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CHAPTER 3 DIRECT USE VALUE FOR BENUAQ DAYAK RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
3.1 A Brief Description of Indonesia
Indonesia is located in southeastern Asia between longitudes 95
o
and 142
o
east and latitudes 6
o
north and 11
o
south. It is an archipelago that extends 5,000 km along the equator between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and consists of 13,677 islands. The
climate of Indonesia is tropical with warm and humid conditions. Indonesia is the fourth largest populated country in the world with a total
population of 208, 452,952 people. The population growth rate is 1.49 percent Factbook, 2004. Indonesia is characterized by the most ethnically diverse population in
the world, with each segment having its own language and culture.
Source: http:www.odci.govciapublicationsfactbookprintid.html
, downloaded 01172005.
Figure 3.1 Indonesia Map
62 Indonesia is recognized as a major world center for biodiversity due to its wide
range of natural habitat, rich plant and animal resources, and high number of island endemics. Forest products, agriculture, livestock, and fishery combined are the third
largest source of revenue after manufactured products Bappenas and USAID, 1993. As of 2003, Indonesia’s national GDP was U.S. 758.8 billion with a growth rate of 4.1
percents.
3.2 The Benuaq Dayak
The Benuaq Dayak tribe, one of Indonesia’s indigenous people, was used for the research sample. The tribe is located in the northern part of the East Kalimantan
province, on the Kalimantan Island of Indonesia. The Benuaq are a subgroup of the Luangan who belong to the Barito river
language family and hold Hindu Kaharingan as their religion. The Hindu Kaharingan religion practices secondary mortuary rites and shamanism curing rituals Seeland and
Schmithusen, 2002. The Benuaq tribe is stratified based on strata differences and marriage status
Seeland and Schmithusen, 2002. The highest leader in the village is considered the village head. This position is voted on by the village people and assigned officially by the
government. The village leader mainly deals with economic and official activities at the village level. The traditional events of the village people and the official activities related
to the traditional and cultural events are arranged by the adat leader personal observations. The traditional adat law regulates most of the social aspects in the Benuaq
Dayak tribe. A household in the Benuaq Dayak tribe generally consists of a married couple and their children personal observations; Seeland and Schmithusen, 2002.
63 The Benuaq Dayak, in general, has an extensively cultivated, rain-fed agriculture
system, supported by a variety of semi-wild plants from the surrounding forest areas NRMP-USAID, 2000. The households use livestock as their meat and income source,
along with the animals and plants that are collected from the forest areas. The dependency of the tribe on natural resources, including the forest area, has formed special
land use patterns. The land use of the Benuaq Dayak is basically a constant changing of the forest areas to swiddens, then to forest gardens, and then allowing nature to turn the
areas into forest again Seeland and Schmithusen, 2002. In general, there are five different land uses practiced by the Benuaq Dayak: Umaq, Simpukng, Uratn,
KebotnDukuh , and Bengkar.
3.3 Research Overview
Kategori