The southwestern part of Sumatra, Indonesia, has been subject to drastic forest cover change. A study committed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, PHKA and EU-ILRC in 2005 showed that 699,000 ha of primary forest in 1972 decreased to nearly half (343,748 ha) in 2002. This study also revealed that 26,161 ha of primary forest inside the Bukit Barisan Selatan (BBS) National Park have been converted to coffee plantations. The agroforestry systems in Southwest Sumatra range from sun and simple shaded coffee gardens to complex systems such as the damar-based agroforest. No recent study has quantified the landcover types outside of the BBS National Park, that have replaced forest cover in the area.Bukit Barisan Selatan (BBS) National Park, the third largest national park in Sumatra is located in the western part of the area, covering a straight line of almost 537 km along the coastline. Parts of the damar agroforests located northwest of the park fall under the Kawasan Dengan Tujuan Istimewa (KDTI) decree. The decree was signed in 1998, and acknowledges the right of damar farmers to use the damar forests located on state forest lands.With this study we aim to provide insight in the effects of the KdTI decree of 1998. To do so, we will identify the land cover changes that occurred in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and KDTI area between 1997 and 2002.
Publication year
2005
Authors
Kusters, K.; Widayati A; Gaveau, D.L.A.; Aslan; Ekadinata, A.
Language
English
Keywords
environment, poverty, property rights, rural communities, services, smallholders, welfare
