Arief Setiawan, Maintaining Forests as Life’s Resource

Name: Arief Setiawan, Maintaining Forests as Life’s Resource
Uploaded: 2022-04-20T03:17:23Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: Arief encourages the local residents to refute such accusations by managing the forests without cutting down the trees or burning vegetation.

Arief encourages the local residents to refute such accusations by managing the forests without cutting down the trees or burning vegetation.

TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

· 5 minutes read

Exploitative mining and plantations continue to threaten the future of Kalimantan forests. Amid the menace, Arief Setiawan, 37, is empowering the local people to manage forests through diversified use. He maintains forests as a life resource that must be protected.

After passing coal mines and expansive oil palm plantations for two hours, the double-axle car driven by Arief Setiawan arrived in Rantau Atas village of Muara Samu district, Paser regency, East Kalimantan, on Wednesday (23/3/2022). The village residents were all smiles as they welcomed Arief and a team of advisers from the Kendilo Production Forest Management Unit (KPHP).

Arief and the team walked to a rubber plantation behind a resident’s house. More than 200 nest boxes for trigona bees had been there. For the past three years, the honey produced by the bee colony has provided extra income for villagers who were members of the Nyungen Jaya Forest Farmers Group (KTH).

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The father of three opened one of the boxes. He stood on the opposite side from the entrance for the bees to avoid blocking the bees’ access and being stung at the same time.

The nest box was full of honey as well as a number of eggs from which new queens would hatch. “This is the natural preparatory stage for a colony to break up. Another nest box is thus needed to start a new colony,” said Arief.

Every time he visits Rantau Atas village, Arief takes the opportunity to speak with local residents. He is aware of the local people’s problems and needs.

When he first came into contact with the villagers last year, he taught them about forest conservation as well as forest use. Diversified forest use covered breeding honeybees, cultivating fruit trees and making compost, charcoal and essential oils. The activities were part of the second Forestry Investment Program (FIP) of the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

Most of the people of Rantau Atas village are plantation farmers. Some of them used to be forest squatters. Through breeding honeybees, members of the Nyungen Jaya KTH can earn an additional income. The group has a production capacity of 55 liters of honey per month with a turnover of Rp 11 million during the blooming season. The extra income was expected to act as an incentive so residents would manage the forest wisely.

Unfortunately, his good intention to conserve the forest was not always easily realized. In several areas, Arief has been met with villagers waving their daggers at him, but the experience has not prevented him from encouraging the local residents to conserve their forests. When clearing their land for plantations, for instance, he warns them against using fire.

Despite of the difficulties, Arief is optimistic that many more people will become involved in sustainable forest management, as the concept promotes their present and future welfare.

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“The perception has now changed. It may start from one person managing one hectare of land without cutting down trees. If 1,000 people strive for this positive aim, 1,000 hectares of forestland can be saved,” he pointed out.

This concept of sustainable forest management is also applied by other KTHs in several villages. The Alas Taka KTH in Suweto village, Muara Samu district, for example, produces charcoal from the wood of alaban (Malayan teak; Vitex pinnata L.) that grow in the production forest zone.

Branches with a diameter of 5 centimeters cut to lengths of 10-20 centimeters are placed into a kiln and burned for three hours. Using 28 kilns, the KTH produces 450 kilograms of charcoal per day. The charcoal is sold for Rp 50,000 per 25-kilogram sack.

In order to increase the supply of alaban, the 70-strong KTH has started cultivating seedlings. These seedlings will be planted in the forest zone, which is now covered with cogon grass.

Refuting accusation

Serving as a forestry adviser for 12 years, Arief has faced many challenges and limitations. However, his job has also time taught Arief many lessons.

The Kendilo KPHP, which manages 137,495 hectares of forest has just 46 employees. Each employee oversees an average of around 3,000 hectares.

The local terrain is not easy to travel, either. In the rainy season, the tracks through the forest become muddy and hard to pass. On several occasions, Arief and his colleagues have had to leave their car behind for fear of becoming trapped in mud.

In the dry season, the forests are prone to wildfires. Sometimes it takes days to extinguish the flames.

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The difficulties have not made Arief regret his decision to become a forestry mentor. He has been familiar with living in a forest environment since he was a child. As an elementary school student, he walked past the forest in Paser each day when going to and come home from school.

“My family uses the wood from fallen trees as cooking fuel. We grow corn and fruit trees for consumption. Even if some of the residents cut down trees, they do it only to meet their needs to build or repair their houses,” he said.

According to Arief, forest communities have long practiced sustainable forest management. But the practice has become eroded by the widespread exploitation of forests for plantations and mining activities.

“Actually, the people around forests do not damage the forest. This is because their lives depend much on conserving nature. Yet when forest fires occur, they are accused of being the perpetrators,” he revealed.

Arief encourages the local residents to refute such accusations by managing the forests without cutting down the trees or burning vegetation. This method has not been 100 percent successful, but he has continued his efforts untiringly to make it a reality.

Arief Setiawan

Born: Jember, East Java, 21 May 1984

Education: Faculty of Forestry, Mulawarman University, East Kalimantan (class of 2007)

Occupation: Forestry advisor, Kendilo Production Forest Management Unit (KPHP), Paser regency, East Kalimantan

This article was translated byAris Prawira.

Editor:

SYAHNAN RANGKUTI

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