resources and their economic needs is evi-
dence of their entitlements to the area. The
research results of the C&C programme
were used to have the status of the nature
reserve changed to that of national park
(taman nasional). While in a nature reserve
all human settlements are in principle
excluded and human activities are illegal, in
a national park “tradi-
tional use” of natural
resources by local resi-
dents is permitted. An
evaluation team sent
by the Ministry of
Forestry in 1994
endorsed the WWF
Indonesia recommen-
dation for the change
of status, which
became official in
- New economic
opportunities have
caused changes and
adjustments in pat-
terns of exploitation of
natural resources in certain areas of the
park. This realisation is important in that it
contradicts stale formulations and stereotyp-
ical views of timeless, backward indigenous
people still entertained by some govern-
ment officials, urban residents, and roman-
tic environmentalists. At the same time,
economic and social changes have not
destroyed traditional management practices
which remain largely in place. This supports
the argument that the communities them-
selves could prove to be the best chance for
the sustainable management of the Kayan
Mentarang conservation area, and their
institutions, if effectively supported and
recognised, could contribute to deterring or
minimizing the risk of encroachment by out-
side parties.
When the introduction for the edited vol-
ume Culture and Conservation was written
in the summer of 1998, the WWF Kayan
Mentarang was still in the midst of lobbying
with the Ministry of Forestry for the recogni-
tion of indigenous people’s rights to manage
the park and its resources. The data from
the Culture and Conservation research pro-
gramme and the community mapping pro-
gramme provided the main evidence that
the conservation area was first and fore-
most a tanah adat, historically and continu-
ously claimed and managed by the commu-
nities. Moreover, it proved that local com-
munities had the experience and knowledge
to manage the forest sustainably. The
efforts of the communities, the customary
leaders, and WWF to obtain a community-
based management for the park had been
inexhaustible yet the kind of policy that
would allow the communities of the Kayan
Mentarang National Park to become man-
agers of their own forest seemed still so far
away, almost unattainable.
Fundamental social and political changes
occurred in Indonesia in 1998-1999. As part
of the reform movement that was triggered
by the new political climate, a new Forestry
law was issued (UU No 41/1999) and the
law on decentralisation and regional autono-
my was promulgated (UU No 22/1999).
Both legislations open new possibilities for
both conservation policy and the rights of
indigenous communities. Under these cir-
cumstances, new models
of national park manage-
ment could be designed to
accommodate the aspira-
tions of indigenous people
and engage the new dis-
tricts.
In April 2002, the Ministry
of Forestry issued a decree
sanctioning the collabora-
tive management for the
Kayan Mentarang National
Park, a first in Indonesia.
Accordingly, policies con-
cerning the management
of the conservation area
History, cculture aand cconservation
New eeconomic oopportu-
nities hhave ccaused
adjustments iin ppatterns
of eexploitation oof nnatu-
ral rresources... [[which]
contradicts sstale fformu-
lations aand sstereotypi-
cal vviews oof ttimeless,
backward iindigenous
people... [[yet] eeconomic
and ssocial cchanges hhave
not ddestroyed ttradition-
al mmanagement pprac-
tices
In AApril 22002 , tthe
Ministry oof
Forestry iissued aa
decree ssanctioning
the ccollaborative
management ffor tthe
Kayan MMentarang
National PPark, aa
first iin IIndonesia [[
...] iin mmany wways
responding tto tthe
findings oof tthe
Culture aand
Conservation
research pprogram
