DREAM ABOUT THE FOREST

Indonesia has 10% of the world's tropical forests remaining. Although its land area is only 1:32% of the land area on Earth's surface, however, extremely high biodiversity (megabiodiversity). According to data, from thousands of species of flowering plants, 10% of them are in Indonesian forests. Similarly, 12% of the total species feeding species in the world, 16% of the total species of reptiles and amphibians, 17% of the total bird species and 25% of the total species of fish. Even for species of birds and fish, many species are endemic, because this type can only be found in Indonesia. So the problem, in recent years Indonesia's forest area continues to decline. Currently, Indonesia has lost its original forest cover by 72% [World Resource Institute, 1997]. The cause is the main thing is uncontrolled logging, so that tropical forests in this country experienced an extraordinary depreciation. All this happened due to licensing of industrial forest exploitation and the practice of clear-cutting (land clearing).


Some sources say that the rate of deforestation in the period of 13 years (1997-2010) reached 3.8 million ha / year. Even based on the interpretation of Landsat imagery in 2000, there were 101.73 million hectares of forest and degraded land, including an area of ​​59.62 million hectares are in forest areas.

Most likely, this damage will continue to increase with increasing demand for wood also. So far, most of the demand for wood from natural forests. While timber production forest approximately 30% of the national timber supply. However, because the characteristics of the forest are individual, family-based, communal farmers' organizations, have no formal management, unresponsive and subsistence, the results lack the high competitiveness, low bargaining position before the traders and industry.

The issue of land and forests, in fact closely related to the problem of demography, especially population growth rate. Data october 2010 Connecticut put the number of Indonesia's population of about ± 237 million inhabitants. If the population growth of 1.31% per year then in 2030 (target year development vision of Indonesia) Indonesia's population is estimated at 325,325,000 inhabitants. If this estimate is associated with the level of demand for space, then the addition to problems of quality and quantity of the woods, another issue that also needs serious attention is the reforestation efforts, especially related to the mechanism of implementation of reforestation (planting) are intensively conducted recently. One of them is a program of Land Rehabilitation Movement (Gerhan), which began in 2001 with funding of about Rp 7 trillion. Indeed, this program has been implemented every year, but the effectiveness of the results for the environment has not been apparent. On the contrary, precisely Persistent environmental disasters such as floods, landslides, drought, including rising global temperatures due to the increasingly massive deforestation.

Several studies about the program Gerhan indeed sharing some notes weaknesses in some aspects, which need serious improvement, among others:

a) There are still uncertainties in the aspect kelembagaaan;
b) The division of roles and functions of the executive in the field;
c) The sustainability of the monitoring, supervision, assistance and reporting;
d) The involvement of target groups is less clear;
e) Technical plantings associated with the planting season, the selection of plant species, and so forth.
f) Transparency in the use of budgetary costs (such as the clarity of the percentage of use of funds allocated for the physical plant.

Seeing the reality (the damage and problems), then felt the issue was complete blue haru natural forest management and forest people in Indonesia. Impact of forests for environmental damage is increasingly evident. Among others, marked by the growing number of areas vulnerable to environmental disasters such as droughts, floods and landslides. This tendency is at least as reflected in the data exposed in some source that says that since 1998 until mid 2003, there have been 647 incidents of environmental disasters by 2022 fatalities and loss of billions of dollars. Also exposed that 85% of these disasters are floods and landslides that caused damage to forests [National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Management, 2003]. In the case apart inviting environmental disaster, the destruction of forests also causes, Indonesia is losing a source of raw materials of food and drugs - drugs, because the forest is a "bank" of germplasm storage. With the loss of forest wealth, then slowly but surely also would encourage higher levels of poverty, because most poor people actually live side by side with the forest

The implication
We believe, that the destruction of forests become one of the causes of climate change and global warming which is marked by increasing the temperature of the earth. Climate change is happening due to changes in chemical composition of the gas contained in the atmosphere. Gas composition is strongly influenced by the discharge gas from the earth's surface, either natural or caused by human activities in meeting their daily needs such gases known as greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, HFCs, PFCs), namely gas have the ability to absorb long wave radiation that causes heating of the earth's atmosphere. For the life of this man, this phenomenon raises the question of a chain. Therefore, the impact of global warming in turn trigger a number of issues including:
a. Rising temperatures cause increased disease outbreaks;
b. Rising sea levels which affect the sinking of islands and sea water intrusion,
c. Rising sea temperatures so that the fishery declined,
d. Increased rainfall resulting in floods, landslides, changes in growing season,
e. Increased evaporation resulting in drought, food insecurity)
f. The increase in tropical storms that cause insecurity in the transport, water supply and food availability.

To meet the needs of the population required land area of ​​32.5325 billion hectares (minimum land requirement for life is 4.18 persons / ha). Worth understood that dari192.257.000 ha total land area of ​​Indonesia, the forest area estimated at about 187,746,753 ha. However, these figures need to be tested again, given the high land use change lately. According to the data, in recent years, forest area, agricultural land, dry land, rice fields each experienced depreciation of 5%, 20% and 7%. On the other hand extensive residential and vacant land area increased by 13.9%, 14.5% and plantations. These figures certainly explains that the pressure on the forest environment will become stronger, along with the increasing needs that cause changes in land use and forest untukkeperluan such as non-agricultural industries, housing, public infrastructure and so forth.


Bali Road Map
UN Conference on Climate Change, December 2007 ago in Bali, has agreed the Bali Road Map which include forest owners manage the State's duty to keep tropical forests to absorb carbon emissions produced by developed countries. In return, developed countries other than member state compensation funds to tropical forests, is also trying to reduce carbon emissions by 25-40% by 2020. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions through a variety of sectors namely:
a. The energy sector with renewable energy utilization, geothermal, micro hydro, solar, wind, biomass;
b. Transport sector by reducing private vehicle usage, mass transport, and non-fuel vehicle
c. Forestry Sector through reforestation, afforestation and planting of buffer areas;
d. Solid Waste sector through reducing the volume of household waste, waste recycling, the use of methane as an energy source;
e. Agricultural Sector through the use of urea tablets, water management, diversification of food;
f. Livestock sector through the use of manure as an energy source (biogas).

Indonesia on one side can be proud because have the responsibility to provide gaseous oxygen for humans. But on the other side would also have to realistically look at the actual condition of the quality and quantity of our forests. Including technical, institutional conditions, the model implementation of investment activities that have been and are going. Call it, for example, Gerhan problem that has been alluded to earlier. It's important not to get a deal UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) is a boomerang and the burden to the state, due to our own failure to meet agreed the Bali Road Map. To support the implementation of the Bali Road Map seems there are some important steps to be performed are:
1. Documenting back Indonesia's forest area is real. It's important to get valid data will be the condition of land cover in forest areas, both forest conservation, protection forests, production forests and community forests. It also needs to re-do the prediction of land needs for housing;
2. Environmental law enforcement against perpetrators of forest destruction, both formal (criminal, civil, administrative) and informal law enforcement environment through environmental wisdom, (adat sanctions), for all existing and future forests can be maintained, and the level of utilization of forest resources should not be exceeds the ability of forests in rehabilitating himself;
3. Restrict the granting of new permits forest;
4. Promote the planting of trees to meet the needs of families in the future timber;
5. Afforestation and reforestation (Reforestation Back);
6. Law enforcement against perpetrators of log exports and raw materials flakes;
7. Conduct a thorough test on the performance of the forestry industry for the industry and law enforcement problems;
8. Temporary cessation of felling trees in the forest while (Moratorium);
9. Restore the sovereignty of the people in forest management;
10. Makukan various efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change is both mitigation (energy efficiency, refosertasi and afforestation) and is an adaptation to nature (avoid, survive and fight).
11. Develop a strategy and construction management and development of public forests, such as the arrangement of institutional, synchronization conservation and forest preservation, enrichment of vegetation (tree planting), use of local wisdom in the management of community forests.

Indeed, the ideal framework for the management of forest resources in the future ideally should lead to:
1. The pattern of professional forest management, which is reflected in the planning, human resource  development, systems management.
2. The main objective to maximize the functions of forests to environmental protection;
3. Utilization of economic functions that are placed in position behind the function of protection, and focused on efforts to improve people's welfare and strengthen the capacity of local governments.

To realize this dream about the forest, would need the support and commitment of the parties to the same shared address and support the development efforts that are cleaner, as a strategic step forward in the face of climate change.