Community partnerships for plantation forestry: enhancing rural incomes from forestry in eastern Indonesia and Australia

FST/2003/025: Community partnerships for plantation forestry: enhancing rural incomes from forestry in eastern Indonesia and Australia

Indonesia

Charles Sturt University, Australia

Dr Digby Race
Phone: 02 6051 9940/0419 638 406
Fax: 02 6051 9797
Email: drace@csu.edu.au

• Forest Research and Development Agency, Indonesia
• Centre for International Forestry Research, Indonesia
• CRC Sustainable Production Forestry, Australia
• World Wildlife Fund Indonesia, Indonesia
• Australian National University, Australia

$399,893

01/01/2005 - 31/12/2007

Dr Russell Haines

Timber plantations have been endorsed as a positive mechanism for combining reforestation with sustainable production. The plantation sector is largely commercial, with the bulk of benefits going to the commercial processing companies and other commercial stakeholders. Smallholder farmers are often left out of the flow of benefits.

Sustainability stemming from plantation growth is most effective when benefits flow to forest companies and smallholders. Government also has a part to play in creating the environment in which successful tripartite partnerships can operate, creating sustainability. Cost efficiency and social equity must be balanced, providing opportunities for all stakeholders.

Indonesia's recent experience in this area has been disappointing, unable to reach the targets for timber plantations. This inability to plant the desired area to timber is most common in the country's east. One means of increasing plantings and linking companies to smallholders are forestry out-growers schemes. Companies enter into agreements with smallholders to ensure supply of timber, utilising additional lands they do not control as a source of timber. The key barrier to making this a more viable option is mutual benefit, beginning with effective partnerships that deliver results to both smallholders and companies, rather than mainly to companies at the expense of smallholders, as in many current arrangements.

The objectives are to:
understand the nature and effectiveness of existing forestry partnerships and agreements in Indonesia and Australia, through a scoping review.
assess the strengths and limitations of specific forestry partnerships and agreements in the three case study regions, and provide clear recommendations for improvement of existing partnerships
build capacity in a range of stakeholders to improve existing forestry partnerships and agreements, or initiate preferred partnerships, in the three case study regions
communicate the key research findings to project partners and other relevant stakeholders throughout the 3-year project, so that forestry partnerships achieve the optimum outcomes for smallholders, communities and companies

conducting a scoping review to document the current status of forestry out-grower schemes and timber plantation development in eastern Indonesia and Australia
preparing a checklist/questionnaire to ensure that field staff collect all the critical information on partnership arrangements
a succinct research report for key partners, and
user-friendly summary for wider dissemination to senior and field staff of FORDA and commercial timber companies, and village leaders in the project's target regions.
engage key organisations (e.g. FORDA, District Forestry, WWF and company staff) in targeted case study regions via a collaborative research approach to assess the strengths and limitations of existing partnerships.
analysis of the effectiveness and success of these partnerships,
refining and testing existing partnerships and designing alternatives.
implement specific capacity building activities with community groups, government agencies and timber companies to assist stakeholders to develop mutually beneficial out-grower schemes that support positive plantation development in eastern Indonesia.
specific training of stakeholder groups (e.g. community forest leaders, agency staff, local NGO's) on how to identify & negotiate beneficial partnerships
regularly communicate the progress and research results of the project within the participant stakeholder groups (e.g. FORDA and MoF staff), and more widely internationally via research summaries through WWF's and FAO's networks

Outcomes for this project are currently being prepared