Scenario studies of land use in Nunukan, East Kalimantan (Indonesia): Drivers, local livelihoods and globally relevant carbon stocks

Global warming is caused by the rapid increase of green-house-gasses in the atmosphere, especially through carbon dioxideemission from the use of fossil fuels as well as forest and peatland conversion. Net emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere can be reduced through effective protection ofremaining terrestrial C stocks, and by sequestration in regrowing vegetation, where carbon is stored as biomass, necromass or soil organik matter and peat. The global atmospheric circulation system is a 'public good', and global impacts of local carbonemissions or its net storage are the basis of the current discussion on emission control and on the Clean Development Mechanism. Tropical forests are a major store of carbon, which is under threat as the conversion of natural to financial capital is the most rewarding livelihood option, in the form of logging and its subsequent degradation. Externally driven processes to 'cream off' local resources, coupled to a lack of tenure securityfor local people are thought to be the main factors in forest depletion - but legal or illegal logging provides jobs and local employment that is at risk with logging bans (Casson andObidzinski, 2002). Alternative livelihoods that are compatible with protection or enhancing of carbon stocks require a long term vision on, supported by security of access to, the and scape level resources, but they need to be based on sufficiently rewarding (self) employment at any point in time. Carbon extraction is an externality (a consequence not taken into account by the decision makers) of human activities that arepart of livelihood strategies and its consequences can only be sensed at blurred global resolution as a "creeping normalcy"1,resulting in a "consequences amnesia" in society. Thus, when feedback loops are put in place through initiatives to maintain carbon stocks through incentives to people on the ground, it is important that we first understand people's livelihoods, as they reflect their knowledge on survival and their perception about risk and benefit. When existing options are dominated by carbon-harvesting-based livelihoods, efforts are needed to find carbon-saving livelihoods that still benefit local people. The FORMACSProject aimed to achieve both benefits: improving people's well-being while increasing carbon sequestration in an ex-logging area of Nunukan, East Kalimantan, by promoting two main alternatives: Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) and Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture(LEISA), see Chapter 1. 55

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