Forests & forest fires

Aceh: ecological war zone

Down to Earth No. 47, November 2000

Natural resources are one of the main factors underlying the independence struggle in Aceh, but decades of plunder have left them severely depleted.

The brutal murder of the internationally known Acehnese human rights activist, Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, reminded the world in September that the northern-most tip of Sumatra remains a dangerous place. Despite a 'humanitarian pause' signed by Indonesia and Acehnese independence leaders in June this year, the murders, disappearances and torture have continued.

In Brief... DTE 47 - November 2000

Down to Earth No. 47, November 2000

In Brief...

No more forest conversion until forestry plan in place

The forestry ministry has said there will be no further conversion of natural forests for at least two years until a national forest management programme has been approved.

Regional autonomy from Suharto to Wahid

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

The idea of devolving authority to regional centres has been around for a long time. Indeed, incipient movements for autonomy and regional independence were strong in the first years of after independence, but clumsy CIA support triggered the centralist policies of the Sukarno regime. (Kahin, A.R. and Kahin, G.McT., 1995. Subversion as Foreign Policy: the Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia. The New Press, New York).

Case study: East and West Kalimantan

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

In the run-up to the January 2001 starting date for decentralisation, there are already many signs that regional autonomy will be used for very different purposes. Local governments are using decentralisation to impose taxes on businesses operating in their areas. NGOs and community groups are making demands that conflict directly with the limits set on autonomy in the laws.

Indigenous communities and democratic control

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

The rights of Indonesia's tens of millions of indigenous people are not properly recognised under Indonesian law and forest-dwellers are at a particular disadvantage. Although some attention is given to customary law (hukum adat) in the 1999 Forestry Act and in other pieces of legislation, adat land rights are not recognised in forest areas because all forests are categorised as state-owned.

Democracy, control and natural resources

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

The tension between state control over resources and local communities' demands for 'sovereignty'.

The tug of war between the centre and the regional governments has dominated the debate about regional autonomy in the media, in parliament and among Indonesia's creditors.

Regional autonomy, political will and the economy

Down to Earth No. 46, August 2000

In a recent article outlining the history of decentralisation in Indonesia, Trevor Buising states that the changes to be introduced by Law 22 "are not as great as imagined".