Designing payments for environmental services (PES) to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in Indonesia
Creators: name: Muttaqin, Muhammad Zahrul
Publisher: name: The Australian National University
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: SD418.3.I5 M88 2012
subject: Deforestation Indonesia Papua
subject: Forests and forestry Indonesia Papua
subject: Forest management Indonesia Papua
subject: Greenhouse gas mitigation Government policy Indonesia
subject: Environmental protection Citizen participation
subject: Community forestry Indonesia Papua

description: REDD+ is an initiative proposed to compensate parties who can demonstrate that they have already reduced emissions from their forests. One of the mechanisms that can be used to implement it is payment for environmental services (PES). Many studies on PES suggest that property rights are the most influential factor in determining the workability of PES schemes. In an Indonesian context, where the State dominates the ownership of forest areas and where the implementation of laws and related regulations are usually problematic, portraying the formal and informal regulations related to forest tenure is essential in order to comprehend the implications of forest policies and practices for PES. Hence, the central question of this study is "How can PES be designed for state forests in Indonesia to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation?" The study shows that conflicting interests between customary communities and the State in relation to the ownership of forest resources in Papua have produced tenure insecurity in the management of Papuan forests. The study also shows the significance of the role that customary communities play in forest management in Papua. The customary communities in Papua have limited access to forest resources despite their claims to ownership of the forests. In contrast, the study shows the insignificant role of local communities in forest management in Riau since they do not have access to forest. The absence of community rights over forest resources, the interest of communities in the development of oil palm plantations, and the overlapping regulations related to land and forest management in Riau Province, all need to be considered in the establishment of community-based forest management. The study provides different options to strengthen tenure arrangements since local communities in Papua and Riau Provinces have different positions in terms of accessing state forests. The study stresses that the political will of the government is essential to improve forest tenure so that local communities can have better access to state forests. Delineating forest boundaries is a priority to ensure that development of institutional arrangements takes place. In relation to the development of PES for REDD+, it is concluded that the development of an appropriate community-based forest management system will have a positive impact on tenure security and the reduction of technical constraints, although it may increase the investment costs. Whilst REDD+ programs in Indonesia are now being implemented, community access to state forests is an important aspect that is still to be considered. The study proposes a two-stage PES for REDD+ as the design for involving communities in REDD+ projects by considering the conditionality, transparency, voluntariness and additionality of PES. The two-stage PES for REDD+ consists of initial and PES periods. The initial period is designed to improve tenure arrangements for local communities and the PES period is designed to implement the PES scheme. This study proposes that acknowledging current customary forest practices and implementing REDD+ at the district level, are two policy shifts that need to be undertaken by the Indonesian government to implement PES for REDD+.