Hayashi Y. & Tokoyoda M. Forest conservation by utilization of local resources

HAYASHI Yukihiro & TOKOYODA Masaki

1. Influence of landuse (

Tumpangsari

) in forest on rural life and environment 1.1. Introduction

In Indonesia, a farming system (Tumpangsari; in Indonesian) of growing crops in the reforestation area has spread. The reforestation in the mountain of the Bandung basin in western Java, is not an exception, either. Generally, the landless farmers become a sharecropper or performs Tumpangsari in the reforestation area. People who live near the reforestation area use the trees of a forest as firewood (Hayashi and Ochiai, 2004). Moreover, a tree has been cut if trees become the obstacle of crop cultivation like shading. Therefore, the trees in the forest which is performing Tumpangsari has decreased in number gradually, and caused soil erosion and drain of water resources. In order to secure the food production and drinking water which were stabilized over the future, healthy water environment, conservation of a water cycle system and the consideration about management are required Especially in Java where land is reduced to poverty for the increase in population, almost all natural forests are already replaced with a secondary forest or the reforestation. In many cases, the trees of the forest where Tumpangsari is performed decreased in number. Furthermore, rural area in tropics, people depends on the trees of a forest in order to boil well water and springwater and to cook. This means that forests decrease in number further as population increases. The problem is that a forest with conservation of the water environment of watershed and the stable water cycle system loses storage of water, and the function of supply. In this section, Tumpangsari expanded in Java reports the influence which it has on a forest and farm village water environment.

1.2. Outline of study site

Indonesia has about 13,000 islands and a total land area of 1,904,570 km2. The total population is about 206,265,000 (UN, 2004), but the annual population growth rate of population decreased significantly from 2.32 per cent (1971-1980) to 1.60 per cent (1990-2000) (BPS: 1997 and U.N.:2004).

The population is not evenly distributed among islands; the number of people living in Java was 58.95 per cent of the total population in 1998 (BPS: 1999).

The Indonesian climate reflects the country’s position between 6°N and 11°S, approximately centered on the Equator. Heavy rainfall covers most of Indonesia (from November to March), and the climate is dominated by rain-bearing northwest winds. From May to September, the zone of heavy rain covers only northern parts of Indonesia, and the climate is dominated by southeast winds.

inhabitants living at an average density of 900 people /km2, ranging from nearly 40,000 in some parts of Jakarta to virtually zero in some of the remaining wild areas. The extremely high population density in Java is largely a result of historical influences, and the very fertile soil, which lend them to terracing for irrigated rice (Whitten et a1.1996).

The study site, where Bandung (Kabupaten Bandung) in West Java is located, is a plateau and surrounded by mountains. In the plains in the Bandung basin, the mean annual maximum temperature and minimum temperature are below 30° and 20°C, respectively. The mean annual temperature ranges between 22°C and 24°C. The mountainous area has lower temperatures than in the plains, because the gradual decrease in temperature with increasing altitude has been determined to be about 0.6°C/100 m. Above 2,000 m it is regularly less than 10°C at night, and occasionally local frost can interfere with crops (RePPProT, 1991).

Rainfall is generally higher on the side of a mountain facing the prevailing wind than on the surrounding lowlands. The annual rainfall in the Bandung basin, based on the Bandung meteorological station records for 10 years(1986 to1995), is about 1,800 mm in the plains and 4,000 mm in the mountainous area. Thus, climatic fluctuation by landform is tremendously different in each location. This indicates that the agroecological environment, in particular land use under the water environment and the recycling systems, may yield some differences in each location (Whitten et al. 1996).

Therefore, farming systems in the plains of the Bandung basin is dominantly irrigated paddy fields, while mixed farming is found in slope land areas located middle stream of Citarum river, with the uplands mainly terraced rice farming. The high altitude area, where the headwater of the river is located, is dominantly upland crops in the forest (Hayashi and Ochiai, 2004).

A part for the administrative district of the study site is Kabupaten Bandung, Kecamatan Kertasari, Desa Cihawuk, and Kampong Pinggirsari and Ciakar. Cihawuk village (Desa Cihawuk) is located headwater of Citarum river and about 1,600 m above the sea level. Main crops grown in this area is upland crop, not to see paddy rice even on the terrace. Carrot, onion, cabbage, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, maize and other leaf vegetables is planted depend on rainfall. In the area above upland fields tea and quinine estate or reforestation like pine tree and Eucalyptus spp. is found, and some temperate vegetables is grown under the trees; Tumpangsari. These vegetables also have been carried and sold in market of Bandung or Jakarta.

Recently, most of farmers in this area raise some cow to product milk, because the demand for milk is increasing in reflecting a change of their food life style in urban area. The number of cow raised a household is little, at most 5-6 animals and 2-3 animals on the average. Fodder for cow is used crop residue or weeds around the village or in the forest. Cow’s milk is collected by milk tanker in twice a day. Cows usually are raised in cow house, and their dung is directly thrown in the stream, which pour into Citarum River through the branch. This is one of causes that quality of Citarum water is degraded.

Reforestation area is controlled by the Department of Forestry under the State government of West Java. When farmer use the field in the forest, they have to get permission for land use from the Department of Forestry. In most case, it is only an oral promise. It suggests that the authority acquiesce doing it. On the other hand, farmers must not cut any tree in the forest except for rotted or dead wood that can be used for firewood (Hayashi, et al. 1997).

The total area of Cihawuk is 931.38ha. Total population of the village is 4,842 people in 1,244 households, in

The tree planting of 8,000 was performed in 2003. Tree planting currently raised by nursery will be three

Till ten years before, water and drinking water in water way were drawn from the Brasek pond in the

ever in the water way to a illage. It can be surmised that reduction of the trees in the forest and reduction of the amount of pond water

ulating in the Brasek pond, the life of the village became very difficult. People ave to carry drinking water and household use water from long distance springwater at the dry season. mountain side of Mt. Brasek to the village. This pond was a big pond till ten years before. However, since the eroded soil flowed into the pond from field of Tumpangsari on a pond as the number of the trees of a forest decreased, the water depth became shallow gradually. Since the big landslide occurred in 1995, the pond of the water depth was 3m but it became shallower and shallower. The farmers recognize it as it being because the trees in forest have been cut down for Tumpangsari. The area of the present Brasek pond is 2769m2. Now, it is only 1m in depth of the pond and the area of a pond is reduced to the dry season to 1/4 comparing to it of the rainy season

On the other hand, the forestry management association established by each Kampong may achieve reproduction of a forest by financial assistance of the Department of Forestry of State government. However,

ers of the study site have depended for the main livelihood means on umpangsari in the forest area. Don't the means or resources which maintain a livelihood in the village

hat is, e way of the augmentation using the various environmental resources which are in the area concerned as

preserved and its ving is also made. Tumpangsari glue has the possibility of strawberry cultivation as a source of an income

. On farm research for conservation of forest reserves by local resources

evelopment of the technique of reconciling the conservation of forest and rural life called for. While utilizing local resources as one of them, some rural development techniques managed so

ll the elements that include the atmosphere (an air it is a question whether it is useful to it maintaining the livelihood of a land-less farmer. In the study site, the farmers are troubled by the dilemma which lies between the environmental loads for maintaining the environmental conservation and livelihood for their comfortable life. Isn't there actually any means of the solution that reconciles the both?

As stated so far, the land-less farm T

labor, knowledge, wisdom), etc. For example, the environment in tropics can use the temperature environment from the Frigid Zone to the Tropical Zone according to an altitude difference. That is, at the high altitude area in tropics, temperate crops can grow, such as Welsh onion, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, potato, strawberry, etc. and also some temperate fruit trees: there are areas which can grow an apple, pear, peach, grape, etc. There is tropical zone which can utilize low temperature as resources.

The indigenous knowledge and the local technologies are valuable resources as well as the other natural sources like weather, soil and vegetation and so on. It is important to decrease the outflow of rural

tageous environment for food production or a life convertible into more dvantageous environment? How can we contribute to enrich a society that maintains the environment and

materials? Ueda described that stainable development is that a peculiar culture to the region is maintained, and developed. It means that

:

rstanding the problems that the rural area has. . Execution of inventory investigation of rural resources which can be used for.

pe. The local water

seedling production of the fruits and

This rural t research has been carried out since 1998. The purposes are to establish a steady rural fe system by the subsisting farming and energy creation through the effective use of rural resources and

.2. Utilization of forest products and rural resources

a forest. Tumpangsari is one of the ethods using the land of a forest, and the villagers also consider Tumpangsari to be one of gifts from a re

resources which has already did damage to build up a secured rural life. Agricultural development that does not cause the destruction of the environment by the outflow of rural resource is expecting. It is possible in the frame of the rural development.

If it carries out, how is the disadvan a

the resources simultaneously in a rural area? It is rural development to solve the problems of the rural life environments under social and economic environments, and to enrich life. The rural development starts from the understanding of pleasing and suffering of life in any rural area.

Is it possible to achieve the development without depending on external su

people in a region are well-concerned about their local resources, and the resources should be exploited while implementing any regional development project. Therefore, sustainable development is the development which values the regional peculiarities (Ueda: 1998).

The activities performed in this research are as follows

1. Carrying out an agro-ecological survey for unde 2

3. On-farm trials for rural development like a Biogas and strawberry trial. 4. Construction of water supply system from the mountain with the PVC pi

management union took the responsibility of maintenance.

5. Expanding the possibility of the water use, e.g. Drinking purpose, irrigation to the home-gardens, all-season (through the year) production of vegetables for

other trees.

developmen li

management. The study site of this research is the same village as described in section 1.

2

The villagers of Ciakar use various forest-products as a gift from m

forest. The present from a forest is in large numbers in others. For example, there is firewood as fuel, food, medicine, construction material, the food of livestock, accessories, farm machines and implements, a life tool, a fence, etc.

There are more than 100 kinds eaten as vegetables among the food given from a forest. Table 11.2 shows e vegetables from a forest used well. Moreover, the forest-products and directions other than edible are

les from forest (in local name, mainly in Sunda) th

shown in Table 11.3.

Local name (Sunda) Usage

Kiseur firewood, hoe grip, Kayu ruma building material Teklan for soil amelioration

Dadap packing material, feed for livestock, medical use (analgesic for backache), preservative cin

t)

g

ent

Kumisk ornament

Konyal string, fruit, fertilizer, firewood Honge fruit, vegetable

Areuy ornament, medical use (stimulan Benying feed for livestock, firewood Sembun medical use (analgesic) Kopi medical use (antipyretic) Sauhen feed for livestock, ornam Bubukan firewood, fence

2.3. Household energy and utilization from forest

ain fuel. Although kerosene or a liquefied etroleum gas is used as fuel at the relatively rich farmers, there are a few. The farmers who are using the

down the trees, after they dry it, they chop firewood, and they are arrying to the house

As section 1 described, many dairy cows are bred in Desa Cihawuk. Although the excrement of these livestock is precious local resources, those feces and urine hang at a Citarum river, without being used as farmyard manure or compost. In this on-farm trial, it used as fuel which replaces this livestock excrement with firewood, and it was carried out in order to prove the effect which it brings to forest conservation. In order that a villager might enable it to make biogas plant himself, small scale plant as cheap as possible and simple was made

Furthermore, the fertilizer effect that the biogas residue after fermenting gave to strawberry cultivation was examined. Consequently, the biogas residue had effect about the same as a chemical fertilizer. It turned out that biogas can contribute also to agricultural production only as an alternative energy source.

From these results, the spread of biogas not only brings big effect as energy replaced with firewood, but can be expected to forest conservation to enable the increase in food production.

Strawberry cultivation instead of Tumpangsari crops

A strawberry carries out good growth under cool climate. In the mountains near Bandung basin, there was already a farmer who has succeeded in cultivation of a strawberry using the low-temperature environment. He is Mr. Opan. He devised the method (Bekong cultivation) of growing a strawberry with soil put in the used manure bag. If this method is used, production of a strawberry can be performed even if it does not have large land. Since Desa Cihawuk is also under cool environment, it is considered that Bekong cultivation of a strawberry can be introduced. Bekong cultivation was carried out as on-farm trial whether it is effective as the method of substituting Tumpangsari for land-less farmers. The on-farm trial was started in August, 2002.

The experiment was prepared the 3 plots of control, plastic mulch, and Bekong. After local compost and a little chemical fertilizer were applied, the strawberry seedlings of 33 were planted in each plot. The farmer who manages the experiment watered to strawberry plot in the every morning and evening. When the runner from the grown-up strawberry was expanded, the farmer cut and transplanted it to other place, and the number of individuals was made to increase. The farmer counted the number of individuals of a strawberry and the number of fruits which increased.

Results of strawberry trial

As a result of the trial, six months after starting an experiment, the big difference was observed at among experiment plots by the number of individuals of the strawberry which increased (Table 11.5). It is the Bekong plot which the number of individuals of a strawberry was increasing most. Subsequently, it decreased in order of the mulch plot and the control plot. Especially, the number of individuals was decreasing in the control plot. The soils disperse by rain and this is considered to have withered and died, since the leaf of a strawberry was covered with the soil. Therefore, the farmer who manages the trial stopped strawberry cultivation in a control plot. The mulch plot had less generating of a runner than the Bekong plot.

The one trial is independence management of the water resources introduced in section 1, and is biogas and strawberry cultivation. These are the examples which showed how local resources would be used in order to lead a rich life. As this section has described, local resources are used efficiently and I believe that building the system which is not made drained will protect a life of a farmer, and it will conserve a forest.

Acknowledgement

The authors express cordial gratitude to Mr. Heru Bagus Pulunggono and Dr. Supiandi Sabiham of the Bogor Agricultural University, to their kind cooperation in the research. We appreciate the contributions of Mr. Sony Tatar, STIBA-School of foreign languages, who assisted us as interpreter during all the trips for field survey. Hearty thanks are given to many people of Cihawuk village who provide us with various support. Many thanks are due to the students of Laboratory of Ecology for International Environmental Conservation, Nihon University, to their assistance in the field survey.

References

BPS, Buro Pusat Statistic Indonesia. 1997. Statistical yearbook of Indonesia 1996. pp589. BPS. Jakarta BPS, Buro Pusat Statistik. 1997. Indonesia Dalam Angka-Indonesia in figures- pp26 BPS Jakarta

Hayashi Y, Ochiai A, and Tamyid S. 1997 Formation and functions of Pekarangan (Homegarden). RRIAP CIRCULAR No.3 34-43.

Hayashi Y. and A.Ochiai. 2004. Changes in Farming Systems and Pekarangan Home Garden in the Citarum River Basin, West Java. J. ISSAAS. Vol. 10,

As section 1 described, many dairy cows are bred in Desa Cihawuk. Although the excrement of these livestock is precious local resources, those feces and urine hang at a Citarum river, without being used as farmyard manure or compost. In this on-farm trial, it used as fuel which replaces this livestock excrement with firewood, and it was carried out in order to prove the effect which it brings to forest conservation. In order that a villager might enable it to make biogas plant himself, small scale plant as cheap as possible and simple was made

Furthermore, the fertilizer effect that the biogas residue after fermenting gave to strawberry cultivation was examined. Consequently, the biogas residue had effect about the same as a chemical fertilizer. It turned out that biogas can contribute also to agricultural production only as an alternative energy source.

From these results, the spread of biogas not only brings big effect as energy replaced with firewood, but can be expected to forest conservation to enable the increase in food production.

Strawberry cultivation instead of Tumpangsari crops

A strawberry carries out good growth under cool climate. In the mountains near Bandung basin, there was already a farmer who has succeeded in cultivation of a strawberry using the low-temperature environment. He is Mr. Opan. He devised the method (Bekong cultivation) of growing a strawberry with soil put in the used manure bag. If this method is used, production of a strawberry can be performed even if it does not have large land. Since Desa Cihawuk is also under cool environment, it is considered that Bekong cultivation of a strawberry can be introduced. Bekong cultivation was carried out as on-farm trial whether it is effective as the method of substituting Tumpangsari for land-less farmers. The on-farm trial was started in August, 2002.

The experiment was prepared the 3 plots of control, plastic mulch, and Bekong. After local compost and a little chemical fertilizer were applied, the strawberry seedlings of 33 were planted in each plot. The farmer who manages the experiment watered to strawberry plot in the every morning and evening. When the runner from the grown-up strawberry was expanded, the farmer cut and transplanted it to other place, and the number of individuals was made to increase. The farmer counted the number of individuals of a strawberry and the number of fruits which increased.

Results of strawberry trial

As a result of the trial, six months after starting an experiment, the big difference was observed at among experiment plots by the number of individuals of the strawberry which increased (Table 11.5). It is the Bekong plot which the number of individuals of a strawberry was increasing most. Subsequently, it decreased in order of the mulch plot and the control plot. Especially, the number of individuals was decreasing in the control plot. The soils disperse by rain and this is considered to have withered and died, since the leaf of a strawberry was covered with the soil. Therefore, the farmer who manages the trial stopped strawberry cultivation in a control plot. The mulch plot had less generating of a runner than the Bekong plot.

The one trial is independence management of the water resources introduced in section 1, and is biogas and strawberry cultivation. These are the examples which showed how local resources would be used in order to lead a rich life. As this section has described, local resources are used efficiently and I believe that building the system which is not made drained will protect a life of a farmer, and it will conserve a forest.

Acknowledgement

The authors express cordial gratitude to Mr. Heru Bagus Pulunggono and Dr. Supiandi Sabiham of the Bogor Agricultural University, to their kind cooperation in the research. We appreciate the contributions of Mr. Sony Tatar, STIBA-School of foreign languages, who assisted us as interpreter during all the trips for field survey. Hearty thanks are given to many people of Cihawuk village who provide us with various support. Many thanks are due to the students of Laboratory of Ecology for International Environmental Conservation, Nihon University, to their assistance in the field survey.

References

BPS, Buro Pusat Statistic Indonesia. 1997. Statistical yearbook of Indonesia 1996. pp589. BPS. Jakarta BPS, Buro Pusat Statistik. 1997. Indonesia Dalam Angka-Indonesia in figures- pp26 BPS Jakarta

Hayashi Y, Ochiai A, and Tamyid S. 1997 Formation and functions of Pekarangan (Homegarden). RRIAP CIRCULAR No.3 34-43.

Hayashi Y. and A.Ochiai. 2004. Changes in Farming Systems and Pekarangan Home Garden in the Citarum River Basin, West Java. J. ISSAAS. Vol. 10,