2016

1. MAK Sahide, S Supratman, A Maryudi, Y-S Kim, L Giessen. 2016. Decentralisation Policy as Recentralisation Strategy: Forest Management Units and Community Forestry in Indonesia. International Forestry Review 18 (1): 78-95. https://doi.org/10.1505/146554816818206168

 

Abstract

Critical political analyses on decentralisation policies have revealed that such approaches may not achieve their formal goal, and might even support centralisation efforts. A number of previous studies on decentralisation separated the analyses of administrative process from the analyses of political power of administrative actors across levels of government. Using bureaucratic politics theory, this article presents close examinations of both process and power relations reconfigured by decentralising and recentralising forces across governmental levels. This study illustrates how the Indonesian central government is on its way to reclaiming its authority for forest administration and management through so-called Forest Management Units (FMU) and closely related community forestry programmes. This study reveals that the sources of real contention in KPH and community forestry policies are the power struggles between national, provincial and district bureaucracies. The conceptual model and the results of this study contribute to the understanding of underlying dynamics of bureaucratic politics in the process of political power reconfigurations.

 

2. Carsten Schusser, Max Krott, Mbolo C Yufanyi Movuh, Jacqueline Logmani, Rosan R Devkota, Ahmad Maryudi, Manjola Salla. 2016. Caomparing community forestry actors in Cameroon, Indonesia, Namibia, Nepal, and Germany. Forest Policy and Economics 68: 81-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2016.03.001 .

 

Abstract

Current research on community forestry worldwide is starting to question whether community forestry programmes can fulfil their goals towards the empowerment of the local forest user. Apparently, the driving forces behind the programmes are actors who are very powerful within the hierarchies, and devolution of power to the local level is not taking place. Several research efforts have investigated the issue and have identified different internal and external actors as important players.

However, said research seldom analyses actor involvement directly, and in addition leaves open the theoretical definition of the term “actor”. The lack of this definition makes impossible the comparison of different findings. If further research intends to compare community forestry worldwide, there is a need for a theory-based actor model.

In order to contribute to the general discourse on community forestry, this study has defined the term “actor”, and also introduces an actor classification model that is theory-based. The model, together with an actor identification method, was applied to selected community forestry case studies in five different countries around the world (Indonesia, Germany, Cameroon, Namibia and Nepal). The results provide an answer on the question: who are the main actors involved with community forestry? At the same time, the empirical findings also demonstrate that the model is applicable in practice.

 

3. Eko N Setiawan, Ahmad Maryudi, Ris H Purwanto, Gabriel Lele. 2016. Opposing interests in the legalization of non-procedural forest conversion to oil palm in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Land use policy 58: 472-481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.08.003 .

 

Abstract

Demand for forestland for non-forest uses, mostly oil palm, has increased dramatically in the past few years and has become a chief driver of deforestation in Central Kalimantan. In this paper, we aim to shed light on how multiple levels of government create a facilitating environment for oil palm expansion. In our research, we employed three different methods: content analysis of key policy documents, participant observations, and expert interviews. We found that the technical complexities of formal procedures for the conversion of forest to oil palm are relatively easy to bypass. Contradicting laws and regulations have created a situation where the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) and local governments have relatively equal legal mandates and authority over land-use and allocation. This is further complicated by the ambiguity of the decentralization policy. Enabled by the spatial planning law and the decentralization laws, local governments have aggressively issued plantation licenses for forest areas without the formal release of the forest from the Ministry of Forestry. The issuance of plantation permits has also been legitimized by other policies within central government, which have made oil palm a national priority.

 

4. Ari Susanti, Ahmad Maryudi. 2016. Development narratives, notions of forest crisis, and boom of oil palm plantation in Indonesia. Forest policy and economics 73: 130-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2016.09.009 .

 

Abstract

Indonesia experienced massive deforestation in the last decades where rapid oil palm expansion has been considered as one of the main drivers. This article shows that the process of deforestation and the rapid oil palm expansion cannot be viewed in isolation from broader development contexts. Various actors at local, national, and global levels have used development narratives and poverty alleviation through various policies and institutional setting to create spaces and opportunities for oil palm development. These actors also deliberately created the notion of forest crisis by omitting the values of forest environmental services to justify forest conversion into oil palm plantations. These multiple factors shaped the speed and the direction of oil palm expansion in Indonesia. This rapid oil palm expansion in Indonesia has resulted in massive LUCC and serious environmental problems. Given these complexities, a single policy will not be sufficient when it comes to managing the consequences of rapid oil palm expansion in Indonesia.

 

5. Muhammad Alif K Sahide, Ahmad Maryudi, Supratman Supratman, Lukas Giessen. 2016. Is Indonesia utilising its international partners? The driving forces behind Forest Management Units. Forest Policy and Economics 69: 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2016.04.002 .

 

Abstract

International forest regimes have been influencing the development of Indonesia’s forest policy, and have complemented its domestic policy initiatives. Indonesian political entities utilise the regimes to pursue bureaucratic benefits and national interests. Forest Management Units (FMUs) comprise our heuristic model. We identified international and domestic actors and institutions that underlie the concept of FMUs and how FMUs are implemented along with the actors’ interests. We built our framework and propositions based on bureaucratic politics theory and the theorem on pathways of influence. We used observations, content analysis, and expert interviews to distinguish among actors and institutions, as well as various actors’ interests in FMU development. We found that the German government, via the German company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), is the most powerful actor behind FMUs. International actors have dual motivations for supporting FMUs: (i) formally, they want to find the clearest, most efficient way to invest their international cooperation funds in tropical countries and to counter global deforestation; and (ii) informally, they want to counter the influence of Indonesian palm oil plantations. In addition, international interests could be contrary to domestic interests in terms of utilising FMUs. There is a strong, converging concern shared by international and domestic actors, whereby domestic actors use the formal goals of international regimes to pursue domestic interests. Domestic bureaucracies use FMU programmes to relocate power back to the central bureaucracies by preparing instruments that are formally in line with international regimes, but informal in that these instruments are dominated by domestic bureaucracies. For example, the instruments include reinforcing state forest areas, promoting forest benefits, centralising the budget, capacity building, and centralising information.

 

6. Ahmad Maryudi. 2016. Choosing timber legality verification as a policy instrument to combat illegal logging in Indonesia. Forest Policy and Economics 68: 99-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2015.10.010 .

 

Abstract

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) of Indonesia has recently started to implement legality verification as a policy instrument to combat illegal logging. Using theories of policy instrument choice, this paper attempted to shed light on the conditions under which the instrument choice takes place. Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in political perception on illegal logging. In fact, the problem has been brought forward as one of the most chronic forest problems in the country. At the same time, there has been growing dissatisfaction on the previous range of instruments and measures. In addition, MoEF decision to use legality verification heavily interacts with the trend on import legislations in a number of countries. In fact, the trend is still “more friendly” for Indonesian timber products than boycotts. Legality verification was also preferred due to its streamlined requirements, compared to the more comprehensive standards of sustainability certification.

 

7. Ahmad Maryudi, Erlita R Citraningtyas, Ris H Purwanto, Ronggo Sadono, Priyono Suryanto, Slamet Riyanto, Bowo D Siswoko. 2016. The emerging power of peasant farmers in the tenurial conflicts over the uses of state forestland in Central Java, Indonesia. Forest Policy and Economics 67: 70-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2015.09.005 .

 

Abstract

There has been an increasing occurrence of spontaneous and organized movements and struggles demanding access to state forestland in Indonesia over the past few years. A sizeable body of literature has explained the driving factors of the land movement but most of them focus on processes at the national level, principally on the changing socio-political landscapes, and the overlapping land use policy and regulations. In contrast, this paper attempts to find explanation of the dynamics of the land movement, and tries to explain the emerging power of peasant farmers at the field. The research was conducted in the forest of the state company of Perhutani Sub-Forest District (BKPH) Kalibodri, Forest District (KPH) Kendal, Central Java, where nearly two-fifths of the forestland is illegally occupied by peasant farmers for agricultural cropping. This paper borrows actor-centred power (ACP) of Krott et al. (2014), which offers an analytical approach to understand the empirical power resources of actors in social-political relationships. It finds the prolonged occupation of the state forestland is due to the combination of the weakened power of the state apparatus and the more consolidated power of peasant farmers. The state apparatus is weakened by its diminishing coercive power. It is also unable to provide concrete incentives that would otherwise alter the behavior of the peasant farmers. At the same time, the peasant farmers accumulate support from a wider society, from local to national level. Even international actors also play a part so that significantly affect how the state company deals with the peasant farmers.

 

8. Doni Prabowo, Ahmad Maryudi, Senawi, Muhammad A Imron. 2016. Enchancing the application of Krott et al.’s (2014) Actor-Centered Power (ACP): The importance of understanding the effect of changes in polity for the measurement of power dynamics over time. Forest Policy and Economics 62: 184-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2015.10.006 .

 

Abstract

Krott and colleagues have recently developed a theoretical framework of Actor-Centred Power (ACP) that offers an analytical tool to empirically reveal the elements of power used to achieve their political interests in a particular forestry issue (Krott et al., 2014). ACP has been intensively tested in a number of issues regarding forest land use and management, community forestry and rural policy in different countries. In addition, the theoretical framework is increasingly cited in scientific works and is used as the core framework in a number of studies worldwide. This shows a solid evidence of the increased significance of the theoretical approach. We nonetheless observe a room for enhancing the use and application of their theoretical framework to better understand power dynamics in forest-related issues.

 

9. Indah Waty Bong, Mary Elizabeth Felker, Ahmad Maryudi. 2016. How are local people driving and affected by forest cover change? Opportunities for local participation in REDD+ measurement, reporting and verification. Plos One 11(11): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0145330 .

 

Abstract

Deforestation and forest degradation are complex and dynamic processes that vary from place to place. They are driven by multiple causes. Local communities are, to some extent, driving and also affected by some of these processes. Can their knowledge aid and add to place-specific assessment and monitoring of Deforestation and forest Degradation (DD) drivers? Our research was conducted in seven villages across three provinces of Indonesia (Papua, West Kalimantan and Central Java). Household surveys and focus group discussions were used to investigate how local community knowledge of DD drivers contributes to place-specific assessment and monitoring of DD drivers. We analyzed the link between drivers and local livelihoods to see how attempts to address deforestation and forest degradation might affect local communities and how this link might influence their participation in climate change mitigation measures such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Measuring, Reporting and Verifying (MRV) activities. We found that local knowledge is fundamental to capturing the variety of drivers particularly in countries like Indonesia where forest and socio-economic conditions are diverse. Better understanding of drivers and their importance for local livelihoods will not only contribute to a more locally appropriate design of REDD+ and monitoring systems but will also foster local participation.

 

10. Maryudi, A. 2016. Arahan Tata Hubungan Kelembagaan Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan (KPH) di Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmu Kehutanan 10(1): 57-64.

 

Abstract

The establishment of Forest Management Units (FMUs) has been made as one of the top policy priorities by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The policy is expected to become a solution for problems regarding to the management of forests in Indonesia, e.g. poor forest governance, tenurial problems, limited capacity in the management of forests. FMU is conceptualized as a forest management agent/ institution at the field. The policy of establishing FMUs is often viewed to add complexities of the current forest administration and management structures. This paper discusses concepts of institutions and bureaucracies of the FMU policy.