FORMADAT: Local Borneo Response to Deforestation PDF

WWWWHW: Describe the (local/global) response used. Response: FORMADAT Scale: Local Who (is responsible/involved?) The alliance of indigenous peoples in the highlands of Borneo such as Bario, sponsored and facilitated by WWF-...

WWWWHW: Describe the (local/global) response used. Response: FORMADAT Scale: Local Who (is responsible/involved?) The alliance of indigenous peoples in the highlands of Borneo such as Bario, sponsored and facilitated by WWF- Indonesia. What (is the aim/purpose of the response?) A transboundary organisation that looks to support local tribes, as a way to share information, and discuss common issues and strategies about the future of Highlands in the Heart of Borneo. Its aim is to increase awareness and understanding about the highland communities, maintain cultural traditions, build local capacity, and encourage sustainable development in the Heart of Borneo. Where (is it being implemented?) Borneo’s Highlands regions. When (did/will it begin/end?) Established in Oct 2004. Why (is there a need for this response?) In response to the impacts of …. Deforestation, to restore indigenous culture and mitigate deforestation as well as its impacts. How (will it be implemented?) By creating economic alterations to deforestation and/or emigration, maintaining languages and traditions, and encouraging conservation. Additionally, traditional owners will be involved in the decision-making process relating to this project. FORMADAT, the alliance of indigenous peoples in the Highlands of Borneo, was established in 2004 and supported by WWF (World Wildlife Fund). It is a transboundary organisation that looks to support local tribes, such as the Bario people, via the sharing of knowledge to support the long-term socioeconomic and environmental opportunities of the region. To achieve their goals, they have put in place strategies such as reforestation, afforestation, promotion of local culture, and ecotourism, at a cost of approximately $740,000 annually for the Bario tribe alone. With more than 50% of the forest lost in Borneo, FORMADAT offers socioeconomic alternatives to forest loss. (Data)  SWOT: Evaluate the effectiveness of the response used. +) Describe the response used in Borneo and evaluate the effectiveness- WWWWHW and SWOT. SWOT Criteria Chart: Evaluating the Response Pres Strengths Weaknesses ent - Provides economic alternatives to - Only operates within the Highland regions, slash+burn agriculture to Bario tribes. and the region is the least-populated and - Slows down net forest loss due to tree least-accessible region due to high planting. topography. Thus, not effective for the - Protects and promotes indigenous majority of the local community. culture and language such as Bario. - Highlands net migration is still negative as - It is relatively cost-effective. ($740K is a the majority of 18-35-year-old people leave low amount of money generated for the for more urbanised places and lowlands program) for job and education opportunities. - Deforestation still continues. 120000 ha of forest lost in West Kalimantan since 2012. 2000~2018, 39% of land was converted to plantations, resulting in 8.2 M ha of palm plantations. Approx. 9.1 M of plantation- 7.3M as palm oil, 1.3 M as pulpwood. Futu Opportunities Threats re - The transferable response that could - The pandemic (COVID) and restrictions on support indigenous peoples in other travel may cause a decrease in ecotourism transnational forests (eg. Amazon) and thus may cause deforestation to - attract more tourists. - An increase in demand for palm oil is crucial in causing deforestation as Borneo's economy heavily relies on the palm oil industry: 86% of palm oil produced, receives $18.6 B for its export in 2016. - Funding support in the long term is not guaranteed. Based on Evaluate the success of the local response in addressing the impacts of deforestation SWOT (or any at a location you have studied. (8 marks) other criterion), to what extent 1. POV/stance can this 2. Why? (Data) response be 3. Why? (Data) considered 4. However (Data) successful? 5. Conclusion Why/why not (evidence)? Based on the criterion of SWOT, which is effective in evaluating the effectiveness of the local response towards an impact, the FORMADAT local response in Borneo is seen to be relatively less effective in reducing deforestation to restore and maintain Highland Indigenous culture and land such as Bario. The socioeconomic weaknesses and threats of this response are highly produced over strengths and opportunities. Firstly, the socioeconomic weaknesses of the response highly contribute to the continuance of deforestation in Borneo, and thus less support in decreasing the impacts. The main weakness is that deforestation still continues despite the response which started in 2004. Between 2000 and 2018, approximately 39% of the forest cover was converted to plantations, resulting in 8.2 million ha of palm oil plantations. This is because of the heavy reliance of Boreno's economy on the palm oil industry which earned approximately 18.6 billion dollars in 2016 and produces 86% of palm oil in the world. Thus, it has produced less success in decreasing deforestation and land loss, as it is evidently shown as a socioeconomic weakness. Moreover, the socioeconomic threats have also not supported decreasing the impacts of deforestation. The threats of pandemics such as COVID-19 that started in 2019 have decreased ecotourism due to the high restrictions of international tourism. This could eventually cause deforestation for more development of the tourism industry and facilities so more tourists would visit Borneo. Additionally, continuous increase in resources results in deforestation in the future. However, there is still effectiveness produced from the socioeconomic strengths and opportunities that slow down deforestation and net forest loss. The strength is that the response promotes and protects indigenous tribes in Highlands such as Bario by giving them knowledge of protecting the land forest cover by methods such as reforestation/afforestation, with the support of a 740 K fund from the World Wildlife Fund. Moreover, the social opportunities are that the response is transferable which could support other indigenous tribes in other transnational forests. In conclusion, the socioeconomic threats and weaknesses of FORMADAT weigh more than socioeconomic and social opportunities and strengths, thus, the response is not effective in restoring indigenous tribes’ culture and reducing deforestation. Based on the socioeconomic and environmental outcomes, FORMADAT has been only partially successful in dealing with the impacts of deforestation in Borneo. FORMADAT was particularly successful when looking at the socioeconomic outcomes of the response. In particular, the relatively cheap price tag ($740,000AUD for the Bario tribe alone) suggests it was economically feasible. Of more importance, however, is the awarding of the 2015 Equator Prize, which recognised the community efforts to maintain biodiversity and enhance environmental sustainability, suggesting the response was socially accepted. In addition, the nature of the transboundary agreement advocated for the rights of indigenous peoples and built the capacity of local tribes to conserve land and investigate alternative sources of income, for example, ecotourism. However, whilst FORMADAT has high hopes, the program was not a complete success. It works only on the local scale, therefore the positive outcomes were not widespread. In addition, whilst it aimed to enhance the conservation of forest cover, deforestation still continues, and as a result, the negative environmental impact of the orangutan population decline is still of high concern, with the WWF warning of potential extinction within 20 years. Nevertheless, this program is still relatively new, giving hope that in the long term, the successes will outweigh the negatives. Based on the relative strengths and weaknesses, it can be proven that despite significant socioeconomic benefits, there are environmental shortcomings that make FORMADAT only partially successful in combating the impacts of deforestation.