Forests Jeopardized

Not long after Batavia was established, several workers of the Dutch Trading Company (VOC) went down the river to look for wood. They found that the area outside the walls of Batavia, or Ommelanden, was still covered in dense forests.

At that time, Batavia depended on forest products in Ommelanden to meet the needs of food, fuel, and building materials. As the population grew, the demand for wood also increased, and this led to the rapid depletion of the forests in Batavia, earlier than anywhere else in Java.

"Unfortunately, we do not have quantitative data on the rate of deforestation in this region, but it is clear that the economic and demographic expansion from Batavia into the interior in the late 17th century was a major factor in deforestation," wrote Bondan Kanumoyoso in "Beyond the City Wall: Socio-Economic Development in The Ommelanden Batavia, 1684-1740," a dissertation at Leiden University, Netherlands.

In 1683, the Ommelanden Management Board, which was responsible for the VOC's forests and farmlands, reported that the Ciliwung River was almost unnavigable, even dangerous, for large boats because it was full of tree trunks and bamboo. "Deforestation reached its peak in the 1670s and 1680s," wrote Hendrik E. Niemeijer in Batavia: Colonial Society in the XVII Century.

The impact was immediate. By the 17th century, Batavia was already plagued by seasonal flooding every year. The canals that were built were silting up and filled with mud. The VOC was also worried about the destruction of its production forests. To suppress illegal logging in the Ommelanden, on June 24, 1696, the VOC government issued a proclamation prohibiting "the destruction of forests and the felling of trees in the district of Jaccatra".

However, illegal logging persisted. Meanwhile, the VOC found it difficult to monitor all its forests due to limited resources. "In addition, there are hints of a mutually beneficial relationship between illegal timber traders and corrupt local officials," Bondan wrote.

To meet the need for wood for shipbuilding and trade, the VOC found another way. They established relationships with local rulers in Java. Jepara, which was rich in teak forests and became a shipbuilding center, supplied wood to Batavia since 1622. The VOC also had a lodge there.

Just like the VOC in Batavia, the Mataram Kingdom also depended on teak forests. They relied on the Kalang people, a reliable group of independent woodcutters. "In 1640 Sultan Agung asked a number of Kalang people to settle in the royal compound and work for him," wrote Nancy Lee Peluso in Rich Forests, Poor People.

"The importance of the Kalang people as royal loggers and timber workers was apparent when the Mataram Kingdom split in 1755; 6,000 Kalang families were divided between the two new rulers," Nancy continued.  

After Mataram split, the VOC began to control and monopolize teak forests and labor in areas previously under Mataram's control. However, the VOC went bankrupt due to corruption, leaving the forests badly damaged.

Forced Cultivation

Although scientists have been calling out the dangers of deforestation, the Dutch colonial government ignored them. In fact, forests have been under threat since the implementation of the Cultivation System in 1830. Forests were cleared. Plantation land was expanded. Large amounts of wood were required to develop infrastructure. Logging became uncontrollable, bringing a bleak period for forests in Java.

Realizing that the Cultivation System was destroying forests, in 1846 the Director of Plantations wrote to Governor General Jan Jacob Rochussen, asking for the help of experts to manage forests in the residencies. Three years later, several forestry experts led by German forester J. Mollier arrived. They designed a forest management system in Java, but it took a long time for the colonial government to realize the importance of the team's recommendations.

It wasn't until 1865 that, in addition to reviving the Forestry Service, the government issued the Java Madura Forestry Law. This law regulated the division of forest areas, forest management, and prohibitions and penalties. It also recognized the function of forests for climate, watershed protection, and social welfare.

"The concept of the 1865 Forestry Law was patiently corrected every time, and was only formalized in 1927," said Hasanu Simon, a professor of Forest Planning at the Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University, in his retirement speech in September 2010.

The protection of non-tree forests or junglewood, which covers a larger area than teak forests, was also regulated. This was stated in the 1874 Forestry Law. Ten years later, an ordinance regulated the criteria for establishing nature reserves for non-timber forests, which was considered the first conservation measure.

"Interest in teak forests clearly had been inspired by the fear that teak would run out in the foreseeable future. In some non-teak areas, the junglewood forests were also rather degraded, and this was certainly a reason to try and preserve what was left," wrote Peter Boomgaard in "Oriental Nature, its Friends and its Enemies", published in Environment and History 5.

An intercropping system was implemented as part of forest rejuvenation efforts or reforestation. Houtvesterij, a grouping of certain forest land areas as a unit of production cycle planning, from planting, maintaining, to harvesting trees, was also implemented. Several nature reserves and conservation areas were also established.

However, forest management had two contradictory sides. "On one hand, forestry regulations limit or even close and eliminate the traditional rights of local people over forests. On the other hand, regulations open opportunities for private entrepreneurs to engage in forest exploitation. The entry of those private capitalists accelerated forest degradation," wrote Warto in Desa Hutan dalam Perubahan (Forest Villages in Change).

Colonial government policy was still focused on Java. It was only when British forest activities in Malaya, Sarawak, and North Kalimantan became more widespread that the government started taking actions by establishing a Forestry Service post outside Java in 1908. However, attempts at logging concessions failed. In 1928, the government sought to extend the application of the Forestry Law to the entire Dutch East Indies. The Volksraad (People's Council) opposed any attempt to expand the logging industry to the outer islands, causing the plan to fall through.

"In practice, however, a few concessions were set up in the 1920s, notably in Kalimantan, and leased to Japanese and American companies," wrote Benjamin Singer in "Indonesian Forest-Related Policies A Multisectoral Overview of Public Policies in Indonesia's Forests since 1965", a thesis at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques and CIRAD, France.

For the Sake of War

When they occupied Indonesia, the Japanese found that all the forest maps, sawmills, and other infrastructure had been destroyed by the Dutch. The Japanese tried to utilize what was left for war purposes.

The Dutch Ordinance remained in force. The Japanese used employees of the Forestry Service (Dient van het Boschwezen), which was renamed Ringyo Tyuoo Zimusyo. This agency was later incorporated into the Department of Economics (Sangyobu), the Department of Shipping (Zoosenkyoku), and finally the Department of War Supplies Production (Gunzyuseizanbu). Japan also mobilized the people to clear forests for agricultural land and supply wood and charcoal for fuel and industrial needs.

According to Aiko Kurasawa in Mobilisasi dan Kontrol (Mobilization and Control), the largest reclamation project was carried out on private land in Pusaka Negara, Subang, West Java. The Japanese military government invited landless farmers from the coastal areas of Central Java and other districts to come and clear the forest. This resulted in the most drastic result of the creation of a new 1,500-hectare village called Yamada (now Jatireja).

"Thousands of trees were cut down, not only for rice fields, but also for timber exploitation, disrupting ecological systems and often causing flooding in adjacent areas," wrote Aiko.

Even though Japan was only in power for three years, the level of forest destruction was so severe. Meanwhile, reforestation efforts were almost non-existent. "at the expense of the welfare of local communities... also in East Kalimantan where timber was produced for the Japanese Navy's efforts," Benjamin wrote.

For the sake of war, forests were destroyed. Awareness of the importance of forests was voiced by the Serikat Boeroeh Kehoetanan (Forestry Labor Union) throughout Java and Madura. In his congress at Selecta, Malang on September 27, 1946, President Sukarno also voiced the importance of forests. He cited the danger of flooding in China and Mesopotamia due to deforestation.

"We didn't have a state for 350 years. We want to live in a state. We struggle and shed blood to live. Life requires food, food requires rice, rice requires forests. There is no forest, no source, no water," said Sukarno, as quoted by Merdeka, October 1, 1946. "So, let's defend the forest, don't cut down the forest. Cutting down the forest means cutting down your own nation. Defending the forest means defending life."

Failure After Failure

Independence apparently didn't free the forests from looting. According to Robert Cribb in The Politics of Environmental Protection in Indonesia, the Dutch blockade during the revolution left the Republicans in Java short of fuel, resulting in widespread logging. Logging for agricultural land also posed a threat.

Taking the example of forest destruction in West Java, which reached an average of 20 percent, the March 30, 1948, edition of Pandji Ra'jat wrote that it would take 30-40 years to restore it. During this period, several nature reserves in Java such as Dungus Iwul near Jasinga and Rawa Danau in Banten, almost disappeared.

In 1950, forestry experts evaluated the state of forests in Java. They were concerned about the severe forest damage caused by the war. The Forestry Service therefore set up a reforestation plan. "The average planting in Indonesia between 1950 and 1959 reached 45,000 ha, compared to 24,600 ha in 1938," wrote Lisman Sumardjani in Konflik Sosial Kehutanan (Social Conflict in Forestry).

However, according to Nancy, several political events had already impacted the forest. To find DI/TII (Islamic separatists) hideouts, the TNI (the Indonesian National Armed Forces) did not hesitate to clear large areas of forest. At the same time, the military was often involved in the illegal teak trade. Forest-based tensions and conflicts also frequently broke out when Barisan Tani Indonesia (Peasants Front of Indonesia) and Sarekat Buruh Kehutanan Seluruh Indonesia (Indonesian Forest Workers Union), two Indonesian Communist Party wing organizations, launched unilateral actions. Busy with politics, the forest was neglected.

During the New Order era, once established in 1967, the Directorate General of Forestry held its first working meeting in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. The meeting encouraged the birth of Law No. 5 of 1967 concerning Basic Forestry Principles. This law opened the door for the exploitation of production forests outside Java to the owners of Forest Concession Rights (HPH), including foreign companies. Timber exports increased. In 1978, for example, Indonesia supplied 44% of the world's timber exports. Forest destruction became rapidly massive.

"In just 25 years, 64 million hectares of natural production forests outside Java were destroyed," Hasanu said.

When the potential of the forest declined, entrepreneurs converted the damaged forest into oil palm plantations. As with logging concessions, oil palm plantations threaten the sustainability of forests and surrounding communities. Illegal logging exacerbates the problem, and at the same time, the government's reforestation campaign was a mere empty talk. Reforestation funds obtained from the management of forest wealth in Java were instead allocated to other projects.

The emergence of Law No. 41/1999 in the Reformation era didn't prevent deforestation. Data from the Forestry Department shows that the rate of deforestation in the 1985-1998 period was no less than 1.6-1.8 million hectares per year. According to Forest Watch Indonesia (FWI), in 2000 the deforestation rate increased to 2 million hectares per year. In the following period, from 2000 to 2009, the deforestation rate was 1.5 million hectares per year.  

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry claimed deforestation was decreasing. In the 2013-2014 period, deforestation fell to 0.4 million hectares per year from 0.73 million hectares per year in the previous period. Deforestation rose again to 1.09 million hectares per year (2014-2015), then fell to 0.63 million hectares per year (2015-2016) and fell again to 0.48 million hectares per year (2016-2017).

FWI data states that the rate of deforestation did decline, but the figure was from 1.5 million hectares per year to 1.13 million hectares in the 2009-2013 period. FWI believes that the decline in the deforestation rate occurred not because of the awareness of forest destroyers, but because access to forests is increasingly difficult and there are fewer forests that can be exploited.

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