Promoting selected non-timber products based on community participation approach to support sustainable forest management in East Kalimantan

Indonesia

This proposal is aimed at promoting the establishment of non-timber forest industries focusing on medicinal plants. It intends to increase the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to sustainable forest management through the promotion of economic development in East Kalimantan. At present, the contribution of NTFPs to the economic development of Indonesia in general, and East Kalimantan in particular is very low. One reason is that currently the NTFPs are directly collected from the natural forest for processing by traditional producers. As collection depends heavily on the natural forest, the supply of medicinal plants is declining while the demand is growing. The consequence is the slow development of the trade of medicinal plants, the degradation of the forests and the threat to the means of livelihoods of local communities.

Nowadays plant species are increasingly being utilized as raw material for the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry, and their demand is increasing. The trade relationships involve the villagers in the community as producers/collectors, and traders/industry as consumers. However the villagers have not organized to strengthen their bargaining position vis-à-vis the buyers. For this reason they remain in precarious living conditions. To promote the viability of the market system for NTFP, it is therefore important not only to develop the cultivation, harvesting techniques and processing but also to support the development of marketing systems.

The direct beneficiaries of the project will be the communities in four villages of Sungai Merdeka, Mentawir, Semoi I and Semoi IV, the NTFPs collectors, processors and merchants. Their benefit will be in form of improved income. The indirect beneficiaries will be the local government, which will get additional revenue, the universities, and NGOs whose work will get support from farmers who practice agroforestry.