Awareness of Local People Concerning Forest Conservation

3.6 Awareness of Local People Concerning Forest Conservation

An opinion survey conducted among villages exemplifies a great number of local people’s perception towards law enforcement in GHNP. The ration of positive answer concerning the forest policy of GHNP (from 1.3 to 1.8) was more than eighty percent. This means that almost all of them know that activities such as the cultivation of land, gathering forest products, cutting down timber for any purpose within GHNP are strongly forbidden. Furthermore, eighty two percent of the local people recognize that they will be punished if they do something illegal within GHNP. There were no differences in perception among the three different villages.

On the other hand, only forty one percent of them knew of the existence of the Protection Forest (Hutan Lindung ) which is the antecedent of GHNP. This implies that it is in recent days that the awards of

GHNP have developed and increased surprisingly. Thos who have seen the sign or poles of the boundary of GHNP amounted to only Fifty four percent

(45.8; 76.9 and 37.5 percent for CRS, LJ, and CBD, respectively). A higher ratio in LJ can be attributed to the fact that the legal status of this village is an enclave and they are ordinarily forced to recognize the existence of GHNP nearby. However, it is a serious problem that the existence of the poles is not clear for the local people because this could result in unrestricted poaching and the integrity could eventually

be detracted from. Approximately ninety percent of the local people consider that establishing GHNP is necessary and all

including local people, should conserve the forest resources of GHNP. The opinion of the local people about conservation at the local level generally demonstrates that the local people agree that forest conservation in inevitable so as not detract from the forest. This opinion was the same among the three villages. Especially, they strongly believe that the primary forest needs to be set as a priority over secondary forest. These answers may result from the local people’s different definition of forest from the general one. “Second forest” in local people’s terminology suggests neglected land followed with swidden cultivation or garden which includes low density trees or grasses. Consequently, they comprehend the land for their daily consumption than as being concerned about the integrity of the area.

Although the awareness survey concerning conservation shows that the local people inclusively agree the in-evidence for imperativeness of environmental preservation, most of them disagree with the national park’s policies of prohibiting them from occupying the forest, gathering forest products, gathering timber for household consumption and felling timber for house construction. For example, the local people agree enthusiastically to have the right to occupy the forest especially the secondary forest within GHNP (77 percent of the local people agree to have the right in primary forest and 89 percent in secondary forest). From the three villages 70 percent, 72 percent and 65 percent of the local people agree that to gather forest product in primary forest, gathering timber for household consumption in primary forest and felling down timber for house construction in primary forest should be allowed, respectively. It is natural that the local people agree that they need some utilization of forest (95 percent) considering that they depend on forest inclusively for their daily lives. There is no difference among the

three villages.

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Photo 27. A lot of useful trees are planted on the side of paddy fields.

These contradictory facts can lead to the following two predications. The one is that the local people have only a superficial understanding of forest conservation even though they have already received information about the importance of biodiversity conservation. They only know that the forest policies prohibit any activities within GHNP, but their perception is not enough to understand the true purpose of the law and value of environmental conservation. The second is that they use the forest products and expand their cultivation lands owing to a lack of alternative ways to maintain their lives.

Some 76 % of the local people agreed that they would not encroach any more if given the right to cultivate land in GHNP. There is no difference among the three locations.

More than seventy percent of the people do not want to relocate outside of GHNP (79% percent, 85% percent and 92 percent from Ciptarasa, Leuwijamang, and Cibedug respectively). The result is almost the same even if they are given some compensation. This fact implies that the accomplishment of exclusive injustice of the people is dysfunctional and generates hostility and resentment against government jurisdiction. The unilateral law enforcement eventually jeopardized the relevant park management.

Some 78 percent of people agree that giving the right to utilize the forest of GHNP is the way to conquer the problem. Furthermore, eighty nine percent agree that they should participate in the making of a management plan for GHNP. This opinion suggests that they are keen to be involved in the park management. They also feel that the role of the third party is essential to solve the conflict (eighty eight percent). The differences among three villages are not remarkable.

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Traditional People and Biodiversity

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Furthermore, it is encouraging that all people enthusiastically receive people from outside of this district. Of those interviewed 84% answered that ecotourism can bring benefits. It may be one of the most crucial key point to conquer the problem of GHNP not only within GHNP but also among every related actor concerning GHNP that the local people do not refuse the positive effect from the outside.

It can be concluded that the awareness of local people is regretfully not high to conserve the forest independently because of a lack of information or of the daily needs, as mentioned above. However, it is a fact that more or less almost all people understand forest policies even if they have not yet recognize them in detail. Environmental education is therefore imperative to increase and develop the communities’ awareness toward conservation.

Table 13. Awareness of local people concerning forest conservation Statements

Percentage Ciptarasa Leuwijamang Cibedug Total