This workshop will provide a valuable opportunity for exchange between government and civil society practitioners in the country using or interested in using the REDD+ SES.  The workshop will discuss the key issues in addressing the protection and respect, providing several advantages and develop information security system. In addition, this workshop will include capacity building on key issues that emerged from the experience of using REDD SES and identified by the participants in the previous exchange and learning events, including addressing the gender dimensions of REDD+.

In this workshop, LEI will share information regarding the implementation of Social and Environmental Standards (SSL) REDD+ in Central Kalimantan which has been finalized in December 2011. The standard is adopted from REDD+ SES. In addition, LEI also presenting information related the development of monitoring plan in the SSL REDD+ implementation in Central Kalimantan.

Similar activities will be continued with different areas in East Kalimantan. This is consistent with LEI’s role as Indonesia facilitator in the implementation of REDD+ SES country approach.

Standar Sertifikasi HHBK ini juga telah diujicoba di 3 wilayah yaitu di Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) pada bulan Mei 2009, Lampung pada bulan September 2009, dan Kalimantan Tengah pada bulan Oktober 2009.  Untuk ujicoba di Nusa Tenggara Barat, LEI bekerjasama dengan Lembaga KONSEPSI di Mataram yang memilih lokasi di areal HKm Site Santong, areal HKm Site Monggal, areal HKm site Sesaot, dan areal HKm site Sambelia.   Untuk ujicoba di Lampung, LEI  bekerjasama dengan WATALA dan SHK Lestari yang memilih lokasi di  wilayah HKm di Sumber Jaya dan Tahura Wan Abdurrahman.  Sementara di Kalimantan Tengah, LEI bekerja sama dengan Yayasan KEHATI yang memilih lokasi di Buntok.

Berdasakan hasil ujicoba dan pertemuan Tim Penyusun pada tanggal 14 –16 Desember 2009, disepakati beberapa hal yaitu:

1.     Definisi HHBK mengacu pada peraturan perundangan yang berlaku yaitu hasil hutan hayati baik nabati maupun hewani beserta produk turunan dan budidayanya kecuali kayu yang berasal dari hutan.  Namun dalam Sertifikasi HHBK yang dikembangkan oleh LEI ini belum mencakup standar penilaian kelestarian HHBK yang berasal dari hewani beserta produk turunan dan budidayanya.

2.     Standar HHBK yang dikembangkan merupakan standar yang diturunkan dari standar Sertifikasi PHAPL, PHTL, dan PHBML.  Standar ini bersifat generic yang berbasis kawasan dan produk.

3.     LEI mengembangkan Sertifikasi HHBK yang dapat diintegrasikan dengan ketiga sistem sertifikasi lainnya (Sertifikasi PHAPL,PHTL, dan PHBML)

4.     Landasan keterkaitan dengan ketiga sistem sertifikasi lainnya adalah pada tingkat Kriteria.  Sementara pada level Indikator, dibuat spesifik berdasarkan kelompok jenisnya (khususnya pada aspek produksi)

5.     Cakupan standar ini hanya pada pengelola/pemungut HHBK, belum sampai pada CoC untuk pengumpul/pengolah produk HHBK lebih lanjut

6.     Standar ini dapat digunakan untuk pengelola/pemungut HHBK baik skala kecil sampai  skala besar

7.     Persyaratan yang berkaitan dengan pengayaan dan/atau budidaya jenis dan kelompok jenis tidak secara detail diatur dalam standar ini karena keragaman jenis produk HHBK yang tinggi

8.     Bila pemegang hak pengelolaan dan/atau pemanfataan HHK pada Hutan Produksi, maka:
a.     UM harus sudah mendapatkan sertifikasi pengelolaan HHK, atau
b.     UM dapat mengajukan sertifikasi HHBK dan pengelolaan HHK secara bersamaan

File standar Pengelolaan Hasil Hutan Bukan Kayu Lestari (PHHBKL)-LEI bisa diunduh disini.

File untuk sertifikasi lacak produk Hasil Hutan Bukan Kayu bisa diunduh disini.

The two management units are UMHR Gerbang Lestari in Bangakalan and UMHR Alas Makmur in Probolinggo. UMHR Gerbang Lestari which manages a total size of 2,889.29 Ha community forest passed the assessment with remarks on June 20, 2010. While UMHR Alas Makmur passed the assessment with remarks on June 22, 2010, manages 995 Ha of forests covering two villages in Tiris Subdistrict.

The certification of the two UMHRs has increased the number of community-based forest and indigenous community forest management units receiving sustainable forest certification through LEI scheme to a total of 12 units, covering a total area of 24 thousand hectares. The success of the two UMHRs is the result of a multi-party collaboration with members ranging from NGOs, local government and the Ministry of Forestry, PERSEPSI as the partner institution, Pustanling of the Ministry of Forestry as the partner and facilitator, East Java Province Provincial Office of the Ministry of Forestry, Bangkalan District Office of the Ministry of Forestry, and Probolinggo District Office of the Ministry of Forestry.

An increase in the number of LEI certified community forests reflects an increase in the awareness of the people and local government to practice sustainable forest management. The large potential of Indonesian community forest is expected to become the source for sustainable forest products that can be utilized in a responsible manner to increase the local and national economy.

As an illustration, around 24 thousand hectares of LEI SCBFM certified community forests possess 278,694 m3 of potential wood area (consisting of teak, mahogany, acacia, saman), with sustainable felling blocks of 44.705 m3/year. If all 966 thousand hectares of community forest is managed in a sustainable way through ecolabel certification, then community forest will be the major sustainable forest management practice player in Indonesia.

Communities residing in the areas have practiced sustainable forest managament, and they produce certified wood.

During a visit by BBC, Siman – Head of Farmers Communication Forum in Selopuro Village, Batuwarno Subdistrict, Wonogiri District, Central Java – measures the teak tree grown on the land owned by Sutantini.

The 30 years old teak tree has a diameter of around 140 centimeters. It is one of the 30–50 years old teak trees planted by her late father, Sugio. Hundreds of teak seedlings also grow on the area.

Sutantini admits that she treats the trees as a saving for her familiy.

“Depends on what we need, the trees are just for urgent needs. If it is only for paying school fee, we can still use the money from other sources. If we need to spend money for something very important, then we will cut down the tree,” she said.

The traditional joglo house where she lives is also build from teak trees grown on her land. Several people also seen to walk down the village road carrying wood, woooden window and door frames. They were moving a traditional joglo house to a new location. Sigit Riyanto of Selopuro Village Farmers Communication Forum said that the habit of moving one house to another location can decrease the logging activities in the village’s community forest.

The community forest in Selopuro covers an area of 262.77 hectares, ranging from field, yard and plantation. Trees started to be planted in 1972 on villagers’ yard and then all the way down to their field.

Ecolabel Certification
Teak trees are grown among the scattered rocks are found in Selopuro village. The community forest management then received ecolabel certificate from PT Mutu Agung Lestari.

According to Siman – Head of Certified Farmers Communication Forum, the Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute certification scheme was developed in Indonesia with a system and standard to certify natural forest, plantation forest and community-based forest management.

The community forest in Selopuro village and its neighboring village Sumber Rejo obtained the certificate in 2004. The total forest size covers an area of 549.68 hectares.

“One thing that we observe is the water source. Before the forest was fully grown, we had to walk 1.5 km to fetch water. We no longer have to do it now. Therefore, empty land should be planted with trees,” said Siman.

After obtaining ecolabel certificate,the teak wood generated community the forest can reach higher market price and in the form of furniture it can be exported to European and USA markets.

Nevertheless, there is no overexploitation. As explained by Surtantini, farmers are required to plant new trees to replace the cut down tree.

“To maintain forest sustainability, whenever a tree is felled, ten new trees must be planted,” she said. Apart from maintaining forest sustainability, around 8 villagers are also trained to produce furniture made of certified wood.

LEI’s chain of custody certification will ensure that the wood and non-wood materials are legally extracted only from sustainable community forests.

The director of PT Furni Jawa Lestari, Jajag Suryoputro explained the reason behind the use of wood products from certified community forests.

“Speaking of certified products made of certified wood, it should not be based on market drive. It should be promoted by wood suppliers because we are trying to save or maintain the sustainability of natural resources. The goal is to give an example to community members so that they do not perform random felling. There are consequences for every taken acts,” explained Jajag.

Furniture produced by PT. Furni Jawa Lestari is mainly exported to European countries. LEI-CoC identification is attached to the producs and their packages. Jajag said that to be able to use the logo, both the manufacturer and source of wood raw materials need to be certified.

“Many people take a shortcut by certifying only the manufacturer without thinking where the raw materials originated from. Our company is different. We believe that, eventhough ecolabel is still unknown in the market, it is a form of integrity performed by the Indonesian people,” said Jajag.

“We are open to audit. Anyone who buys our products are welcome to contact us. And by using the code attached to the products, buyers can trace the source of the wood materials,” he added.

Apart from Selopuro village, PT Furni Jawa Lestari also obtained certified wood from Wonosari, Gunung Kidul district, Yogyakarta Special Region, that is in Dengok Village, Playen Subdistrict.

European Market
Meanwhile, Chairman of Wana Manunggal Lestari Cooperative, Sugeng Suyono said that to facilitate the certification process , they perform an inventory activity by putting numbers on teak trees found in the community forest.

He said the community still experienced difficulties in marketing certified wood product because they had to sell to certified manufacturers.

Sugeng hopes the government can provide support the ecolabel certification and assist the communities managing the community forests.

Economic added value is one of the requirements for sustainable forest, as explained by Taryanto Wijaya of PERSEPSI — Association for Economic and Social Study and Development (Perhimpunan untuk Studi dan Pengembangan Ekonomi dan Sosial PERSEPSI).

“Certification can also serves as an investment to increase product competitiveness in global markets that demand for certified wood,” stated Taryanto.

The NGO assist the communities in Selopuro and Sumberrejo villages during the certification process. In 2006, EU imported around 30 millions m3 of wood and related products extracted from illegal sources. Almost up to one fifth of wood imported to the EU in 2006 was alleged to be extracted from illegal sources, with Rusia, Indonesia and China being the main suppliers.

Taryanto said, certification of wood extrected from community forest was very essential for the industry despite the fact that the government has not provided any supports yet.

“Community forests are relatively neglected. The Ministry of Forestry only deals with large forests. Therefore, we initiated real field recognition and efforts,” he said.

Government’s support for the certification of community forests are required to bring an added value for the community for the fact that the total area of community forests is more than 1.5 million hectares. [bbc]

Source: BBC

Before the 1980s, Selopuro village, Batuwarno, Wonogiri, Central Java, was 646.5 hectares of stony ground with little vegetation. Coupled with an annual water crisis, the unproductive area meant its population lived in poverty.

Today, however, more than 250 hectares of the village have become forests, almost 70 hectares are now rice fields. There are a little over 90 hectares of gardens, 250 hectares of non-irrigated fields, 240 hectares of state forests and 4 hectares of other areas.

The lush forests in Selopuro have been recognized as a Sustainable Community Based Forest Management (PHBML) zone. In 2004, the nonprofit agency Indonesian Ecolabel Institute (LEI) established Selopuro forests as Indonesia’s first certified sustainable forests. While preserving the ecology, Selopuro community forests offer economic benefits without abandoning local culture.

Misman is behind the success of Selopuro’s replanting drive. It is through the initiative, patience and struggle of this father-of-three that locals have become environmentally conscious and voluntarily replanted their home village to reap greater rewards.

As a secondary school student in 1968, Misman was dismayed by the denuded environment of his village and the dire poverty of its population. Without replanting, Selopuro was infertile and only cassava, an annual and low-yielding crop, could be grown. Water springs could not be found and a yearly water crisis plagued the area, forcing locals to spend a third of their time searching for water.

Of the thousands of village residents, only Misman and a neighbor attended secondary school (SMP).

“Most of them were just making ends meet so they didn’t give much thought to studying,” said Misman.

Inspired by the lyrics of a folk song, Ibu Pertiwi (Motherland) that describes the natural wealth of the country, Misman, now the husband of Suminem, 51, became convinced that a green mountainous zone would be a blessing to its community members.

The SMP student began to realize his dreams of greening his barren village. Walking home from school, Misman took the trouble to find seedlings of plants growing wild, which he later planted in neat rows and nurtured on his parents’ 2-hectare plot of land.

“It was a self-help endeavor as I had no money to buy seedlings, so I trekked up and down the hills to find them,” he recalled. Meanwhile, Misman was campaigning for replanting. In the beginning of his struggle, he was frequently scorned because fellow villagers would not believe that growing trees could promote their wellbeing.

“They said I was nuts, doing it just for fun. They couldn’t grasp the idea of replanting for economic improvement,” he pointed out. Yet he carried on his one-man campaign whenever he went out and met people, apparently boring them. Residents gathering for some purpose would even disperse as Misman approached to avoid his greening “lectures”.

Undaunted, Misman kept motivating local people until some of them followed his example. Six years later, in 1976, Misman managed to form eight greening groups and for the first time received 4,000 seedlings in aid.

“Now, there’s no need to urge neighborhood people to grow trees. Residents willingly do so and even buy seedlings themselves because reforestation is more profitable,” Misman noted.

To compensate for every tree cut down, they prepare 25 seedlings and care for the young plants to ensure their growth. The hilly limestone area can normally be planted with corn as an annual crop, producing 1 ton per hectare on average, or worth about Rp 7 million (US$762) assuming the selling price is Rp 7,000 per kilogram.

If the same area is planted with sengon trees, for instance, a hectare will produce 500 trees, which in five years sell at Rp 800,000 to Rp 1 million per tree, thus yielding far bigger profits on average. To meet short-term needs, secondary crops or tubers can be grown as an intercrop among the trees.

The verdant community forests in Selopuro have had a vast economic impact on the rural community.

New water springs have emerged and their abundant supply has freed villagers from water shortages, caused a spread of grassland and a rapid growth in cattle breeding. The new springs arising in the post-greening period have been utilized since 2000.

Through collective efforts, locals have drilled wells and installed an electric pump to raise the water and channel it into a reservoir at a higher level for distribution, through the force of gravity, to hundreds of village homes. Based on village community data, 16 new water springs are still to be tapped.

The green community forests and lavish new water sources have set the local economy in motion.

Extensive grazing areas supply sufficient cattle feed, resulting in fast-developing cattle breeding activities, with each household raising a cow and three to five goats.

Employment is increasing too. Benefiting from the forest waste, in the form of teak and mahogany branches of 5 centimeters in diameter, villagers have started producing handicrafts. In cooperation with a local furniture firm, the products of Selopuro are entering the export market.

“Now, with the forests thriving, I don’t want to see any more forest destruction. I’ve seen the trauma of environmental damage; it led to disasters and impoverishment,” concluded Misman.

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Wonogiri, Central Java | Tue, 06/08/2010 8:53 AM.
Source: Jakarta Post.

BONN, Germany (31 May 2010) — The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia (LEI) have announced the launch of an 18-month collaboration to explore potential areas of cooperation regarding responsible forest management and forest certification in Indonesia. The agreement marks an important measure in the global efforts to facilitate responsible forest management in the tropics, and builds upon previous collaborative initiatives to advance forest certification in Indonesia.

As biodiversity hotspots of the world, tropical forests are vital to the existence of millions of indigenous people, and possess a unique set of social and environmental attributes. The rainforests of Indonesia rank among the most extensive and biologically significant in the world. However, these forests are under tremendous pressure. Deforestation from illegal logging and forest conversion continues to threaten vital habitat and critically endangered species such as the Sumatran orang-utan.

Forest management certification can offer financially competitive alternatives to poor forest management practices, illegal logging and land conversion. FSC and LEI use certification to address crucial social and environmental forestry issues — FSC internationally and LEI specific to Indonesia. The cooperation between the two certification schemes has the potential to benefit from the locally relevant standards and processes led by LEI in Indonesia with the internationally recognized FSC standards.

LEI has a balanced multi-stakeholder governance structure similar to that of FSC and LEI has been instrumental in establishing an applicable system for improving forest management in Indonesia, said FSC Director General Andre de Freitas. With the shared goal to improve forest management in the tropics, we can further this work by identifying the synergies between the FSC and LEI certification schemes and building on our respective strengths.

This is a new phase of FSC and LEI collaboration in Indonesia which shows significant advancement since the Joint Certification Program that concluded in 2005. Through many constructive discussions and meetings, FSC and LEI have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding which intends to set up a new collaboration expressing shared vision of both parties which demonstrate mutual respect on each other certification scheme and achievements, said LEI Executive Director F. Agung Prasetyo.   The FSC and LEI are both certification schemes that promote responsible forest management. There would be so much we could achieve by working together and thus hopefully bring significant benefit to those who use the FSC and LEI certification schemes.

FSC and LEI have identified six specific areas for collaboration which will be explored in the coming months. These will include several analysis of compatibility between forest management standards and other central components of the respective schemes, and a particular focus on information exchange on certification of community based forest operations.

About FSC: FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the worlds forests. It provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services to companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry. Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. FSC rules and procedures are developed through strong multi-stakeholder processes. They are supported and endorsed by social, environmental and economic constituents in the Global South and Global North alike. Find more information at www.fsc.org.

About LEI: The Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI-Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia) is a non-profit balanced membership based organization that develops forest certification systems that promote mission of just and sustainable forest resource management in Indonesia. LEI has a very broad support in Indonesia among the forest industry, indigenous peoples groups, the forest science community as well as social and environmental non-governmental organizations. As a balanced membership based organization LEI retains independence and transparency, both necessary for the credibility of forest certification. Find more information at www.lei.or.id.

Media Contacts:

The complete release available to download here
Mou beetwen LEI and FSC available to download here

Full article:

VAT on log products are to be removed, Log export to wait for the study result
JAKARTA, May 25, 2010, Bisnis Indonesia:VAT on log products as stated in Law No.42/2009 on VAT and luxury sales tax, will be removed.

The Minister of Forestry, Zulkifli Hasan, said that the ministry had coordinated with the Minister of Finance to sign a regulation to remove VAT imposed on log products.

“Mrs. Ani (the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani), prior to her resignation, had agreed to cancel VAT for log products. The regulation will take effect this month. This is good as it will not put any burden on the industry. Raw materials are not supposed to be taxed. Tax should be imposed only for end-products,” he said yesterday.

Zulkifli said that the VAT removal will provide opportunities for the industry to increase forest products’ production and competitiveness. VAT on log products has reduced forest products competitiveness particularly products resulted by the community forest.

“We keep on improving the competitiveness,” he emphasized.

Forestry sector industry players had complained about VAT on log and other forest products as the government imposed Law No. 42/2009 on VAT and luxury sales tax.

Log export
On the other hand, the government has taken into account the demand from forestry industry to open the door of log products export.

Prior to providing recommendation to open the export door for this forest commodity, the Ministry of Forestry will conduct a study related to the impact of log products export on the performance of community wood industry.

Two economists, Sudarsono and Chatib Basri, are requested to perform the study. It is expected that the study is will be completed by the end of the year.

“The macroeconomic impacts were studied in 2006. However, the impact of log products export on community wood industries is yet to be performed. We hope that we will be able to complete the study this year,” said the Director General of Forest Product Development of the Ministry of Forestry, Hadi Daryanto, yesterday.

According to him, export permit for log products could be prioritized only for wood of the finest quality from the type that so far has not gained wide market share.

After that, he added, priorities could be given for wood products extracted from community forests or community plantation forests estimated to be produced within the next 6 years.

“The study can be finished this year. However, in terms of when the log products export door will be officially opened by the government, it will have to wait for the result of the study,” explained Hadi.

The Executive Director of Perum Perhutani, Upik Rosalina Waslin, said that Indonesia could potentially loose an income of IDR 750 from log products export.

Therefore, Perum Perhutani hopes that the government could provide support to open the export door for specific teak logs in order to increase the industry’s contribution to the country’s income.

“In the international auction market, teak log of fancy specification can be sold up to IDR 20 million per cubic meter. The price is very much higher than the local market price of IDR 9–10 million per cubic meter.”

The Vice Head of the Association of Indonesian Forest Concessionaires, Salahuddin Sampetoeding, has recently voiced the concessionaires’ wish for the government to open the export door for log products of which are unabsorbed by the industry.

Log products export will be selectively carried out along with strict law enforcement.

“Initially, the export permit will be granted for teak logs from Perum Perhutani (A3 wood), plantation forest wood, natural forest wood managed by concessionary permit holders of whom are certified by the Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute (LEI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),” he emphasized. By Erwin Tambunan

The emergence of many new water springs, lush greenery and fresh air as well as deterrent to global warming, are some of the ecological benefits.

However, a more difficult challenge awaits namely forest sustainability, especially when the woods extracted from the forest are to be exported.

World market, particularly that of European, is very cautious to non-certified wood products. In 1990s, encouraged by the environmentalists, Indonesian wooden products and furniture were boycotted due to the fact that they were extracted from forests with questionable sustainability status. Forest sustainability is proven with a sustainable forest management certificate.

There are several institutions working in the field of sustainable community forest management certification. One of them is the Indonesian Ecolabeling Institute (LEI), which was established in Bogor. Founded in 1998, LEI has performed certification on 1.1 million hectares of natural forests; 453,000 hectares of plantation forests; 21,000 hectares of community forest and indigenous community forests throughout Indonesia, including in Wonogiri and Pacitan.

To obtain sustainable forest certification, the community members that manage the forest must establish a forest management unit (FMU). As an example, community in Batuwarno formed Communication Forum for Certification Farmer (Forum Komunikasi Petani Sertifikasi — FKPS) Selopuro and FKPS Sumberejo. In Pacitan, the community has formed Rimba Sari FMU and Kelompok Wana Rejo Asri in Sragen. Certification requirements include a series of tests and field inspections.

Despite the internationally-acknowledged standards, the certificate is yet to bring significant benefits to the forest communities. This is due to the facts that first, the plants are still young and have not reached the felling age. Second, only a limited area of forest that is currently certified which lead to limited public expose for the concern that it will bring a considerable number of demands for forest products which can threaten forests sustainability.

The future market for such forest products looks very promising, particularly with the increase of global communities’ awareness on environment sustainability and the legality of wood products. “Another challenge to face is how to create other sources of livelihood for the owners of community forests so that they do not solely depend on the forest to sustain their live. Based on our experiences, people still perform felling-when-needed habit. Such habit needs to be changed,” said Gladi Hariyanto of LEI.

Persepsi’s Vice Director of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment, Taryanto Wijaya – who has been assisting to the people in Batuwarno and Pacitan, admits that the felling-when-needed habit is a threat in achieving sustainable community forests. – By: Suharsih.

The drilled-well in Sumberejo Village, Batuwarno Subdistrict, Wonogiri was made in 2000. The spring that was founded by the local villagers can produce up to hundreds meter cubic of water per second.

Thanks to the spring, no less than 680 families in the village and surrounding areas can now enjoy a year-long access to sufficient amount of clean water. They no longer need to walk kilometers away to fetch water.

What more surprising is the fact that there are still more than 22 unexplored and unexploited springs in the village and another 16 in Selopuro Village.

All emerge after the community members of the two villages transform their land into community forests.

“Before the community forests grown here, the land was arid and barren. Water spring was located far from the villages. However, due to the reforestation, water now seems to spring everywhere,” said Katmo, a villager from Selopuro.

Communal Work
Persepsi’s Vice Director, Taryanto Wijaya – who has been assisting to the people in Selopuro and Sumberejo in their endeavor to conserve the environment, said that it was the community who found the spring.

Together they pushed aside rocks, drilled a well and installed a 6x450 watts water pump.

“A team with a task to manage the well and evenly distributed the water to the villagers has also been established here,” said Taryanto.

Meanwhile, in Selopuro – according to a local tree-planting pioneer, Misman – people built a dam to store water produced by the spring. Villagers can then make use of the water for their daily needs and to irrigate their field. Also according to Misman, he and other villagers need to transport 1.168 trucks of stone to build the dam.

Other positive impacts of the community forests – apart from the newly emerged water springs – are new work opportunities. So far, the community has processed twigs of teak, mahogany, and other hardwood trees into handicrafts. Thus, they can benefit from the forests without logging them.

For many, twigs are useless waste or, at the utmost, used only as firewood. However, for Siman, they can be collected and processed into various artistic furniture.

Twigs are usually made into sofas, cabinets or a set of table and chairs. The 5-cm in diameter twigs are arranged, assembled, and formed into furniture. Some decorated with glass.

“We are currently finishing the order from PT Jawafurni Lestari in Yogyakarta. Our business enterprise is run by 6–8 employees,” said Siman.

PT Jawafurni Lestari is a company that specializes in exporting furniture made from certified wood. Siman is yet to widely market his products to other companies. – By: Suharsih

For Misman, 59, a father of three, the increasing number of children going to school is evidence that standards of living in the village are improving.

“During my time, only two people, including me, completed junior high school. Just to have food on the table was difficult, let alone attend school,” he said.

Local people are becoming aware that forest conservation runs parallel to rising living standards through the sustainable forest management certificate program.

According to Slamet Riyadi Gadas, who heads environment and forest standardization affairs at the Forestry Ministry, community forests can obtain sustainable forest management certification provided they meet three conditions. Forests must be kept green and the socioeconomic value and ecological function of the forest must be maintained in order to obtain certification.

Slamet said that certification efforts were first initiated in 1990 when European countries boycotted tropical timber products because they were not managed in a sustainable manner.

The certification system was started in 2002 by the non-profit institution the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI).

To endorse whether or not a community forest warrants a certificate, the LEI has appointed four institutions responsible, PT Mutu Agung Lestar (PT MAL), PT TuV International Indonesia, PT Sucofindo and PT SGS Indonesia.

Since its initiation in 2002, it has so far issued LEI certificates to 10 sustainable community forest management units in Java, spanning a total of 21,000 hectares.

“Ecolabelling certification is now part of the world trading system and as a member of the World Trade Organization [WTO], Indonesia should comply with the standardization.

“The market of forest products is very promising and its economic value is higher because consumers are now aware of sustainable forest management,” said Slamet.

“It is more economically viable and people’s welfare will definitely improve with sustainable forest management,” said Siman, who is the leader of an accredited farmers’ forum.

Since carrying out reforestation to make their forests the first to be certified as a community forest in Indonesia in 2004, villagers in Selopuro have rapidly improved their welfare. There are now 22 sources of water available for more than 21,000 people in the village.

“Before the reforestation, the area was barren and the only water source was far away. The residents had to spend most of their days fetching water,” Siman said.

Now, they can use their spare time to engage in productive activities, such as raising livestock.

As many as 80 percent of the villagers currently own at least two heads of cattle and five goats
per family.

To meet their daily needs, the residents cultivate side crops among the woods.

“Villagers earn an average of Rp 600,000 [US$60], excluding proceeds from livestock breeding. They save the money from selling timber whose proceeds are bigger,” said Misman.

“You can calculate the yields, excluding profits from processing forest timber, and see that reforestation is more beneficial,” said Misman.