People, forests and human well-being: managing forests for people in a period of rapid change - Norman Jiwan
Abstract: Kalimantan (Borneo) is a large island and home to an important part of the world’s remaining tropical rainforests where indigenous peoples from many different groups are under serious threat from the deforestation due to anthropogenic impacts of destructive logging, forest conversion, fires, and other extractives activities stimulated by development activities. The Kerambai people with a population of 4,207, are one of more than 200 Dayak native groups, who have been living since time immemorial in harmony with Borneo’s tropical rainforest based on their customary norms, laws, and beliefs associated with their ancestors’ spirits. In recent years, they have experienced, rapid changes in forest use and imposed regulations which have transformed their traditional subsistence mode of forest utilisation, as logging, transmigration schemes, plantations, mining and now oil palm development have moved in on their lands. These new waves of exploitation and extractive development carried out in the name of the national interest have led to extremely rapid and irreversible impacts on their forests, livelihoods and survival. In common with many other Indonesian forest peoples, the Kerambai experience continuous uncertainty about their situation and suffer pervasive marginalization, discrimination, social exclusion, and abuse of their rights as citizens and as an indigenous people. The author, himself a Kerambai Dayak, reviews this experience both from the point of view of a local person and through the lens of international human rights standards. The human rights based approach (HRBA), he suggests, should provide clear principles, guidelines and solutions to the poverty and marginalization of forest peoples in an era of rapid change.
“I was just in my early teenage when armed forces under Pak Basri order forcing our people to destroy tanyuk, pangok, and dawah of our Entangan Amuh. He also said people should destroy Entangan Amuh and establish houses individually. They intimidate people when walking and moving in slow, they were punished kneed-walking, running around Ampeng, intimidating our people by shooting guns to the air, when they are angry they shot guns down to the ground. No body dare to protest. I saw it myself. When I tell this story I bring myself and memories far back as if I am there at that moment”
Key words: human rights, forests, international law, tenures
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