141 Benuag Dayak, private industry and the Indonesian government. The discussion will also
cover the predicted new perceptions of the tribe, the private companies and the government.
6.1.1 Implications for the Benuaq Dayak
Seeland and Schmithusen 2002 said that the scientific knowledge of local communities in developing countries with largely sustainable management practices has a
great ecological and political value for the global environmental protection agenda. Therefore, the need to understand the conceptualization of local resource use and forest
management is critical. Further, Gonner 2002 has shows that the Benuaq Dayak in Kalimantan Island has been using the forest areas for more than 300 years. The long
periods of using the forests have resulted in hundreds of forest gardens consisting of rattan, rubber, and mixed fruits; swidden fields; and fallows. Gonner further shows that
the Benuaq Dayak has cultivated more than 100 locally differentiated rice varieties and150 additional crops. They also extracted at least 500 wild plants and animal species
from the forest. Those facts have proven that the forests have become the reservoir and medium for the tribes to practice and extend subsistence economy, including trade with
various forest products. Seeland and Schmithusen 2002 concluded by stating that studying the local resources over several years reveals the strategic pattern and individual
decision-making rationales. The results are substantial dynamics of frequent switching between different income sources, as well as a significant variation in the number and
kind of swidden fields. The facts described above are not meaningful if not expressed with the economic
value. The Benuaq Dayak total economic value estimation will clearly bring a new
142 perception to the tribe. The research was trying to express the tribe’s perception in
economic terms. The research results have convinced the tribe that their management is not a matter of daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly harvest yields. The Benuaq Dayak
believe that their sustainable management is in line with the cultural, biodiversity sensitivity and the concern over the resources for their future generation. This could all
be calculated into economic terms. Once the Benuaq Dayak’s total economic value is presented to the world, the tribe
will see a different attitude from the outside. Hopefully, the government will give more support and opportunities to the tribe in the local and national development processes.
6.1.2 Implications for Private Companies
