STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014
66
Local perspectives in rainforest research
If our goal is to conserve rainforest biodiversity and to support the
local people, we should ask those people what is important to them
when planning conservation.
Spending months in villages in East Kalimantan with researchers
from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), we
found that the local people supported ‘conservation’ – but on their
own terms and with goals they recognize. For example, our attitude
survey showed that remote villagers, townspeople and civil servants
alike agreed that the forest needed protection, and supported land-
use planning that provided for the needs of local people, kept
the water clean and conserved flora and fauna. Such agreement
provides a shared basis for conservation planning backed up by
local support.
Asking is easy
Local people were often pleased to be asked what mattered to them and
why, and could tell us about species and places in the forest that provided
food, building materials, medicine and income, or had particular
cultural significance. Other parts of the landscape were important too:
fields and fallows, former villages, rivers and swamps. Scoring these
different land and forest types for various categories showed what was
most valued by women and men, young and old. Field trips guided
by local informants helped us see the landscape, soil and vegetation
through their eyes and understand the value of the species found there.
Mapping with communities was particularly instructive: people
showed their detailed knowledge of the landscape, sites and resources.
We learned the local names of locations and heard related stories and
By
Miriam van Heist
Miriam van Heist has extensive experience from Indonesia, and has co-directed a conservation research station in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
