches, a lot of eyes on the trunks of trees, and wood contains sand
NOT FERTILE
Source: interviews
In the conception of cultivators, the fertile soil is the one found on plains and very light slopes. terdapat pada bidang-bidang yang relatif datar,agak landai dan tidak terjal. If te dominant part of a plot is a slope, then the fertile soil is found on the hill-foot
Another thing one has to know in relation to forest opening is the knowledge in seasonal cycle. Dayak cultivators generally start the forest opening activities in dry season, and start sowing rice seeds in the beginning of wet season. In the knowledge of Dayak communities, days in between June and August are hot ones (dry season). In this period, Dayak communities go into the forests and start clearing activities. There are some activities conducted during this dry season; and this will be discussin in the following section. Concerning the seasonal changes, one important thing that they should know is natural phenomena by which they take as a token of the start of wet season in September—October period.
They call the knowledge of determining the best day to start the sowing activity patahunan. Patahunan is based on star constellations. On this knowledge, the best time to start sowing is when the Orion is seen overhead very early at dawn in early October. To deterimine this some community members should make observations every dawn in early October. According to those who have the knowledge, the starst comprising the Orion will radiate rays wth different. The intensity of star rays is then used to determine what kind of ritual to have in the beginning of sowing season
In their belief system, the Dayaks see that the forest is the home for spiritual beings who control the land. Forest opening is believed as an activity that can annoy the spiritual beings as the human being is changing the territory of the spiritual being. Therefore, steps in forest opening should be started with a commintment between human being and the spiritual beings to coexist in the same territory. For the Dayak communities in Landak district and the surrounding areas, the commitment is expressed in a ritual ngawah. Ngawah can be perceived as a communication and negotiation instrument in reltion to forest opening. (ngaranto).
For the Dayaks forests have different intensity of sacredness. The intensity of forest sacredness depends on the types of the forests and on how familiar is the forest for the community. This will determine the necessity of ”peace-building” between the human being and the forest-controlling spiritual beings throught the ritual called nyangahatn. In opening a primary forest (udas pararoatn ), nyangahatn is a must. Secondary forest (balubutatn) is often seen as a place that is not anymore firmly controlled by spiritual being since the secondary forest indicates that it has received human intervention and in the first step of opening, the same ritual has already been held. However, for those who are not familiar to the place, for example those who come from a far away village to ”borrow” the plot, they have to hold ngawah ritual to ensure the secure feeling in the long process of managing the forest plot.
The spiritual beings in the system of belied of the Dayaks are not always percieved in negative sense, i.e. that they have potentials to annoy human beings. The Dayaks also believe that the spiritual beings can also help the success of the cultivator in their cultivation. The ngawah ritual, for instance, is not meant to drive spiritual beings away from their territories. It is even believed, that the absence of spiritual beings in a place will result in crop failure. This conception is reflected in the practices of seed sowing, tending and harvesting crops among Dayak communities.
Preparing Agricultural Lands
For Dayak cultivators, the primary forest (udas pararoatn ) is the most preferred to convert into agricultural land. They believe that the primary forest has more fertile soil than, for example, secondary one (balubutatn) or young secondary forest (bawas). however, in the 1990s, communities tend to open and cultivate both secondary and young secondary forest. To make the forest into a land ready to cultivate, the Dayak communities should do the following activities: ngawah, ngaranto, nabas, nabankng, ngarangke raba’, nunu, nugal, ngarumput, nyaga padi, bahanyi (conducting opening forest ritual, slashing and cutting wood and undergrowth, drying the wood and branches, burning, sowing, weeding, tending, harvesting). The first five activity steps can take 2 to 3 months since these activities depend much on weather change and the technology used is a modest one. Up to know, to open a forest Dayak cultivators still use axes and machetes.
The first thing to do of the five steps is slashing the undergrowth. This activity is normally done a few days after the ngawah ritual. When the slashed undergrowth get a little dried in a few days, tree felling activity is started. The following is wood and branch cutting activity. Wood and branches are to be cut to ease the burning. It need long days and optimal sun heat to make the cut wood and branches dry enough for the burning. That is why the forest opening depends much on the seasonal cycle. Sometimes, it happens that it rains before the cultivators have time to burn. This will result in the difficulty of land clearing and even it will result in the cancellation of the whole farming activity for the year. If such failed plot of land is let unintervened, the land goes into the category of young secondary forest (bawas manta’) ; when the plot of land is let unitervened for another 5 years, it becomes secondary forest (balubutatn tuha). If the plot is re-cleared and burned, it is called (bauma). The plot that has been burned (ditunu) and cleared (dirantak) becomes a plot of land ready for cultivation. This land is called uma patahunan.
Almost all of the activity steps are done by men. They can work individually or collectively in a system called balale’. but some also hire other men to do the job. The women are involved in the activities on the rice field (balubutatn). Women activities get more intensive as the sowing activity is started through the time when the hut (dango) is built. Tree felling is regarded as men activity due to the physical power input and the risk.
Productive Phases in the Forest-Land
In the Dayak forest management system, a parcel of forested land converted into agricultural land is not left after the subsistent crop is harvested. When the subsistent crop phase ends in a harvest, the land goes into another productive phase. The Dayak communities at least manage in the land in three productive phases: bauma phase, kabon phase and kompokng phase. And this is done simultaneously in tens of years.
3.2.3.1 Bauma Phase
Preparing agricultural lands, which are done through activities of undergrowth clearing, wood cutting and burning activities is usually finished by the coming of raining season. Dayak communities so far learn that the raining seasons come in a period between mid September and early October. The first sowing activitiy is done as soon as the season begins. Dayak communities in Landak District call the lands ready to recieve seeds bauma. Bauma can also mean field. The communities also call the bauma phase, ngudas. When the land to open is a forested land to open for the first time, the activity is called bauma kaudas pararoatn or ngudas; when the forested land to open had been a field before, the land is called bawas.
The wto terms, ngudas and bawas stresss that bauma is an important phase in the whole mangement system. Some elderlies expressed that growing paddy in the first step is not only meant to get rice for food. This is also a symbolic prerequirement to get success in the following steps. The quality of the first rice to harvest beckons the prospect of the following management steps.
The first sowing activity is called nugal. This activity is done by all cultivators simultaneously in October. October is chosen to simplify the calendar.
Sowing is regarded as semi-sacred activity. The ritual of sambayang lubakng tugal reflects the sacredness. One of the rules in the sowing is that the head of the family should do first, followed by the others. The first hole to keep the seed is to be made in the middle of the field. One can make three or seven holes. The first holes are called pamulaan which mean the beginning. The first sowing is symbolically treated as the marriage. The activity should be done in the morning and the field should be clean and clear during the first sowing activity.
The crops to cultivate at bauma phase are food crops: dry-field paddy and vegetables. The communities have some varieties of dry-field paddy like palawakng and some others. It takes 5 to 6 month-time to tend the paddy from the planting to the harvest. Other crops to cultivate after the paddy are tubers, taro and other short-aged crops. But a family normaly chooses one or two types of these crops. The food crop tending is the most time-spending activity. That’s why they build huts near the fields to enable them to stay overnight when necessary. As the paddy begins to bear fruits, they stay in their huts for longer time untill the harvesting activity is finished.
As the harvesting activity ends, the kabon phase can be started. When a family has decided to bakabon gatah (to plant rubber trees on the field) after the paddy harvest, they normally has prepared the rubber seedlings: collect rubber saplings and put them in the wet place near the field to submerge their roots in water. The sapling preparation normally take three months. Since the activity takes time, it is normally started at the same time as forest opening activity. Similar preparation activity is done. When a family, for example, decide to plant black pepper they should have prepared the poles for the peppers to climb.
The food crops (paddy and vegetables) cultivated at the bauma phase is to meet the family need. In the old days, when transport was difficult and the field was far away from the settlement, most of the yield was consumed during their stay in the field-side huts.The harvested rice is stored at the barn (locally called dango). The activity is started with rituals and ceremony called naik dango. Rice is highly respected since it is a supply to sustain life. Recently, as the transportation gets better, there are changes in concern with orientation, types of crops to cultivate, how they use the yields, etc.
The bauma phase lasts only one or two years. In this phase, the crops to cultivate are food crops. When the phase ends, the field enters a new category: kabon. In kabon, the crops are no more food crops, but cash crops
3.2.3.2 Kabon Phase
Kabon for the Dayaks is an agricultural piece of land cultivated with one or two dominant long-aged, cash crops. It seems that they develop kabon for hundreds of years. Kabon is not technically similar to plantation. Technology used in kabon management is a modest one. At present, chemical fertilizers, herbicide and pesticide is used. However, crop management of a kabon is still based on the local knowledge.
In terms of process, kabon is the continuation of dry rice field. Kabon occupies the same space as the field at the bauma phase. But the communities put it in the category of kabon when the new long-aged crops already appear as the dominant vegetation. It even can be said that kabon is the core of the forest opening plan. When a community member is asked, ”what is he opening the forest for?” He will reply, ”Manjawat kabon or ”Bakabona” (I’m going to make a kabon). The most popular cash-crops to cultivate in kabon are rubber and black pepper. The other crops are cacao and tangerine. But very few community members who cultivate these two crops.
Dayak cultivators have cultivated rubber and black pepper since long time ago. It is estimated that the two crops are the first cash-crops adopted by the Dayaks. West Kalimantan has been known as rubber producer since at least one century before.
Managing kabon takes more time and capital than managing dry-field food crops. However, in the context of Dayak communities, this constrain is eased with the local management in which management steps are done in continuity and simultanity. For example, as they tend the rice in the field, they already start planting rubber saplings at the possible space. This is a form of efficiency in time and energy to tend the crops. As they weed the grass at the paddy field, they also clear space for the rubber saplings.
Kabon phase lasts longer than the bauma phase. It takes 7 to 8 years for a rubber tree to be able to tap. Depending on the varieties, the productive age of a rubber tree ranges from 20 to 30 years. Black pepper is to be planted later than the rubber since it require clean field and availability of poles.
Kabon phase will end as the productivity of the crops end. For a kabon with black pepper, it will end in the 6th year. For a kabon with rubber, it will end in 30th year. The end of the kabon phase is the start of the other phase : kompokng phase.
3.2.3.3 Kompokng Phase
As the cultivators think of what crops to cultivate after the end of bauma phase, they do the same as the kabon phase ends. To leave the kabon land without replacing crops means to let the land be a forest. This will bring implication to the ownership claim upon the land and an opportunity to continue the function of the land as resource supply and thus economic reserve. On this reasons the community prepare another phase of management on the land. Thus, the land will enter another phase called kompokng phase.
The Dayaks of Landak District define kompokng a piece of agricultural land on which various perennial crops are cultivated. The perennial crops usually cultivated in a kompokng are durian (Durio zibethinus), lansium (Lansium domesticum), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), petai (Parkia speciosa), jengkol (Pithecelobium jiringa), melinjo (Gnetum gnemon), tupak (Baccaurea dulcis), and kandis (Garcinia dipice). The last two crops are not usually planted. They grow naturally but since their fruit can produce cash, the kompokng owner tend them. Generally in a kompokng fruit trees are dominant in number. Kompokng takes the place of the former kabon.
There is no distinct difference in the physical treats of a kompokng and a kabon. The old-aged trees which becomes productive parts of a kompokng have generally been planted during the land in the kabon phase. In short, the diversity of tree species already reaches its peak at thend of kabon phase. The Dayak communities distinguish kompokng from kabon on which crops are productive and contribute to their economy. So, although at the kabon phase the saplings of fruit trees are already planted, the fact is that it is the rubber (or black pepper) that is productive at the time.
Kabon and kompokng are also distinguished on the way they are managed. It takes more time, labour and capital to manage kabon crops. On the contrary, it can be said that crops of a kompokng do not need special treatment. Therefore, all crops in a kompokng just let grow naturally and are only given a little intervention. When the crops of a kabon need treatment, cultivators built huts there. As the crops of a kabon are no more productive, and the cultivators replace them with perennial crops, they leave their huts to be back home at the village. One only needs to visit his kompokng once at a time just to do light treatment to ensure that the crops grow well.
There is a lapse of 5 to 10 years between the end of a kabon phase, i.e when one leaves his land that are already planted with perennial crops, to the time the crops bear fruit. At this time, the kompokng that he had left 5 – 10 years before (or which he open 15 years before) is visited again regularly. Now the visits are for picking the fruits at the seasons.
At the seasons, the kompokng cultivator can get various produce from the kompokng: petai (Parkia speciosa), jengkol (Pithecelobium jiringa), fruits, vegetables, fire-wood and even timber. Some crops even get to be productive just in a few years. This means that the 5 to 10 year-period of pause, is not really a total pause. At the seasons between some crops produce fruit. It means that since the first opening of the forested land, the land continuously produce income to the cultivator. The fruit trees, as the main component of a kompokng have productive age for 30 to 50 years.
3. Agroforestry System
Agroforestry correlates to land use system on which trees are planted; it is also in associations with crops, livestock feed or pastures. The association is either in dimension of time, such as the tree rotation and other components or in spatial dimension, in which the components grow together on the same piece of land. The system takes into account ecological and economic values in the interaction of trees and other components. Hudges (2000) dan Koppelman dkk.,(1996) define agroforestry as intentional planting of trees among agricultural crops in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways. In a simple definition, agroforestry is planting trees in a agricultural system. Following Reijntjes, (1999) agroforestry is a utilization of perennial trees thoruoughly (wood trees, bushes, palms, bamboos) in a management unit of land as viable crops, pastures and/livestocks, either in a mixed system or at the same time or in a sequence of time.
Based on the structures and function, agroforestry system can be classified as agroecology and adaptation to environment, socio-economic aspects, culutral and customs and the way it is managed. Other classification is based on combination of components such as trees, vegetation, pastures and others (King, 1978; Koppelman et. al., 1996 ) :
- Agrosilviculture : combination of vegetation and trees on intentional management orientated at producing agricultural and forestry products.
- Silvopastoral : combination of pastures, trees in a forestrey management to produce timber and for husbandry
- Agrosilvopastoral : combination of vegetation, pastures, trees in a foreste-land management to produce agro-forestry products and for livestock management.
Other systems are like:
- Silvofisher trees and fish
- Apiculture : trees and bees
- Sericulture : trees and silkworms
Young (1997) and Hudge (2000) classify agroforestry into five models agroforestry application in temperate zone : Alley crooping, silvopasture, riparian forest buffer, windbreaks dan forest farming.
Agroforestry system functions mainly as units of production and conservation. As a production unit it produces food, livestock feed, fuel, rubber, medicines and cash. Conservation functions of agroforestry include: soil improvement, spiritual and socio-cultural value protection. Based on the time suitability, dry field and the more sedented form and intensive green house garden are forms of agroforestry. Agroforestry classification can also be based on the order of the trees planted.
In ecological perspective, the long process of management of dry lands among the Dayak communities as described in the previous sections is actually a change from natural forest to a created forestry. However, the process does not only contain successions in which the opned forest restores itself to its former forms. In this case, human interventions change the natural structure into a new structure that combines ecological phenomenon dan the economic one in a complex unit called kompokng.
Thus kompokng constitute a unique case in a forest management which is implemented based on indigenous forest management system.
TYPES OF AGROFORESTRY IN DIFFERENT PLACES IN WEST KALIMANTAN
There are various types of forest management systems classified as agroforestry among the indigenous communities of Dayak sub-groups in different places in West Kalimantan. A type can have simmilarities and differences to the other. The following are some of them:
1. Pulau (this word can mean island or enclave)
Iban community of Sungai Utik Sub-Village in the District of Kapuas Hulu have an agroforestry system called pulau. Pulau is an enclaved management system unit containing perennial crops with high economic values amidst dry rice fields or secondary forests.
2. Tanah Colap Torutn Pusaka
The literal meaning of Tanah Colap Torutn Pusaka is cool, inherited-bound land. It is a kind of collective protection agroforestry in which the trees are expected to convey cool feeling to the community for generations. The tanah colap torutn pusaka lands are found in the communities of Simpakng Dayak in the Sub-District of Simpang Hulu in the District of Ketapang.
3. Bukit Nang Tingi
Bukit Nang Tingi is a kind of sacred agroforestry. The words are often expressed as an by indigenous priests in rituals. This kind of protected agroforestry is generally located on the peak of high hills and all the trees in it are not allowed to destroy or fell. Community members are not allowed to open a field in this area. In Landak District, this type of agroforestry are found in Bukit Sayu in the sub-district of Sengah Temila and on hills in Binua Kaca’ in the sub-district of Menjaling. One of the reasons why the communities to protect such areas is because they believe the Jubata/Duata (God) dwells on this height. So such areas have high religious values.
4. Kayu nang Ayu’
Kayu nang Ayu’ literally means big tree. But in terms of local agroforestry it means an area with (a) big tree(s) guarded or owned by a spiritual being. Such a place has religious value. Such a place is a sacred place and the community usually build a shrine in such area.
5. Parokng/Dahas/Perio
The three words are of different languages of Dayak linguistic groups but they refer to the same concept. Parokng is a Kanayatn words, while dahas and perio are respectively Jelai and Krio words. The words refer to a temporary settlement outside the village. Villagers stay temporarily in this settlement to tend their livestock. This temporary settlement always move to follow where the location of agricultural field of the season. In Kanayatn villages at present, however, parokng is rare. Parokng tradition seem undergoes change due to the relatively rapid population growth and the change in rice cultivation from dry field to the wet field. But there is a similar thing that the community build in the rubber garden, which is called mako. But mako is a bit different to parokng although it might be the adaptation of parokng of the modern time.
In Jelai and Menyumbung, the villages of Jalai and Krio Dayaks, in the District of Ketapang, the dahas and perio are commonly found. A family can have at least thre dahas and perio.
The parokng/dahas/perio shows that Dayak communities are close to natural forests and the interaction pattern is direct. This also shows that they are not afraid to live solitary far away from the village. The nearest distance of parokng/dahas/perio is 6 kilometers and the fartherst is 20.
6.Kompokng/ panamukng
This type of agroforestry is commonly found in many places. The presence of such agroforestry is indicated by the canopy which is far above the canopy of the surrounding vegetation.
There are various kinds of kompokng and the name is generally based on the prominent tree/crops. If the kelampai trees are prominent, the kompokng is called kompokng kelampai. Hence there are kompokng angkabakng (angkabakng = illipe nut), kompokng duriatn (duriatn = durian), kompokng angkahapm, kompokng nangka (nangka = jack fruit).
Actually kompokng is a very general term. It refers to cluster of big trees. The term kompokng does not relate the location to the historical background as the term tembawang does. So, the term kompokng also includes tembawang. As for tembawang, it refers to an agroforest located on a place which formerly has been a settlement. The area of kompokg ranges from 0.5 hectare to 9 hectares.
Kompokng is maintained by the owner. Some kompokngs belong to family but some others belong to individuals. A head of a family normally owns 2 kompokngs. In a kompokng, the family usually plants valuable trees. Trees that produce good timber are given special attentions. Where there are shrines, graveyards or sacred places, normally kompokngs are also present. Some kompokngs are regarded sacred and people are not allowed to piss, shit and whistle in a kompokng. In a kompokng various kinds of birds and other animals are found. Community members normally know the location of kompokngs in their village territory.
One interesting thing is that anyone can collect the fallen fruit in a kompokng. It shows that Dayak ancestors designed an open system in kompokng management.
7. Gupokng
Gupokng is an agroforest specifically found among the Kualan and Kayu Bunga Dayak communities in Simpang Hulu Sub-District in the District of Ketapang. Gupokng can be classified into:
o Gupokng Bajakng: It is an area of a not very fertile or good soil near the settlement and the community make it a place to dump dung,
o Gupokng Ramu Rumah: an area prepared to get timber for house construction. It is a selected place in which the trees are quite dense and have good quality timber. This agroforest can belong to individual when it is surrounded by cultivated lands;
o Gupokng Buah: an agroforest with various both planted and naturally growing fruit trees;
o Gupokng Pasar (Kuburan): an agroforest near a graveyard;
o Gupokng Timawakng: an agroforest located near a former settlement. The agroforest has formerly been agricultural field which are then planted with trees;
o Gupokng Botuh: an agroforest on a rocky land. The land is not good for agriculture, so it is reserved and not converted to agricultural land;
o Gupokng Ngangkat Inau: an agroforest on which healing ritual usually takes place or a place on which an haunted house is formerly located. The land is haunted that no one is interested to cultivate it;
o Gupokng Onya Kobis: an agroforest located in a place in which someone has once undergone an accident and died. The place is not allowed to be converted into agricultural land;
o Gupokng Gua dan Keramat: a forested place allocated as a shrine;
o Gupokng Berobat: an agroforest allocated as a place for healing ritual because a lot of medicinal herbs grow in it. Such agroforest is usually well cared.
8. Timawakng
Timawakng (or in linguistic variants following the variation of linguistic groups of the Dayaks temawang, temaang, etc.) is a common agroforestry of Dayak communities. The agroforest is formerly a settlement or a house or a hut. The place has been planted with trees and the community leave the settlement or the house or hut owners leave the house or the hut and the place develops into an agroforest called timawakng. Why communities leave their settlements? There are some probable causes:
o Plague. Dayak people believe that plague is a warning from God. An infected village should be quickly abandoned. Almost all of timawakng of a former settlement develop on this background. When a community should leave an infected village they should move across a big river or a high hill. The temawakng of Geruhung in the sub-district of Simpang Hulu was once a village. Because of plague, the villagers moved to Banjor-Karap, then to Bukang Selantak, then to Sekucing Baru. The migration took place in 1940s;
o Fire. In the old days, Dayak communities lived in long houses. As a longhouse was caught in fire, the inhabitants should leave and build a new longhouse. It should be at least 100 meter away.
o External change such as road construction. In the northern part of Kapuas Hulu district, when the government constructed a new road, communities whose longhouses were far away from the road left to build new longhouses at the roadside.
o The building of church-educational center. Around the village of Pendaun in the Sub-district of Simpang Hulu in Ketapang District, small villages used to scatter around. When the Church built a church building and a schooling complex near Pendaun, the communities left their settlements to settle in Pendaun. The agricultural lands they left around their settlement then became tembawang or timawakng.
Now we can see that tembawang or timawakng is an authentic evidence of the presence of human being on the location. The history of a community can be traced from the tembawang. For a community a tembawang or timawakng has the following values:
a) Solidarity value. Due to marriage or migration or other changes, family member move apart. But there is a time when they can get together. In Pendaun, for example, there is a tradition called ngamuah. In this tradition all members of the family tree of the village collect fruit in the same tembawang. The gathering builds solidarity among family members of the big family tree.
b) Economic value. The tembawang serves as a bank of fruit for the indigenous communities. In addition for subsistent use, the fruit and other products of tembawang can be exchanged to cash.
c) Historical value. Tembawang is an evidence of Dayak civilization. This specific history start at the names and traces of existence handed down for generations. Elderlies know well about this. The history of an area can be traced from historical remains and the stories of the local communities.
d) Conservation value. The diversity of cultivated plants in an area suggests an understanding that any plant giving benefit to human being is then cultivated. The simple method of cultivation is actually an effort to sustain the existence of plant beneficial to human beings. This fact is contrary to the statement that forested-land cultivators destroy the genetic diversity.
4. GOOD PRACTICES IN COMMUNITY-BASED AGROFORESTRY IN WEST KALIMANTAN
4.1. Rubber Garden (Kabon Gatah)
Bried History of Rubber Garden of Binua Simpakng (in the Sub-district of Simpang Hulu in the District of Ketapang)
According to Molatnth (80 years old), since 1910 rubber has been cultivated in Sunghai Kuta, a village near the capital town of the Sub-district, Balai Berkuak. The seeds were from Kek Tengker, a brother in law of Kek Bamakng. The two old men worked in a timber company in Dalam Pelanjau Panah not very far from the estuary of Kualan river. The timber company belonged to an English man and a German.
While managing the timber companny the European business people brought rubber seeds from Europe (probably the seed was taken from Brazil or other place where the plant was already cultivated and produced fruit. The two old men took 5 rubber seeds each. That is the start of the rubber plants in Sungai Kuta. The rubber was then spread to surrounding villages.
Besides, there were some rubber seedlings originated from Simpang Dua. But the seeds were from Sukadana. The seends were also planted in Tempurau, Langkar. Now, Kek Molatnth has 6 ruber gardens, each containing 300 rubber trees at productive age. Out of all lands he owns, only 10% is planted with rubber trees. Ninety percent others are wet and dry lands prepared for next paddy fields.
According to Poyot, rubber trees came from Kek Tengker and Kek Grubak in Tempurau. The seeds originated from Simpang Dua. The seeds were packed in cases. Each case containde 1000 seeds and each case cost 1 ringgit. In Pendaun, the man to first plant rubber was Kek ’Tigas and Ke Reben. The seeds originated from Simpang Dua.
Rubber everyday tapping produces an average of 8 to 15 kilograms. According to Sondam, rubber seeds came from Langkar and taken by Domong Emarang with title of Ria. He bought the seeds in Sukadana. It cost one ringgit for one gantang (1000 seeds). Another planting efforts was done in 1907. It was Dutch colonial time. As the plants reaches the age of 5 years, the Dutch government officers in charge went to the village to give directives to the planters. The colonial government distributed reimbursable coupon for planters as incentive. A coupon is for 15 rupiahs.
4.1.2. The History of Rubber Garden in Kanayatn Dayak Communities
According to Juheri and Sumariono (1997), the rubber (Hevea Braziliensis) planted by the Kanayatn Dayak communities, especially those living in Kuranji Mancal, dates back to the colonial period. In 1930 the Dutch government office in Ngabang ordered to the people in the Landak area to plant rubber and the latex could be sold to the government. This period is called the Coupon period. This only lasted for 12 years since in 1942 the Dutch had to surrender the Borneo to the Japanese. Due to the shortage of seeds, not all of the local people planted the rubber. During the Japanese occupation, rubber was not paid attention to. The communities did not tap rubber and rubber market was also bad. As the Dutch reoccupied Indonesia, the latex went back to the market.
Since then rubber constituted a commodity that gave considerable contribution to reserves of national foreign exchange. For the Dayaks, rubber sustains the family economy in addition to the paddy fields. Rubber provides cash that is used to cover educational costs. Families can send their kids to university on the rubber income. Therefore, the communities in Kuranyi Mancal, Tangkal, Sanyang, Kelawit, Sidas Daya and Rorongan) have no idea to destroy the rubber and replace it with other crops. The sad thing is that the community can never control the price of latex.
4.2. The Palm Sugar of Sebangki and Sengah temila
The communities living near Semahung hill in the Sub-district of Sengah Temila in the Landak District steward the sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) growing on the hill. They tap the palm to produce palm sugar. The sugar they produce is of good quality and in good demand in the market. The sugar palm trees contribute to the conservation of the area. It can grow in a multicultural environment and its roots serve as a check for the rainfall. Almost all parts of sugar palm is usable. The root is for medicine, the fruit is for food, the leaves can be used as local cigarette paper, the juice is for the sugar, the fiber is for roof, etc. However, the local community only make use of naturally growing plants, there is a possibility in the drop of the sugar palm population.
The palm sugar can become medicine for TB, dysentry, hemorroids and others. Palm sugar is also said to be better than cane sugar. It contains calorie, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphor, iron, and water. (Sunanto, . 2000:46)
The advantage of cultivating and producing the sugar from sugar palms can be:
o Substitute the expensive canse sugar
o The trees are versatile. It can supply other commodities that are demanded by the market: the fruit and the fiber
o The undertaking provides jobs for housewives and school dropouts
4.3. Durian Kompokng in Nangka, Menjalin
It is estimated that the durian kompokng in the Village of Nangka dates back to 300 years ago. The agroforest largest in area on Sapatutn hill was formerly the settlement of the Nangka ancestors. They came from Babah Are’. Some 15 family stayed on Babah Are; height in avoidance of the attack made by the people from Banyuke during the head-hunting time. As the head-hunting period ended, the gradually went downhill to settle in a new place calle Tumiang. In Tumiang there were already another 8 families led by Nek Danggol. We can trace this through the fact that now the durian trees in Tumiang are managed by the descendants of the 8 families. From Tumiang they migrated to new forested-land area where they found a lot of nangka or cempedak (a kind of jackfruit) trees.
In this village there are also 5 sacred places believed to protect the whol village. Three out of the 5 sacred places are in within durian gardens. At this sacred places, the community members make rituals to pray for good yield. The sacred places are called Pantulak Nek Donggol, Batu Diri Nek Siru, Bukit Kanyet and Paburungan.
The Kabons of durian in Nangka at present constitute income resource for the community. Durians are at good market so the the kompokng durian are resourceful agroforests the community care well.
THREATS TOWARDS AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM
1. Logging Concession and Oil-Palm Estates
In 1960s timber companies started to exploit Kalimantans forests, the homes of The Dayaks. The companies were a few ones granted monopolistic concessions called Hak Pengusahaan Hutan – HPH (Logging Concession). These logging concessionaires operated incessantly fron the 1960s to the 2000s. In early 2000s the government made a policy in which a district head or a mayor could grant 100-hectare-concessions to cooperatives. However, the policy that was nown as Hak Pengusahaan Hutan 100 Hektar (HPH 100 Ha) was actually to cover the logging concessionaires whose concession already expired in 1999. With the expiration of logging concessions and the thinning of the forests, timber companies began to exploit community forests. The companies encouraged local traders to persuade communities to sell the good wood trees of the timawakng and kompokng to them. As a result thousands of illipe nut trees (tengkawang) are gone. Now only a few village that can withstand the temptation to fell the trees at their timawakng and kompokng for exchange of cash with the traders.
In 1980s a State-owned company called Perusahaan Negara Perkebunan ( PNP ) VII which was then renamed as Perusahaan Terbatas Perkebunan Negara (PTPN) XIII established a 14,000 Hectare-oil-palm estates in the Sub-district of Ngabang in the (formerly) district of Pontianak (now carved out to be Landak district). The area allocated for the estates was then expanded following the enactment of regional regulation in prioritizing plantation. The land use plans and spatial arrangement of the province also supported the establishment of the estates. The spatial arrangement document states that 5, 257, 700 hectares of land will be allocated for plantation. Up to December 2000 land use realization for plantation reached 3, 560, 251 Hectares ( 68 % out of 5.2 millions hectares reserved for plantation). The provincial policy was made to find substituion of dropping timber export in 1990s.
Table 1
Oil-Palm Estate Companies Operating in the District of Landak up to 1998.
2. NNNN
3. NNNMMM
Source: Provincial Plantation Services, 1998.
Following the data from Plantation Services of West Kalimantan Province, 1998, up to the year 1998 there were 17 oil-palm companies operating in the Landak district (see Table 1). There were some companies that abandoned their location such as PT Mukti Swadaya Lestari (PT MSL) that left barren land without oil-palms. Other companies that did the same were PT. Kembayan Subur Agro ( PT.KSA ) and PT. Pan Agro Subur ( PT. PAS ).
In August 1997, hundreds of Keranji Birah of Sengah Temila District villagers took to the basecamp of PT Agro Mask to protest the company’s clearing their 300 hectare-ancestral land without their consent. In May 1999, thousands of Pak Upat villagers did the similar protest. At last the company was imposed with customary sanction and stopped its operation.
Following the Spatial Arrangement of Landak District of 2001-2010, 733,841,18 Ha or 74,06 % of the district total area is allocated for cultivation. The details are : 533,216,38 Ha or 53,81 % for Dry Land Agriculture, 125,304,02 Ha or 12,65 % for Common Production Forest, 26,308,72 Ha or 2,66 % for Conversion Production Forest, 22,309,43 Ha or 1,75 % for Limited Production Forest, 17,309,43 Ha or 1,75 % for Industrial Plantation (for Pulp Industry), 3,683,52 Ha or 0,57 % for City expansion , and 3,467,15 Ha or 0,35 % Wet Agricultural Land.
The priority to establish oil-palm estates cannot be separated from the phenomenon that global capitalism began to apply in local level. Geographically, Landak district is on the international line connecting Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Kuching (Sarawak, Malaysia). Investors started to invest in this district and this is welcome by the district government since the investment is believed to boost the district income. The circulation of goods and money increase. This situation is contrary to the situation of the local communities who mostly live in remote, unaccessible locations in which goods and money circulation is weak.
In mid 2004 some oil-palm companies’ concessions began to expire. Their production dropped due to unrestored, old oil palms. There are no more lands for expansion. To face the problems, some companies recruited Dayak informal leaders to be leaders in the company’s management. Other companies help setting up new oil-palm estate companies led by Dayak leading figures. These new companies were backed up in capital by old big companies. A new concept, called Kebun Sawit Keluarga (Family’s Oil-Palm Plantation) was created. To support the success of the program, the company leaders together with officials, politicians and Dayak business people set up an organization called Konsorsium Urakng Diri’—KUD (Consortium of Local Fellows). This consortium was then assigned to persuade people to plant oil-palms. The communities split into two: the pros and the antis. This split almost inflicted open violent conflict in some villages.
In response to this situation some Dayak young people of various organization protested the method of plantation expansion. Since then the concept of Family’s Oil-Palm Plantation disappeared.
2. GLOBAL CAPITALISM
It is hard to refute that the strongest force working on this earth is global capitalism. Globalization has accelerated intensively and extensively. It is a homogenezation of thoughts. Gosovic says that globalization is global intellectual hegemony. A few number of elites with resources, unlimited reach and power control the world. It seems that in this plural world thre is no choice. Deregulation, liberalization and privatization are regarded as on fits all. Discourses on even distribution, self-support, land reform, exploitation of nation sovereignty are regarded out of date and irrelevant.
Global capitalism with its philosophy of anti-sustainable development is believed to speed up economic development and alleviate poverty, shows its real character at present. Luxury, amenity, comfort are the ghosts of this age. Noam Chomsky estimates 1% of people with highest income are equal to 60% of people with lowest income or approximately 3 billions of people.Brecher and Smith even point out that the property of 3 richest men in the world exceeds the gross domestic product of 48 poorest countries or one fourth of the total countries in the world. This wide gap is also decorated with ocean of 1 billion unemployed people, while for those who are employed, their wages have never been improved. Even as Susan George puts it, their wages drop.
Karl Polanyi has reminded that if we only rely on market mechanism and believe in the invisible hand, we are only led to near-chaotic situation. It seems that Darwin’s survival of the fittest applies at present.
The wide gaps, destroyed environment, the inundated unemployed people, the blast of poverty are the fruit to bear. Free market requires the lifting of restriction and barriers so that competitions get strict. But this results in forcing weak countries to lower labour wage, loose the tax and neglect conservation. The benefits go to the multi-national corporation while the workers should keep working unles her or his position is replaced by one of the applicants standing in line.
4. Ten Opinions on Horticulturalist (Swidden/Slash and Burn Cultivators) in Indonesia
This section is taken from the writing of Carol J. Prierce Colfer, et. Al, ”Swidden/Slash and Burn Cultivators, Destroyers or Stewards of Forests? I adjust it to the context of West Kalimantan. The opinions are commonly expressed by policy makers, reflecting how they understand and conceptualize the matters.
Opinion # 1
” Forest clearing is done by swidden cultivators who regenerate in very high birth rate”.
Demographic data of Palades Batukng Village shows that the population only grew 2% in 10-year period. It means annual growth rate is 0.2%. The low growth rate is almost common among Dayak villages in West Kalimantan. It is apparent that the above opinion is very refutable.
Opinion # 2
” Cultivators are like nomadic groups who always move from one place to another”.
Some organizations, including my organization, have facilitated community mapping in over 263 kampungs in West Kalimantan with a total coverage area of 1,135,451.89 Hectares or 7.58% of the total provincial area. The community maps show that for dry-land cultivation acttivities take place at a fixed area, only the cultivated plots are managed in a rotation. It should be noted that a family in a kampung has their own areas for dry-land cultivation and they never cultivate other people’s lands. So the opinion saying that dry-land cultivation (berladang) is a moving activity, is not an accurate opinion.
Opinion # 3
” Cultivators (peladang) destroy the land, turn it into a grass-land”.
We studied that among communities of the same group, dry-land cultivation activities differ from one place to another. Places with good forests were the ones without logging concessions. There are several factors that drove communities to apply diversification of their cultivation system, to manage smaller area of land, and to have fewer children. Among others these factors were the less land available in crowded area, opportunity to market access, educational background of the community members, and the awareness of the community members of the importance of natural resource protection.
Pandangan # 4
”Cultivator women are the most harmed group in the community”.
Actually the good position that Dayak women enjoy in the community is a topic already written in many books of anthropology. This good position is also enjoyed by the women of Kanayatn Dayaks. This good position is due among others to the involvement of women in production activity. This is also reflected in the low birth rate. In our opinion, this is one important factor why the population grow is low (a condition required in a sustainable forest management).
Pandangan # 5
”Dry-land cultivation is not an effective land use”.
Dry-land cultivation is commonly conducted in vast areas where land is available abundantly while labour is limited. In such situation, increasing productivity means cultivating more lands, not managing a unit of land in an intensive way. Dry-land cultivation is a multi-crop cultivation. This is one among other things that the academicians of Agricultural Science and practitioners of agriculture in the part of the government do not see. Dry-land cultivators (horticulturalists) return the plot of lands the already use for rice cultivation into forest by planting various kinds of trees and others and use the products in accordance with the development of the trees and other plants. We just realize that the fallow period contributes significantly in returning the soil fertility and water supply and check the grass growth and other crop pests. (See Mackie 1986; Whitmore 1990).
Opinion #6
”In order to use lands productively, we need to change dry-land extensive cultivation to sedented intensive cultivation”.
An important finding in longitudinal study is the risk in pursuing agricultural productivity in such agricultural lands. Stability of various systems that depend on food crops is a questionable thing. The extent of drought is an incessant disturbance to agricultural activities. Dry-land cultivators already develop multi-cultural system that relies on regenerative steps of forests and water resources in increase their system stability through complementing it withe the precarious but important dry-land rice cultivation. These cultivators continuously change and adapt their system as a response to external change, a strong cultural value to cooperate with nature and decrease the risk of crop failure in each family.
Opinion # 7
”Dry-land cultivators are ”primitive” people who challenge current of changes and should be given lessons on civilization ”.
We find a contradictive situation. Dry-land cultivators are easy to adapt and open to changes. They adapt to new crops as to birth control, currency system, hullers, chainsaws, outboard motors and carts. They have broad knowledge of tropical forests around them and this knowledge can be used in further scientific studies (See : Clay 1988, Colfer 1988, Leaman 1991, Werner 1991, for similar findings). Egalitarian distribution of resource access and produce is a humanitarian side of the civilization of Kanayatn Dayaks.
Opinion # 8
”Logging activities and 1993 forest fires affect negatively in agricultural production in East Kalimantan”.
The complexity of the causes and effects does not enable a good explanation here. Yet, based on the data we have, the logging and forest fire do not give long term effect to rice production in Sebangki. The fact is that rice production can be higher on the newly-cleared and burned forest area. The worst effect of the logging and burning is on the biodiversity.
Opinion # 9
” Land originated from the opened jungle is the best land for agriculture”.
We find that the land originated from the secondary forests even give better yield than the one originated from other kind of forests (jungle, young secondary forest and former dry rice field of the previous year). This finding is even on the contrary of the local knowledge of the Dayak communites. We also find that the cultivators from other islands believe that they get benefit from transmigration program, but the local cultivators involved in the transmigrant program think they do not get any benefit from the transmigration program. They also have more children and open more forests than they do in their origin place every year.
Opinion # 10
” Transmigration program boosts the standard of the community and transfer good agricultural strategy from Java island to local communities and thus spread the fruit of development for communities in the ”outer” islands”.
Transmigrants (from the island of Java) do not teach their agricultural methods to local people. Instead they adopt the dry-land cultivation methods as the only survival option. The coming of thousands of people who bring agricultural methods to areas that do not fit sedented cultivation (agriculture) does more harm than advantage to local communities and the transmigrating communities as well. The above opinion might fit other places, but not to West Kalimantan context. This opinion should not be taken as a generalization. Policies should not be made on such generalized opinions. There should be good analises on the local situation before making a policy.
REFERENCE:
Alqadrie, Syarif Ibrahim,1994, ” Mesianis Dalam Masyarakat Dayak di Kalimantan Barat “ dalam: Paulus Florus, Stefanus Djuweng, John Bamba ( Editor ), Kebudyaan Dayak : Aktualisasi dan Transformasi, Jakarta, PT. Grasindo.
-----------------------------,,1993 Budaya dan Tradisi Kalimantan Barat,Makalah Cemamah disampaikan kepada Pejabat Teras Polda Kalbar dalam Rangka pelantikan Perwira Polri di Lingkungan Polda Kalbar,Pontianak.
Atok, Kristianus, 2000, Pertanian asli berbasis Komunitas di Kalimantan Barat.Belum publikasi, Pontianak.
Atok, Kristianus, 2005, Pemetaan Partisipatif, sejarah, perkembangan dan permasalahannya, Belum publikasi Yayasan Pangingu Binua, Pontianak
Atok, Kristianus, 2005, Interaksi orang Dayak dan orang Madura di Kecamatan Sebangki, Draft tesis S2, Belum publikasi , Pontianak
Arkanudin, 2005, Disertasi, Perubahan Sosial Masyarakat Peladang Berpindah, Program Pasca sarjana universitas Padjajaran, Bandung.
Carol J. Prierce Colfer, dkk,1998, Peladang berpindah di Indonesia perusak atau pengelola hutan?
Dove, Michael R, 1994, Transition from native forest Rubbers to ‘Hevea brasiliensis’ (Euphorbiaceae) among tribal smallholders in Borneo, Honolulu, East-West Center Reprints Environment Series No.21.
Kessing, Roger M, 1989, Antropologi Budaya Suatu Perspektif Kontemporer, edisi Terjemahan, Erlangga, Jakarta.
Mary, Fabienne, 1987, Agroforest et societes Analyse socio-economique de systemes agroforestiere Indonesiens, Montpelliere; Economie et Sociologie Rurales.
Read More..