local representations and management of agroforests on the

is intended to provide information and

to generate fruitful

diSCUSSiOn Local representationson key issues

—

in the sustainable a n d m a n a g e m e n tand equitable use

—

of plant resources. of agroforests on thePlease

periphery of

send comments Kerinci Seblat National Parkon this paper

and suggestions Sumatra, Indonesiafor future

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do notimply the expression of any opinion. whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal statusof any country, territory, city, or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of itsfrontiers or boundaries. The opinions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors anddo not commit any Organization.

Author’s address:

Yildiz AumeeruddyLaboratoire de Botanique - Université Montpelier II163, rue Auguste Broussonnet34000 Montpelier - France

Photos: Thierry Thomas

Cover illustration: Yildiz Aumeeruddy

Published in 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris Cedex 07 SPPrinted by UNESCO on chlorine-free recycled paper

Series editor and translator from French: Alison SempleDesign and layout: Ivette Fabbri

© UNESCO/Y. Aumeeruddy 1994

Recommended citation: Aumeeruddy, Y, 1994. Local.and Management of Agroforests on the Periphery of Sumatra, Indonesia - People and Plants working pap

daerah persengketaan antara pen-gelola konservasi dan penduduksetempat. Walaupun imbalan yangbersifat ganti rugi mungkin telahdipertimbangkan dalam bentukproyek pengembangan, namun pen-gelola daerah-daerah perbatasan iniharus berhadapan dengan berbagaiperbedaan pandangan, cara penyam-paian, serta sistem pemanfaatan sum-ber-sumber. Pekerjaan yang disajikandalam makalah ini mencoba mengka-ji perbedaan-perbedaan pendapattersebut di atas di daerah Kerinci,suatu lembah yang dikenal sebagaidaerah pertanian, berpenduduk300.000 jiwa, dikelilingi oleh TamanNasional Kerinci Seblat, daerah lin-dung seluas 15000 km2. Untuk mem-batasi desakan terhadap TamanNasional ini, para petugas konservasibermaksud mengembangkan usahapertanian tanah perhutanan (agro-forestri), dinamik-dinamik agrofore-stri dikaji dari segi cara penggam-baran, kelayakan dan eksploitasisumber-sumber yang ada dalammasyarakat Kerinci. Tinjauan historistentang evolusi pertamanan agrarismulai dari permulaan abad inimenunjukkan bahwa pengembanganpengelolaan pertamanan agrarismempunyai pengaruh yang kuat ter-hadap eksport, terutama kayu manis(Cinnamomum burmani).Suatu analisa tentang gambarand u n i a t u m b u h - t u m b u h a nberdasarkan pada pengetahuanbotani dan gambaran-gambaran sim-bolik, serta evolusi dalam pemakaiantanaman-tanaman dari waktu kewaktu memperjelas kerangka penge-tahuan yang berkenaan dengan

$=ae//v

Abstract

The zones surrounding parks andforest reserves are the sites of manyconflicts between conservationmanagers and local populations.Although economic compensationmay have been envisaged in theform of development projects, man-agement of these peripheral zonesencounters the problem of diver-gence between conservation man-agers and village communities intheir perceptions, modes of repre-sentation and systems of appropri-ating resources. The work present-ed in this paper examines thesedivergences in Kerinci, an agrarianvalley with approximately 300 000inhabitants that is encircled by Ker-inci Seblat National Park, a pro-tected area of some 15000 km2 inSumatra, Indonesia. As the conser-vation authorities intend to developagroforestry to limit pressure on thepark, agroforestry dynamics wereexamined from the perspective ofthe modes of representation, appro-priation and exploitation ofresources in Kerinci society. An his-torical overview of the evolution ofthe agricultural landscape from thebeginning of this century showsthe impact on the agricultural land-scape of the development of exportcrops, particularly cinnamon (Cin-namomum burmani).

Les zones périphériques des pareset des réserves forestières sont lelieu de nombreux conflits entre lesgestionnaires de la conservation etles populations. Bien que des com-pensations économiques soientenvisages sous forme de projets dedéveloppement, la gestion de ceszones périphériques pose leprobléme de la divergence des per-ceptions, des modes de repré-sentations et des systèmes d’appro-priation des resources entre lesgestionnaires de la conservation etles communautés villageoises. Letravail présenté ici aborde ces diver-gences de representations dans lecadre du Kerinci, vallée agraired’environ 300 000 habitantsentourée par le Pare NationalKerinci Seblat, aire protégéed’environ 15000 km2. Le dévelop-pement de l’agroforesterie ayant étéenvisagé par les organisms deconservation afin de limiter lapression sur le pare, il s’agissaitd’examiner les dynamiquesagroforestières sous l’angle desmodes de representations, d’appro-priation et d’exploitation des res-sources propres à la société Kerinci.

Un aperçu historique del’évolution du paysage agrairedepuis le début du siècle met enévidence l’impact du dévelop-pement des cultures d’exportation,en particulier la cannelle (Cinna-momum burmani) sur le paysageagraire.

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 1Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,

Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

— . .

e

:*

An analysis of representations of theplant world is based on botanicalknowledge and symbolic represen-tations, and the change in the useof plants over time highlights theframework of ethnobotanical andethnoecological knowledge thatunderlies the agroforestry practicesexamined here. The indigenous per-ception of biological diversity differsin certain ways from that of scien-tists and naturalists. The farmer’sconception of nature conservationestablishes a relationship betweenforests, springs and rice fields,because of the need to manage waterto meet subsistence requirements.Taking into account the limits onagricultural land imposed by thepark, the dynamics of agroforestryin Kerinci show a tendency for agro-forestry systems to be made peren-nial as constraints on land grow. Anexample studied in the village ofSemerap shows how multi-layeragroforests are established undercollective control of hillside lands.While ensuring that dense and pro-ductive tree cover is maintained onhillside lands, customary authorityalso ensures the ecological renewalof the system, which lies on poorsoils. In other villages, the agro-forests are evolving from systems ofalternate cycles of tree crops andannual crops, to perennial agro-forestry systems that integrateexport crops – coffee and cinna-mon – in association with a largenumber of forest tree species.The pioneer fronts of cinnamonmonoculture are a farmer’s way ofmarking territory in reaction to thelimits on access to land imposed bythe park. Future intensification ofagroforestry in these zones will onlybe possible if the indigenous knowl-edge and modes of representation ofthe environment are recognized byconservation managers, along withthe right of the local population toactive participation in the processof making decisions about futuredevelopments. .:.

2 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994

● 3

—Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

14

21

32

35

41

The agricultural landscape todayRice cultivationCinnamon: the principal export crop

Conservation of the environment seenthrough the prism of local representationsAncestors, forest, springs, rivers and rice cultivationAn example of a village forestThe multiple functions of trees in the agricultural domain

Trees as boundary markersChanging uses

Biodiversity: the farmers’ vision

The bases and dynamics of agroforestrysystems in KerinciElements of methodology for studying agroforestry systemsAgroforests dominated by fruit trees: management of ascarce and fragile resource, the soilThe flexibility of cultivation systems integrating cinnamon

Dynamics of agroforestry at KerinciAvailability of land and demographic pressureImpact of private or collective resource managementon the evolution of agroforestry practicesRelationship between commercial networksand agroforestry dynamics

ConclusionsAcknowledgementsReferences

AppendicesUseful plants in Temedak village forest, KeluruPlants of pelak agroforests in Jujun and KeluruExamples of the diversity of Rutaceae and Zingiberaceaeused in Kerinci



,

The development of agroforestry sybuffer zones on the periphery of p

.. .,, ‘, .“” ,:. . ? .,, . . .,.,., : ,, “

progressive transformation from forest to agro-

reserves is recommended by the Indonesiangovernment and by international conservationNGOs (Wind and Prins 1989, Hadisepoetro1991, Blough and Siregar 1985, Santiapillai1991). In response to a request from theIndonesian Ministry of Forests (PHPA) andWWF Indonesia, the initial objective of thiswork was to evaluate the potential of agro-forestry development in the Kerinci valley, toexamine the use of forest products and to inves-tigate how far the development of agroforestson the periphery of the park could limitencroachment on the park.

Interest in traditional agroforestry systemsin tropical humid regions focuses on theircapacity for reproduction, both on the ecolog-ical and socio-economic levels (Steppler andRaintree 1983, Hallé 1985, Alexandre 1989, Nair1989). The traditions and expertise of the localfarmers are characterized by the integration oftrees into the agricultural system along with awide diversity of plant species, a solution whichseems more suitable for humid tropical regionsthan those proposed by the Green Revolution(Janzen 1973, Bergeret 1977, Tiollier 1984).The sustainability of traditional agroforestrypractices is based on their flexibility, both eco-nomically (e.g. flexible use of labour) and eco-logically (e.g. high diversity of species, differ-ent harvest periods) and their adaptation to aninternational market while providing manysubsistence products at the same time (Har-wood 1979, Mary 1987, 1989). Such systemsally in situ conservation of biodiversity withsocial reproduction and development (Alcorn1984, Altieri and Merrick 1987, de Foresta andMichon 1991).

Studies carried out in Sumatra, in theprovinces of Lampung and West Sumatra onthe periphery of forest reserves, show that tra-ditional agroforestry systems with a multistoryforest-like structure and a high species diver-sity are the best man-made substitute for for-est cover (Michon and Bompard 1987, Michonet al. 1989). Given demographic expansion,


forest seems unavoidable. Such transformationmay not, however, be envisaged in the conser-vation policy of parks and reserves unless newpolicies are designed. A precise study at themicro-regional level is essential if intensifica-tion of agroforestry, taking the local agricul-tural dynamics into account, is to be envisaged.No purely technical agroforestry solution canbe envisaged, as Sayer (1991) pointed out. Theperipheral zones of, parks and reserves are thesite of numerous conflicts and tensions andover and above the question of intensifyingagroforestry, ethical problems arise.

Maintaining forest areas in the form of nat-ural reserves, recreation parks, national parks,etc., is one solution proposed by scientists andnaturalists to preserve areas supposedlyuntouched, representative of the great biolog-ical richness of the tropical forests. For peopleliving in the surrounding area and within parksand reserves, the forest is a source of subsis-tence and forms part (except for recentmigrants) of demarcated ancestral village ter-ritories, which are controlled by village com-munities according to modes of appropriationand use of the resources regulated by commu-nity laws. Once placed in reserves, these forestsare no longer accessible to the farmers and localpopulation. It is now recognized that manage-ment of reserves based on a system of laws,prohibitions and guards cannot resolve the con-flicts of interest between local populations andconservation managers. Faced with an increasein these conflicts, the attitude of conservationmanagers has evolved since the 1960s. The ideathat the conservation of natural resourcesshould develop in parallel with their use for thewell-being of people was particularly developedduring the UNESCO Biosphere Conference in1968 (Batisse 1982). Since then, many authors

Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

have emphasized the need to consider thesocio-economic effects of the creation of parksand reserves and to search for new solutions(MacKinnon 1981, McNeely and Miller 1984,Oldfield 1988, Sayer 1991, Wells et al. 1992).

Over and above the issue of economic com-pensation, protected areas raise the problem ofdivergence between conservation managers andvillage communities in their perceptions,modes of representation and systems ofresource appropriation and allocation (Mach-liss and Trichnell 1985, Zube 1986, Weber andReveret 1993). This means that site studies ofagroforestry dynamics need to be carried outtaking into account the resource appropriationand exploitation system of a given society.

One such situation has been analyzed inKerinci (Aumeeruddy 1993), an agrarian valleyencircled by Kerinci Seblat National Park inCentral Sumatra (Figure 1). The agroforestrydynamics in the Kerinci valley were analyzedagainst the background of limits imposed bythe park on the expansion of agricultural land.

The local representations, knowledge andtraditional uses of the natural and agricultur-al environment were studied with methods usedin ethnoscience. This discipline, which studiesindigenous semantic categories (Conklin 1954),is also concerned with popular knowledge andpractices seen from a historical perspective(Haudricourt and Hédin 1987). It also aims tostudy the classification and hierarchies ofindigenous knowledge within the framework ofsymbolic representations (Lévi-Strauss 1962,Descola 1986). A dual approach was adopted forthis study, analyzing attitudes, representations,

knowledge, modes of appropriation andresource use practices in Kerinci, and makinga scientific analysis of the ecosystems managedby the inhabitants, their various elements aswell as the basis of certain practices (catego-rizations of ecosystems, vegetation types, floris-tic and structural analysis of the agroforests,ecology, etc.). This dual approach enables thescientific analysis to be compared with thefarmer’s rationale of resource use management.Resource use systems (agriculture, fishing,hunting, gathering, etc.) based on needs forsubsistence and social reproduction are linkedto systems of representations in a dialecticalway - these practices are both based on the sys-tems of representations and, inversely, influ-ence them (Friedberg 1992).

The synthesis of results presented hereaims to offer food for thought and propositionsfor conservation strategies at Kerinci, and moregenerally, for the management of the periph-eries of protected areas in tropical humidregions.

The results of this work - undertaken as partof a multidisciplinary team including an anthro-pologist, a socio-economist, and two botanists -has been presented in a series of reports (Savouré1990, Aumeeruddy 1992, 1993, Fedensieu 1992,Sansonnens 1992, 1994) and articles(Aumeeruddy and Bakels 1994, Aumeeruddy andSansonnens forthcoming). ●:*



catchment area of the largest rivers in south-ern Sumatra, and hence for millions of hectaresof agricultural land.

This park is the largest Indonesian Nation-al Park (Taman Nasional) and the third largestforest conservation area in the archipelago, theother two only having the status of naturalreserve (Suaka Alam). It contains one of thehighest summits of the Indonesian archipelago,Mount Kerinci, an active volcano which reach-es 3805 m. The status of National Park, acquiredin 1991, has made it a central place for theconservation of the Sumatran forests and forthe Indonesian archipelago as a whole. Thestrengthening of this status by new Indonesianconservation laws (Law 5 of 1990) has result-ed in the implementation of integrated con-servation and development programmes, sup-ported at the international level. Since June1990, a WWF Office (project WWF-IndonesiaNo. 3941) has been established at Sungai Penuhin the principal village of the valley, and sup-ports the local forest conservation department(PHPA) in reinforcing the management of thePark. The World Bank Global EnvironmentFacility has launched a pilot programme forbiodiversity protection at Kerinci.

Kerinci vallev

plain, Lake Kerinci (41 km²) in the south, andMount Kerinci which dominates the valley atits northern end (Photos 1, 2, 3 and 4). Thelateral slopes of the main valley are a landscapeof small hills in the foreground, stretchingbeyond into a more abrupt relief. Soils arediverse and include:● rich volcanic soils at the two ends of the

valley, where the areas of most recent vol-canic activity are found;

● poor mountain soils on the lateral slopes(relatively infertile inceptisols and ultisols)with a thin layer of arable soil easily erod-ed on the steep slopes;

● plains with acid tuff around the Meranginvalley;

● alluvial soils on the bottom of the valley.

Population historyand social and administrativeorganizationTraces of human presence have been uncov-ered by palynological studies and show that theforests were disturbed by human activity about4000 years ago, evidence corroborated byarchaeological traces of the Neolithic period(Morley 1982, Schnitger 1989).

The Kerinci people were well known in theDutch period for their independent spirit andtheir resistance to colonial administration,

transmission of property and estate in an undif-ferentiated way to men and women, the recog-nition of a group of common ancestors andchiefs of the same descent groups. Despite thisheterogeneity, cultural identity is strong; theinhabitants call themselves orang Kerinci (peo-ple of Kerinci) and recognize Kerinci custom-ary law (hukum adat). Customary authoritygoverns different domains of social life includ-ing marriage, residence rules, kinship andinheritance systems (Watson 1992).

In Kerinci, each village possesses its ownterritory (wilayah) comprised of land for ricecultivation and hillside lands. The latter aredivided into agricultural and forest lands. Theselands come under customary authority andtheir appropriation is controlled by customarychiefs. Land for rice cultivation is commonproperty land to which the inhabitants haveonly a right of use. Consequently, it cannot besold. Hillside land is granted to inhabitants ontheir making a simple request to the custom-ary chiefs. Any forest plot cleared and culti-vated by an inhabitant of the village within vil-lage territory belongs by right to this person.It is private property but customary authorityhas a right of inspection, and may for examplerecover abandoned land for the community

Photo 2. Small temporary fishing village on the edge of lake Kerinciand a mosaic of ladang type gardens in the background.

(Watson 1992). This situation is not the sameall over the valley since in certain villages hill-side lands are common property lands, as wewill see later in the case of Semerap village.Land tenure can vary appreciably from one vil-lage to another; this has an impact on the cul-tivation system chosen by the farmer, the pos-sibilities for land transactions and the conver-sion of forest land.

The valley is part of Kerinci AdministrativeDepartment [Kabupaten Kerinci], of which 60%of the land has been integrated into the Nation-al Park and the remaining 40% are agriculturallands (Figure 2). Today it contains a popula-tion of about 300000 people with a growth rateof 2.2% (Kerinci Dalam Angka 1988) .Thismeans, not taking into account migration intoor out of the valley, that the population woulddouble in twenty years. As it is, some youngpeople wish to leave because there is notenough cultivable land. Also, a rise in the levelof education has led some young people to leavethe agricultural sector and migrate. Among thespontaneous migrants who come to Kerinci arepoor peasants seeking work as agriculturallabourers or share croppers. As a consequenceof agricultural development, which has takenplace since the beginning of the century, many

“outsiders” have migrated into Kerinci to setup as traders. These migration movements arestill going on and their size is as yet unknown.

Figure 2. Land use in Kerinci Department. 60% of the landis integrated into KSNP and the remaining 40% is agricultural land.

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DEPARTMENT BOUNDARY i !, ,I]lljlii!l ‘~LAKE i wz+fi K4JJ

ROADS

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ACRICULTURALVALLEY

ILLEGAL AGRICULTURAL ENCLAVE ‘ I

NATIONAL PARK ~ i !0 20kmu I I 1 r, L-_!L_-

RICE PADDIES WLIJL

Agriculture

Nine families out of ten in Kerinci depend fortheir livelihood on agriculture, making it theprincipal production activity (Kerinci DalamAngka 1988). The agricultural activities arepaddy rice cultivation principally on the valleyfloor, and planting trees for commercial prod-ucts on the hillsides.

The transition from slash-and-burnagriculture to agroforestrysystems: a historical overviewAccording to the accounts of English explorerswho visited Kerinci in the 19th century (Mars-den 1975, Kathirithamby Wells 1986), agricul-ture was characterized by slash-and-burn cropsalternating with forest fallows, coupled withpaddy rice cultivation on low lying ground.Game was important in the local diet, as Camp-bell’s account shows (Marsden 1975), referringto the consumption of deer meat, wild duck,green pigeons, numerous quails and severalspecies of fish.

Colonial government statistics (van Aken1915) show that numerous forest products fromKerinci were traded on the west coast, partic-ularly resins and rattans.

The development of commercial tree crops(coffee, cinnamon, rubber) expanded rapidly inthe 1920s and was facilitated by the construc-tion by the Dutch in 1922 of a road linking thevalley to the port of Padang and by the mod-ernization of commercial exchanges (Watson1984). The development of export crops wassupported first by the colonial government andsubsequently by the Indonesian government.

This had the effect that swiddens wereplanted with trees, and progressively turnedinto perennial agricultural plots. The agricul-tural landscape of Kerinci became a mosaic of

tree crops. The occupation of the land by peren-nial tree crops certainly had an impact on thetransformation of forest lands. The farmers nowhad on the one hand to clear new plots in theforest for slash-and-burn cultivation of food forlocal consumption, and the tax systemsimposed by the Dutch entailed greater circula-tion of money which in turn induced growingneeds and thus an expansion of cash crops (Bel-sky 1991). As the land gained value, many landtransactions took place. Kerinci societychanged profoundly, particularly as rich farm-ers accumulated land held according to a high-ly developed concept of private property.Schrieke (1955) noted from the 1950s a declinein systems of mutual agricultural help in favourof the more and more frequent use of agricul-tural waged labourers.


All these changes had a significant impacton the rhythm of forest transformation. Aftera first wave of deforestation at the beginningof the 20th century, there was a second waveof tree plantation for export crops in the 1970swhen the country had recovered from the wars(Second World War, Japanese Occupation, Warof Independence) (Watson 1984). The 1970s wasan important period of economic growth forIndonesia, which lasted until 1982. This wasassociated with the rise in the price of oil (Rice1991). In addition, as part of the second five-year plan (Repelita 11 1974-78), major roaddevelopments were undertaken in Indonesia,and banking facilities were developed.

The agricultural landscape today

The three principal agricultural sectors in theDepartment (Kaburpaten) are cultivation of wetrice (17% of agricultural land) essentially onthe valley floor, cultivation of commercial treecrops (77%) on the hillsides and annual crops(6%) (Scholz 1983), which are largely grownin the Kayu Aro region. On the hillsides, thesystems of cultivation involve associations ofperennial crops, principally coffee (Coffeacanephora, var. robusta) and cinnamon (Cin-namomum burmani) cultivated in alternationwith annual crops (tobacco, potato, onion,tomato, etc.). This is the ladang system, whichinvolves a slash-and-burn phase and could bedescribed as a rotational agroforestry systemwith tree cycles of a length varying from 8 to25 years. Perennial tree plantations are alsofound, including a wide array of species of dif-ferent ages and longevities associated togetherin the same plot. These systems are character-ized by their perennial tree cover and a’ high

Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerincl Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

percentage of forest species; the slash-and-burnstage occurs in rare cases when a farmer decidesto renovate his garden entirely; these agro-forests are locally named pelak. Small homegardens, called halaman, sometimes surroundthe houses. These are zones of intensive foodproduction, including many species of tuber-ous plants and bananas associated sometimeswith fruit trees and coconuts.

Rice cultivationAccording to Scholz (1983), 85% of the ricepaddies are irrigated by simple systems. Theseare mainly rice paddies situated in low lying

partly changed their rice growing system dur-ing the last ten years, and these changes con-tinue.

The rice paddies at Kerinci are thus plant-ed either with ancient varieties with long cyclesor improved short cycle varieties in proportionsthat are difficult to assess given the changes ofrecent years.

Photo 6.Cinnamon trees

are felled beforethe bark is collected.

Photo 5.A woman worksin a rice nursery.Paddy riceis cultivatedon the flat alluvialsoils of the valleybottom.

areas which are irrigated solely by rainwaterduring the rainy season (Photo 5). A small per-centage of the wet rice paddies are on terracesin areas with an abundant water supply fromthe hydrographic network. In the Merangin val-ley the rice paddies are fed by water wheelswhich bring water from the rivers onto the ricepaddies. Rainfed rice cultivation is not wide-spread in Kerinci, and principally located south-east of the lake in the Muak region and theMerangin valley.

In 1983, Scholz considered that only one-fifth of the rice paddies was double-cropped,either with two cycles of new rice varieties withshort cycles successively on the same plot, orone cycle of rice and a snatch-crop of legumi-nous plants. The remaining four-fifths of therice paddies were planted with ancient localvarieties of rice with a long cycle and one har-vest a year. However, the situation has changedrapidly since the pilot programme of rice paddyintensification which began in 1983 (Ampt Rik-sen and van de Ven 1992). Many villages have

Cinnamon:the principal export crop

The tree crops for export are cinnamon, coffee,rubber and cloves. Although coffee was theprincipal export crop in the first half of thiscentury, cinnamon cultivation has now takenprecedence over coffee. Cinnamon is a tree fromthe submontane forests of Malaysia (Heyne1922), Cambodia, Vietnam and the Indonesianarchipelago (Kostermans pers. comm., Bogor1992). It grows well on drained soils between800 and 1500 m. According to the Kerinci farm-ers, it has been cultivated in small quantitiesin the valley for a long time and was some-times gathered in the forest. Some 63% ofSumatran cinnamon already came from Ker-inci in the 1970s, making this region one ofthe principal exporters of cinnamon in thearchipelago (Rismunandar 1989).

The tree, cultivated for its bark, has to befelled before harvesting (Photo 6) and coppicesreadily from the stump. The bark can be har-

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 1 1Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerlnci Seblat National Parkr


Table 2. Changes in the land area undercinnamon cultivation (ha) in Sumatra between 1966and 1972 (source: Rismunandar 1989).

YEAR WEST SUMATRA KERINCI

PROVINCE DEPARTMENT

1966 7598 5950

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

8437 5950

19601 6327

9012 17727

6554 23336

6852 24000

SOUTH TAPANULI TOTAL

DEPARTMENT

641

643

550

550

650

558

?? 27534

D PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994s and management of agroforests

I - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDYon the

14189

15057

26478

27289

30540

31410

?

periphery

Table 1. Origin and thickness of thedifferent categories of cinnamon bark.

CAT.

KM

KF

KAl

KA

KB

KC

PART OF THE TREE

TRUNK (25 YEARS)

TRUNK (18-25 YEARS)

BRANCHES (> 25 YEARS)

TRUNK (15-18 YEARS)

BRANCHES (>20 YEARS)

TRUNK (8-15 YEARS)

BRANCHES (15 YEARS)

BRANCHES (ALL AGES)

BRANCHES AND BRANCHLETS

THICKNESS

(MM)

5-1o

3-5

2.5-3

1.5-2.5

1

(1991), in the villages in the north of the val-ley, some farmers owned more than 1000 clovetrees, which were later replaced with cinna-mon. Today, cloves are only cultivated sporad-ically, a few trees being incorporated into agro-forestry systems.

In the 1970s, the United States importedmore than 65% of Indonesian cinnamon, whichrepresented a revenue of 5 million dollars forIndonesia (Ardha 1974). Indonesian cinnamonis principally destined for the pharmaceutical,cosmetics and food industries, particularly forthe manufacture of coca cola.

Between 1966 and 1972, the areas undercinnamon cultivation in Sumatra evolved asshown in Table 2 (Rismunandar 1989).

The area planted with cinnamon in Kerin-ci increased by 6000 ha between 1984 and 1989( T a b l e 3 ) .

Table 4 shows the respective size ofthe areas occupied by the cash crops atKerinci. +:*

of Kerincl Seblat

explains why cinnamon trees are used at Ker-inci in very different ways. Farmers choose dif-ferent plantation densities, different associa-tions with other species and different periodsof rotation, depending on their overall agri-cultural strategy (Savouré 1990). Associationwith coffee trees, other trees or annual cropsprovides other sources of revenue while thecinnamon matures.

The sale prices of cinnamon in Kerinciincreased from 350 Rps. kg-¹ (price of rice =115 Rps. kg-¹) in 1983 to 2700 Rps. kg-¹ (priceof rice = + 600 Rps. kg-¹) in 1990. This isequivalent to a relative increase of 50% from1983 to 1990.

This explains the expansion of cinnamonplanting which became even more pronouncedin the 1970s when cloves were struck withSumatra Disease, a bacteria that attacks theroot system which devastated the clove mono-culture. Grand campaigns promoting cloveswere undertaken in the 1950s and 60s by theIndonesian government. According to Belsky

Park.

Table 3. Changes in the land areaunder cinnamon cultivationand cinnamon production in KerinciDepartment between 1984 and 1989(source: Kantor PerdaganganKabupaten Kerinci).

YEAR

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

LAND AREA(HECTARES)

36673

36766

36806

40608

41625

42577

PRODUCTION(TONNES)

5116

5737

6025

11515

13011

13011

Photo 7. Cinnamon bark is sortedaccording to different categories relatedto its origin on the tree (trunk or branch)or its age.

Table 4. Land use in Kerinci by different sectors of agriculturalactivity (source: BAKOSURTANAL and BAPPEDA 1990).

LANDUSE

RICE PADDIES

VILLAGES AND BUILDINGS

CINNAMON

COFFEE

CINNAMON - COFFEE

TEA

MIXED CROPS

RUBBER

ANNUAL CROPS

FALLOWS

WETLANDS

LAKES

FOREST

AREA(HECTARES)

25075

2135

107300

12588

6865

2620

3625

550

7773

27847

670

5140

205797

PERCENTAGE OF KERINCIDEPARTMENT

5.97

0.51

28.41

3.00

1.63

0.62

0.87

0.13

1.85

6.55

0.16

1.22

49.00

A

Ancestors,forest, springs, riversand rice cultivation

Analysis of representations of the forest, and ofseveral key elements of the landscape (moun-tains, springs, lakes and rivers), gives a firstsketch of the value system on which the rela-tionships between people and nature rest in thisregion.

According to oral history, the first peoplewho arrived in Kerinci were seeking a landwhere springs never ran dry, even in the dryseason. This was the image that the inhabitantsof the west coast had of this mountainousregion. The search for land on which paddy ricecould be cultivated was one of the primary con-cerns of these migrants, who came from aregion where this technique of rice cultivationwas already widespread.

In fact, the slopes of the Kerinci valleyabound in rivers which rise in the forestedmountains. The legends of Kerinci tell of a periodwhen the lake occupied the whole of the valley

floor. Leaving the domain of legend, it shouldbe noted that the geomorphological conditionsof the valley, the abrupt escarpments, a largecatchment area and a very flat valley floor areconditions favourable to flooding.

According to Verstappen (1973) deforesta-tion at Kerinci has increased flooding; the soilseroded following deforestation are carried down

l4 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994

to the plain by torrents whose flow is acceler-ated. In the plain, the sediments are depositedin the rivers and diminish their flow, creatingobstacles which hamper drainage.

It is not certain that the first inhabitantsmade the link between deforestation, floodingand difficulties in managing the rice paddies.Today, the inhabitants of Kerinci attach greatimportance to springs (hula air), which are con-sidered to be sacred places (keramat sakti).They recognize the necessity of conserving andprotecting zones upstream in order to controlwater better, both for increasing water suppliesand to control the risks of flooding.

One of the first forms of appropriation ofthe forest environment is revealed in mythicaland legendary discourse, by mythical marriagesbetween women who originated in the forestand the first people to arrive in the region(Box 1).

This foundation myth, which is frequentlyheard with a few variants in most villages ofthe valley, places the homes of these women atthe summit of the mountains. In this way, theinhabitants symbolically acquire access towater, the vital element for rice production.

Moreover, in considering themselves to bethe grandchildren of these sacred beings (orangsakti/keramat) the dewa, the inhabitants of Ker-inci, root themselves in this new territory.From this time on they represent the forest asthe dwelling place of their dead ancestors whorest there along side the original inhabitantsof these places.

In this way a close relationship is createdbetween the ancestors, forest, springs, riversand rice paddies in the local representations ofnature.


In practice, one finds many signs todaythat attest to this concern to preserve thesprings and more generally the zones upstream.● Taboos prohibit cutting forests aroundsprings and the sites where rivers reappear.● In certain villages where the water supply islimited due to a small network of water cours-es, the vegetation has to be preserved along thebanks of the rivers, as the forests are preservedon the summits of hills and on slopes that aretoo steep.● Village forests are preserved amidst the agri-cultural land, generally in the catchment areasthat feed the principal rivers of the village.

An exampleof a village forestThe village forest Temedak, at Keluru, illus-trates a way of managing natural resourcesthrough which we can understand the farmer’sconservation of the environment.

The village forest is a sacred place, whereone of the ancestors who founded the villagelived. It is a community forest controlled bycustomary chiefs who manage the exploitationof its products. These are numerous and reflectthe high value still placed on gathered forestproducts by the inhabitants (Appendix 1). Treescannot be felled without the permission of thecustomary chiefs. No product from this forestcan be sold. Encroachment on the forest canlead to a fine and the farmer responsible has toreplant the trees cleared. The village shamanexerts considerable authority on village sociallife, since he has access to medicinal plants,thanks to his link with the ancestral spirit ofthis forest, which manifests itself in the formof a tiger (Aumeeruddy and Bakels, 1994, Photo8). This person is also the controller of villagelands, and his role as a customary chief is sec-ondary only to the village chief who representsthe Indonesian administration. His privilegedlink with the forest confers on him indirectly agreat authority in the regulation of disputes overhill lands or the rice paddies which are distrib-uted according to the traditional rotational sys-tem. This forest also lies on a hill bordered onboth sides by the two most important rivers ofthe village and the inhabitants recognize thatthe conservation of this forest protects the riversthat supply the village rice paddies.

The forest fulfils:● an economic function (multiple products);● a religious function (link maintained withthe ancestral spirit);● a social function (through the intermediaryof the shaman who wields considerable powerover the inhabitants);

er lemon cut in two. He was very troubled, because lemons are usual-ly used by women tO wash their hair. This meant that there was awoman upstream, The third day he found another lemon that was ovaland long...

Convinced now of the presence of this womam he went to lookfor her and decided to follow the river upstream to the source in thedirection of the virgin forest (rimba raya) following the banks of theriver Jujun. He crossed ‘thick’ forests that no human had ever pene-trated.

Feeling tired from this long walk which had already lasted 30 days,he lay down under a large fig tree, a kayu aro rimbun daun [fig treewith dense leaves]. In a dream, a woman of great beauty came to him,called Putri Muning Dayang Gadis, who told him that he was not farfrom the spring where she lived.

Segindo Kuning woke up, and after he had washed, he continuedhis journey.

Very tired, he sat down when he arrived at the spring. At thatmoment he heard a voice accompanied by a very sweet perfume ask-ing him to go back to the tree where he had rested. Returning to theplace, the tree had disappeared but he found his bamboo hut with thethree lemons that he had forgotten. He went back to the spring wherehe stayed for 30 days in the hope of finding this woman again. Againhe heard the voice of Putri Muning who asked him to look for a lemoncut in two at the spring. He took the lemon and washed himseif. PutriMuning then asked him to build a bridge between himself and the sum-mit of the mountain where she was. ‘How can it be done?’ SegundoKuning asked her. ‘You are up there, peacefully settled in the great figand I do not know what to do to reach it’. She asked him to throw theoval and long lemon that he had found at the mouth of the River Jujun.She threw him a small round lemon in the opposite direction. The meet-ing point of the two lemons transformed itself into a rattan bridgewhich enabled Segindo Kuning to join Putri Muning. They married andhad many children... So was founded the village of Jujun’.

● an environmental function (clearly indicat-ed by the inhabitants, who conserve forest coverin order to safeguard springs and rivers).

These different functions associated withthe forest are at the root of the local farmer’srationale for conserving and managing natur-al resources. The conservation of theseresources over the long term relies on com-munity management, whose control is subjectto the judgement of local administrative assem-blies. The villagers see an economic interest in



Photo 8. Them (healer or shaman)seeking medicinal plants in the village forest of Keluru.The shaman controls the use of village lands and is customary chief,second only to the village chief who represents the Indonesianadministration.

the preservation of this forest; many usefulproducts such as rattans, palm fibres, wood forconstruction and bamboos are extracted fromit. There is no break established in the localrepresentations between subsistence activities,the spiritual link between people and the ances-tors and the social practices that flow fromthem. This integrated vision of environmentalmanagement finds itself in conflict with con-servation objectives which prohibit inhabitantsfrom access to the use of these products.

Prohibiting use of the forest in the Nation-al Park weakens the social ties linking peopleand the forest and reduces its utilitarian value.The forest then becomes a resource that canbe abused and depleted. The only way of avoid-ing this would be to make protected areas intoareas that are useful to local people who part-ly control their management.

AS Watson (1991) pointed out, the dukun(healers or shamans) play an important role inthe organization of undifferentiated societies,in the absence of lineage and clan chiefs. Theyserve as intermediaries with the ancestraldomain and as a result have a privileged placein village social life. The dukun are specialistsof forest products, and being those among thevillagers who have’ the best knowledge of theforest, they should be priority partners for con-servation managers.

Partnership with the village communitiesrequires identification of the best-placed peo-ple to talk with. A good understanding of socialorganization enables identification of the peo-ple with decision-making powers in naturalresource management at the level of local insti-tutions.

The multiple functionsof treesin the agricultural domain

Many forest trees are integrated into agricul-ture. Useful forest species that regenerate spon-taneously in the gardens are preserved and theirgrowth favoured. An investigation of the agro-forests (pelak) of Jujun and Keluru, shows that

16 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerlnci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

Because trees have multiple uses,manu species have been preserved

over time as their uses havechanged in tune with

the transformationof society's needs.

over half the tree species preserved are of for-est origin and regenerate spontaneously(Appendix 2). These trees are used in many ways

wood for timber, food, technological uses,medicines, etc. Among the food trees arenumerous fruit trees, leguminous trees whoseseeds contain proteins that add to the local diet,trees providing condiments, etc. The fruit pro-ducing trees are sometimes used for timber,such as the durian (Durio zibethinus) and Bac-caurea sp. and some barks have medicinal prop-erties, such as the barks of langsat (Lansiumdomesticum) and manggis (Garcinia man-gostana). Diachronic analysis reveals the pri-mary functions attributed to trees and enablesa better understanding of their place in theagricultural landscape today. Trees with atoponymic use, that have the role of markingspace, are given as an example here. Thistoponymic function appears to be one of thereasons for integrating trees into the agricul-tural domain (Aumeeruddy 1993). These trees,as we will see later, also have many uses otherthan as boundary markers.

The fact that trees have multiple uses hasmeant that many species have been preservedover time as their uses have changed in tunewith the transformation of society’s needs.

Trees as boundary markersThe village area is marked out by place namesthat refer to the presence of certain trees whichexist or once existed.

Fedensieu (1992), studying the toponymyof the village of Jujun, shows that certain treessituated at key places mark the frontier withthe neighboring village. The presence of thesetrees is associated with legends connected tothe activities of the founding ancestors and theadventures of the customary chiefs. An analy-sis of the different species that serve as terri-tory markers (Aumeeruddy 1993) shows thatseveral characteristics make them useful asspace markers:● Great longevity or ease of vegetative regen-eration. In this category are several forestspecies such as Ficus sumatrana (kayu arolebar daun), Ficus benjamina (pohon beringin),Baccaurea javanica (kayu pasat berlantakemas), as well as many bamboo species. Other

Photo 9. Mangifera applanata Kosterm. (Anacardiaceae);a wild mango tree used as limit marker on the border

of the village forest of Keluru.

species are planted precisely because they werenot originally part of the local flora; these areCordyline fruticosa (jeluang), Eythrina varie-gata (dadap), Hibiscus tiliaceus (pohon baru),which are used as boundary markers in gar-dens due to the ease of multiplying them bypole cuttings. These trees are characterized bytheir coloured foliage or flowers that are visi-ble from afar. Hibiscus tiliaceus, a desynchro-nized deciduous tree, has leaves with diversecolorations (green, yellow and orange) at anyone time, so that the tree can be seen from adistance at any period of the year. The youngleaves of this tree have curative properties; the



bark is used to make thongs and rope; the leavesare frequently used as food wrappers.● Imposing forest trees that have a particularuse value (Photo 9). One example is Mangiferaapplanata Kosterm. (pohon pauh) - a wildmango with acid fruits that are greatly appre-ciated and have given their name to manyplaces in the valley; Palaquiurn macrocarpum(punti), which produces fruits with a stronglyperfumed, creamy pulp; Acrocarpus fraxini-folius (meluang), a tree appreciated for its woodwhich is good for making canoes carved out ofthe trunk. These trees, because they belong tothe forest domain, play an important role asland appropriation markers in the agriculturaldomain, where they stand out;● Species attributed an anthropomorphic char-acter or origin in legend. The symbolic weightof these species is generally linked to a largenumber of economic and social uses. The twomost remarkable species are the sugar palmArenga pinnata (enau/aren) and the betel nutpalm Areca catechu (pinang). Bamboos also fallinto this category, as species with great eco-nomic and social value associated with certainlegends.

One example of interactions between sym-bolic representations, uses and social practicesis a story which attributes a human origin tothe betel nut palm (pinang). According to thetale, it resulted from the transformation of ayoung man into a palm after a disappointmentin love (Aumeeruddy 1993). This palm nut isused in marriage requests, when the young manis supposed to present a pinang fruit to the par-ents of his future wife. The word meminangderived from pinang is used to signify the actof requesting someone’s hand in marriage.Although the palm fruit is no longer alwaysoffered, the influence of this practice hasmarked the language which continues toemploy the word meminang in these circum-stances.

The importance of this palm in social prac-tices (offerings, nuts chewed together with betelleaves), makes it valuable as a boundary mark-er. It is planted in rows along the edges of gar-dens as a discreet limit which avoids the needfor a barrier and does not prevent exchangesbetween the inhabitants from one garden toanother.

Changing usesChange in the uses of trees over time showshow this society adapts the uses of trees tochanges in external conditions. The conceptionof trees as multifunctional (production of fruits,bark, environmental uses - shade, soil fertility)shows a holistic perception of the tree thatallows great flexibility in the way it is used over

1 8 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994

time. This contrasts with the modern tenden-cy to attribute a single function to trees, eitherproduction of wood or fruit. One example of anevolution in uses is cinnamon - only the leaveswere used traditionally by the inhabitants, andthe bark was sold in very small quantities inthe last century. Through the development ofthe commercial network it has become themost important cash crop in Kerinci and cin-namon wood is now the principal source of fire-wood in the valley.● Bischofia javanica (pohon bintung), a sec-ondary forest tree, was preserved at the begin-ning of the century for the tannin extractedfrom its bark which was used to coat bamboohuts or basket work objects and fishing nets.Its many medicinal uses and its great capacityfor coppicing from the base, and thus produc-ing firewood, are the reasons why farmers con-serve it today, although it is now little used forthe production of tannin.● Toona sinensis (surian), a tree that growsnaturally in forest clearings, provides anotherexample of a change in uses over time. Accord-ing to the oldest inhabitants of the valley, itwas once only a residual forest tree, preservedin the ladang for its leaves, greatly appreciat-ed in local cuisine. Today, its cultivation is onthe increase following restrictions placed oncutting wood in the park. Its rapid growth andthe high quality of its wood makes it moreinteresting for silviculture than other timberspecies of better quality but which grow tooslowly. The leaves are rarely used in cuisinetoday.

Biodiversity:the farmers’ visionLinnean classification is at the origin of theperceptions of biological diversity held by sci-entists and naturalists. The work of a largenumber of authors, including Lévi-Strauss(1962), Conklin (1954), Berlin et al. (1974),Revel (1990) as well as Friedberg (1990), showthat ‘traditional’ societies have their own sys-tems of classification. This flows from a ‘sci-ence of the concrete’ (Lévi-Strauss 1962) whichis forged through practices and the relation-ship established with the living world over gen-erations in domains as varied as religion, socialorganization, subsistence needs, and commer-cial relations. These classification systems arebased on the representation of the naturalworld and practices.

Among the modes of classification at Ker-inci, is a division of plants into hot and cold,associated with wider symbolic representationsof the environment. According to this mode of


classification, all elements of the environment,inert or alive, are attributed a hot or cold value.

Water is associated with cold. Consequent-ly, the rivers, springs and flooded low-lying landare ‘cold’, as are the plants associated with them(rice, weeds in rice fields, vegetation alongrivers). Any plant whose roots, leaves or fruitsare fleshy or which has watery exudates, is con-sidered a cold plant. A soil will be hotter if itis dried out or its structure does not allowhumidity to be retained. A black soil (tanahhitam) rich in humus is, following this classi-fication, a cold soil, by contrast with a ferraliticleached soil (tanah merah) which is ‘hot’. Tanahlembuk kering, (kering means ‘dry’) is a ‘hot’soil; it contains no clay or silts and its struc-ture is powdery in the dry season, in contrastto tanah lembuk basa (lembuk means moist);a ‘cold’ soil that forms small agglomerates inthe dry season, a sign that it contains clay andretains moisture. This second type of soil wouldbe more fertile. Local representations thus asso-ciate moisture, coldness and fertility. Refertil-izing a soil by leaving it to a regrowth of Eupa-torium inulifolium, one of the ‘cold’ plants, isone of the practices that ‘cools’ soils. The shadeof trees, following the same idea, is thought tobe beneficial for soils.

Plants with an acid taste are also classifiedamong ‘cold’ plants, as are species with strongand persistent perfumes (numerous species ofbasil; Ocimum spp., and Zingiberaceae).

The notion of hot or cold is relative; anyindividual plant has different parts that aremore or less cold. So, young shoots, youngleaves and dead leaves are generally ‘colder’than leaves that are fully grown. Because ofthis, young shoots and young leaves are usedmore frequently in medicinal mixtures or infood. The dead leaves of Areca catechu are usedin rituals for cooling rice fields and the deadleaves of durian (Durio zibethinus) are used inbeauty powders (bedak), to ‘cool’ the skin. Den-drocnide stimulans (jilatang) is considered tobe ‘hot’ because it stings but the sap from itsroots is cold and has a curative value.

The hot plants are those with an irritantcharacter (latex or irritant leaves), or very spicyperfumes such as those released by the cinna-mon or clove plants. These are plants thatrelease a hot essence (zat panas), which dis-tinguishes them from other cold perfumedplants such as the Ocimum spp. Spiny plantsand plants which dry out soils (e.g. Imperatacylindrica - alang alang) are also hot plants.

The classification of plants as either hot orcold has various practical consequences,including:● Local medicine and food - the ‘cold’ plantsare attributed a curative value. They are valuedand preserved in gardens, resulting in an abun-

dance of varieties and species for multiple uses.Lemons, for example, are used in food as acondiment, medicine (where many species andvarieties are used either singly, or in mixtures),in cooling rituals for new houses or in the mix-tures of medicinal plants used to expel para-sites from the rice fields. Twelve species of fruitsare grouped under the basic term limau, whichstands mainly for the genus Citrus and otherclosely related genera from the Rutaceae. Thesefruits including cultivated and forest species arerecognized in the local vocabulary (forestspecies marked with an * in Appendix 3). TheZingiberaceae are also highly diversified, giventheir curative value and their many uses in thediet (Appendix 3). There is no clear breakbetween food and medicine, cold plants suchas turmeric (Curcuma longa) or lemons beingused in both food and medicine.● Agricultural practices - cold plants are attrib-uted fertilizing properties. Species with softwood, containing water and capable of rottingrapidly, are classified among the cold, fertiliz-ing plants. Among these are Ficus alba - kayucemantung, Erythrina variegata and Erythri-na subumbrans - dadap and cengkring, thekapok Ceiba pentandra, Aleurites moluccana -kemiri, papayas and bananas. Plants withwatery fruits, such as the Cucurbitaceae, Ben-incasa hispida - kundur, Cucumis sativa -timun, Cucurbita moschata - pengi, Luffa acu-tangula - petula, Sechium edule - labu siam,etc., cover the soil and have a cooling effect.After clearing and burning his agricultural plot,the farmer deliberately allows a regrowth ofCrassocephalum crepidoides - capok, Bidenspilosa - jambing pauh or Eupatorium inuli-folium - bunga rinyu to cover over the soil. Hethen plants cold species such as bananas,papayas and Erythrina, which cover the soilwith their rapid growth and provide shade.

A second type of classification foundedupon symbolic representations divides plantsinto ‘male’ and ‘female’ according to criteriasuch as the size of the fruit, length of intern-odes, leaf pilosity, etc. For Michelia champaca,for example, the farmer distinguishes the ‘male’variety semulun tanduk, characterized by largeleaves, young leaves with dense hair and finemarbling in the wood, from the ‘female’ vari-ety semulun padi padi, characterized by smallleaves, the young leaves glabrous and uniformbeige wood. These two varieties do not havethe same uses: the first, having a much hard-er wood, is preferred for outside use.

Another timber species, Actinodaphnesesquipedalis, has a female variety with small-er leaves than the ‘male’ variety and the youngleaves are red and glabrous. In this second casetaxonomists also identify a variety glabra of A.sesquipedalis corresponding to this ‘female’

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 19Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of KerInci Seblat National Park,


variety. This is not the case for other specieswithin which the farmer distinguishes severalvarieties which are not yet scientifically inven-toried.

Other criteria used in the local classifica-tion lead us to distinguish plant diversity. Thesecriteria are based on local representations of the

systems should be takeninto account by conservation managers for any activity

in the zones of the park which entailspartnership with the inhabitants.

environment and principally the use of vege-tative characters. This set of indigenous classi-ficatory criteria differs from the morphologicalcriteria used by Linnean classification that givesa great deal of importance to the-floral parts.

Nonetheless, the criteria of classification ofplants into hot and cold, male and female, arenot the only ones used by the inhabitants. Othersystems, such as regrouping plants accordingto functional or morphological criteria, are alsoused (Aumeeruddy 1993).

This brief outline of some of the overallrepresentations of the environment and par-ticularly of the forest, as well as some ways ofclassifying plants, highlights how the matrix ofknowledge is organized in this society, and thelinks established between representations andpractices. Indigenous classification systemsshould be taken into account by conservationmanagers for any activity in the peripheralzones of the park which entails partnershipwith the inhabitants.

The presentation of agroforests in the fol-lowing section shows how the farmer associ-ates the elements of the ecosystem in space andtime, taking into account ecological factorssuch as light, species competition, etc. Agro-forests are systems that integrate productionand social functions. The key questions are howdoes the farmer put his or her knowledge ofplants into practice, which functions are attrib-uted to plants according to the socio-culturalcontext, and what are the reactions and strate-gies adopted in response to changing externalfactors (environment, access to resources, com-mercialization circuits, etc.). ●:*

2 0 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerincl Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

as well as the place they will hold in the vari-ous production ensembles. The trees of thefuture, which are also drawn, are young non-productive trees whose position in the agro-forest structure suggests the possibilities forchange in the agroforest over time. Just as inthe forest an old tree can fall, creating a gap,in the agroforest an old non-productive tree isfelled and creates a new space that can harboursun-loving species or favour the growth offuture trees (Michon 1985). By using these pro-files an idea can be gained of the dynamics ofan agroforestry plot.

Agroforests dominatedby fruit trees:management of a scarceand fragile resource,the soil

In the village of Semerap, on the western edgeof Lake Kerinci, the planting of useful trees inpelak type agroforestry systems preserves accessto the land and enables the sustainable man-agement of the hillside soils in this part of thevalley, which are fragile ultisols and inceptisolshighly subject to erosion on steep slopes. Fig-ure 4 shows land use in Semerap.

The hillside lands of Semerap are limitedto the west by the Barisan mountain chain andcover only a small area, considering the highpopulation density of Semerap village -332 peo-ple km-2 (The population of Sumatra numbered37 million in 1990 (Anon. 1991) with an aver-age population density of 80 people km-2.) Landsuitable for rice cultivation is also restricted toa narrow band situated between the lake andthe lateral slopes of the valley. These rice fieldsare not sufficiently irrigated to allow two har-vests of rice a year. Because of this shortage ofland, a system of collective management ofthe first third of the hillside landshas been established by the

is the common property of the village (tanahharta pusaka), which is inalienable. The farm-ers who are attributed the plots that still belongto the community only have use rights (hakpakai) over them, the farmer owning only theproducts of the trees planted. This right of usecan be passed on to children on condition thatthere are always productive trees on the plot.This is clearly an incentive to plant trees. Theother hillside lands are privately owned, but thecustomary organization exerts a strict controlon them: fire is forbidden as it can endangerthe community’s wealth of trees; the plotsattributed to the inhabitants are demarcated bythe customary chiefs according to the directionof the slope and in relation to surrounding gar-dens; particular rules are defined for clearingnew forest plots, etc. According to older mem-bers of the village, planting trees is a recom-mendation of the ancestors to deal with theproblem of land shortage. The creation ofmulti-layered gardens appeared before theDutch colonial period, and was a necessity,since slash-and-burn agriculture, whichrequires a long fallow phase for land fertilityto recover, is not viable in a small territorygiven the high population density. Plantingtrees is the farmers’ way of appropriating land.The land which is attributed to them by cus-tomary authority has to contain productivetrees or the land will be taken back by the cus-tomary organization, according to customaryrules (Box 2).

Figure 4. Schematic diagramof land use in Semerap village.

L

As there is insuffi- 4

the agroforest gardens situated in the zone ofthe inalienable village lands ( tanah harta pusa-ka) of Semerap.

Figure 5 reflects marked stratification. Thecanopy species are principally large durian -Durio zibethinus, and a leguminous tree withan edible seed, Parkia speciosa - petai. In theintermediary productive ensemble are variousfruit trees such as Lansium domesticum -!argsat, Garcinia mangostana - manggis, Bac-caurea dulcis - cupak. Finally, numerous clovetrees are planted in the understorey, althoughin most cases in Sumatra this species is culti-vated in monoculture, in full light. The treeproduces less in the shade. and according tothe farmers, the risks of diseases are reducedif cloves are cultivated in association with otherplants. The plots in a regeneration phase arethose in which the canopy trees have been cutdown and are being replaced (cf. Figure 6). Thefarmer plants sun-loving species such as Archi-dendron pauciflorum - jengkol, coffee, bananasas well as timber species such as Alangium kurii- melaku or Toona sinensis - surian. These lasttwo are forest gap species (cf. Figure 6). Thereplacement trees are young durian which willform the future canopy trees.

Management of the agroforest in space andtime results from the farmer’s precise knowl-edge of the different rhythms of production andmaturation of agroforest species and his knowl-edge of the ecological requirements of eachspecies.

Customary rules governingland appropriation

Kalau bambuh sudah bisa penjemput ikan belut:When the bamboos are large enough totrap the eels in the rice fields

Tandah belukar sudah tua:This is the signthat the secondary forest is already old

Tidak tuah tanah tersebut: This garden is thenno longer under the control of its user

Rantau jauh diulang: Travel as far and as oftenas you wish

Tanah dekat masih dekat danau: The land nearthe lake

Hak milik orang yang mengendano: Belongs tothose who make it fruitful

These agroforest gardens are principallycommercial, though products for home con-sumption are also available; the fruits, legu-minous seeds, cloves and coffee produced aredestined for sale. Timber is kept to meet theneeds of the family but the surplus may bebought by small commercial enterprises. In theunderstorey, the dead branches are collectedfor firewood; coffee leaves are gathered to makea very popular drink, & (Photo 10). Althoughthe coffee plant may no longer be producingcoffee, it is conserved here for its leaves.



24

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I

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.

These predominantly fruit producing agro-forest gardens were probably the first types ofperennial agroforest systems with a multi-lay-ered structure established in Kerinci. Accord-ing to oral history, they already existed at thebeginning of the century when the Dutcharrived in the region. They are a farmer’sresponse to land constraints and to the diffi-culties of managing fragile soils.

As in the village forest of Keluru, commu-nity management subject to the control of cus-tomary village authority is necessary and guar-antees the good functioning of these agro-forests. Control based on the local decision-making process in this case ensures long-termuse of a fragile resource - the soil.

The management of the hillside lands ofthe valley as a whole evolved in a different waythan at Semerap, principally because there wasmore land available. As we have already seenin the historical overview of agricultural evo-lution in Kerinci, the systems of cultivation

26 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management ofSumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

in the majority of villages in the valley havetended to change since the beginning of thetwentieth century, from systems of slash-and-burn agriculture to agroforestry systems of twotypes:● agroforestry systems with alternate cycles oftree and annual crop cultivation, ladang; or● complex agroforestry systems with a strongcoffee or cinnamon component associated withnumerous forest species, pelak

The flexibilityof cultivation systemsintegrating cinnamon

After clearing a forest plot, a farmer has sev-eral options (Figure 7). Stages 1 and 2 are com-mon to systems 3, 4 and 5. During the firsttwo years, the farmer produces annual cropsand plants coffee and cinnamon (l).

The coffee trees come into production aftertwo and a half years and produce until aboutthe eighth year (2). Coffee production thentends to drop, because of the shade of the cin-namon plants. The annual crops are shaded bythe crowns of the tree species, and are no longerproductive.

One of the options open to the farmer isto cut the cinnamon in the eighth or ninthyear (3). The coffee trees are then severelypruned, which enables them to regain theirvigour. A stage of annual cultivation is onceagain possible, the system coming back toStage 1.

The second option for the farmer is to letthe cinnamon trees grow up to about25 years (4). Coffee production is completelyinterrupted. When cinnamon is finally har-vested, the system goes back to Stage 1 and thefarmer can again plant annual crops.

Finally, another option is for the farmer toplant or to favour the spontaneous regenerationof other tree species during Stages 1 and 2. Thecinnamon trees are conserved and the other treecrops begin to produce. For example jengkolArchidendron pauciflorum] becomes produc-tive after eight to ten years. The cinnamon isonce again in the understorey where it is man-aged by a short-cycle rotational pruning. Thefarmer now has a plot with a perennial, multi-layered structure, with a strong component ofspecies of forest origin that regenerate sponta-neously (5) (Photos 11 and 12).

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 27nagement of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,


Two agroforests of this type are represent-ed by Figures 8 and 9. The two profiles showthe flexibility of these agroforests which can bemanaged for different products according to theneeds of the farmer.

Figure 8 is the profile of an agroforest inthe village of Jujun. Some forty years old, it isrelatively young. The trees of the canopy aremainly jengkol (Archidendron pauciflorum)and petai (Parkia speciosa), two leguminoustrees. There is also a timber species (Alangiumkurzii - melaku) and several fruit trees(Mangifera odorata, M. foetida, Durio zibethi-nus). The intermediate productive ensemble is

occupied by a high density of cinnamon andsome fruit trees (Garcinia mangostana,Nephelium lappaceum); the lower productiveensemble consists of bananas as well as smallfruit trees, including many species and vari-eties of lemons and a custard apple, Annonamuricata. Many young trees of the future aresituated in the understorey. These are princi-pally timber species (Alangium kurzii -melaku,Toona sinensis - surian) and Michelia cham-paca - semulun, young cinnamon trees and afew young fruit trees.

A second garden at Jujun (Figure 9) showsa structure dominated by four principal species



jengkol, cinnamon, surian and kemiri. Theupper productive ensemble is dominated bysurian and kemiri. The middle productiveensemble is characterized by an abundance ofcinnamon and jengkol. A lower productiveensemble is occupied by coffee. Among the treesof the future, jengkol are the most abundant,followed by cinnamon.

The pelak area at Jujun shows a great vari-ability in structure and composition, as thesetwo gardens illustrate (Figures 8 and 9). Thegreat variety of products from these agroforestsystems makes them supple structures that thefarmers shape according to their needs and theecological requirements of each species. Thetime available to the farmer, the size of thefarm, the cultivation system adopted in the ricefields (old variety with a long cycle and oneharvest a year or new variety with a short cycleand two harvests a year) and in the ladang(plantations of cinnamon and coffee with alonger or shorter cycle of rotation with annu-al species) are the factors that influence thestructure and composition of a farmer’s agro-forest gardens (Aumeeruddy 1993). 4+

Photo 12.Village situated to the southof Lake Kerinci,surrounded by a mosaic of ladangand pelak type agroforests.

30 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, lndonesla - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

Figure 9. Profile of a pelak type agroforest made up of an association of fruit trees, timber trees;leguminous trees and cinnamon. Jujun, Kerinci, Sumatra (20 10’ S, 1010 30’ E), Alt. 900 m,Y. Aumeeruddy and B. Sansonnens, September 1990.

Alangium kurzii - melaku: 2,7,59,63,68,72,75,92, 100,11,126,136, 138;Archidendron pauciflorum - jengkol: 4,20,77,78,99,109,113, 120,122,151, 152,155;

Cinnamomum burmani - kulit manis: 3,5,6,8,16,17,18,19, 21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,49,50,51,52,53, 54,55,57,58,60,62,64, 65,66,67,69,73,74,79, 80,81,

83,88,90,101,108,112, 115,121,123,124,125, 139,149,150,153, 154;Durio zibethinus-durian: 9;

Mangifera indica - amplam: 76;

25

M

45

40

5

om -



Land availability plays a capital role in theprocess of agroforestry in Kerinci (Aumeerud-dy and Sansonnens, forthcoming). In bothSemerap and Jujun villages, the farmer’s landholdings are small (1.3 and 1.9 ha respective-ly) and we see in them a transition from theladang system to the J&&type of agroforestrysystem. For the farmer, this transition allowsproduction to be diversified to cope with thevicissitudes of the market and to produce reg-ular harvests spaced out over time, scheduledaccording to the seasonal production of the dif-ferent agroforest species. For example, the sea-sonal production of the cultivated mangospecies (Mangifera indica, Mangifera foetidaand Mangifera odorata) varies from one speciesto another, so that climatic risks are also dis-persed. The pelak do not require a large invest-ment of labour; the spacing of the harvest peri-

crops.The second kind of cultivation system,

which is also of the ladang type, and whichincludes a long phase of cinnamon monocul-ture, is very land-consuming, since the pro-duction flow is zero or very low (small clear-ings cut) for fifteen to twenty years. This is thesystem adopted by the farmers who have larg-er land-holdings (10-50 ha). These are richfarmers who acquired new land at the expenseof the forest during different periods of agri-cultural expansion. This type of production sys-tem is found in areas of the valley where geo-morphological conditions (good volcanic soilsand no topographical limitations) have per-mitted the expansion of agricultural land, aspart of a strategy of land occupation and cap-italization which benefitted the richest farm-ers. This cultivation system adopted on the hillsresults in an expanding pioneer front which hasnot favoured intensification of agroforestry.

If buffer zones are to be established,they should be based on appropriate

local forms of management,with their own rules

limiting the exploitationand management of resources.

ods allows flexible use of the family labour. Intransforming the ladang into pelak, the farmermaintains a high level of production on hill-side lands while reducing the labour timeinvested, which is less in the pelak than in theladang. This means more time can be givenover to the rice fields where an intensive sys-tem is put in place with two harvests of hybrid


Impact of privateor collective resourcemanagementon the evolutionof agroforestry practices

In Jujun, although the system of land alloca-tion on the high lands gives private ownershipof a cleared forest plot to the person who clearsit, the customary land controller still has a rightto monitor the management of these lands.Customary control can go as far as stoppingthe use of land allocated to a farmer who hasleft it abandoned for too long. Additionally, adistinction is made between the ladang landswhich can be sold, and the pelak lands which

Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerincl Seblat National Park r


have a patrimonial character and are thus lesssubject to land transactions.

From this overlap between collective andprivate management, it follows that certainproducts from the pelak zone are considered ascollective goods and are gathered by the inhab-itants collectively, particularly fallen fruits,bamboos, dead wood and wild medicinal plants.This favours social exchanges (looking for med-icinal plants in the gardens during celebrationsrelated to rice, collecting jackfruit Artocarpusheterophyllus for marriage celebrations,exchanges of products between villagers, etc.).

The poorest members of society have accessto these resources, which enables them todevelop subsistence activities. Children alsohave the right to glean in the pelak, where theyeat cultivated and wild fruits and gather kemiriand areca nuts which they sell to small scaletraders in the village. This free access - thoughsystematic theft is always forbidden - makes thepelak a place of socialization for children inwhich they can learn about nature.

In Semerap, a shortage of land and fragilesoils have lead to the collective managementof patrimonial lands (tanah pusaka). Land canonly be appropriated by planting trees with eco-nomic value, guaranteeing both maximum pro-duction and the ecological reproduction of thesystem.

In the pioneer agricultural zones where thefarmers are developing large private agricul-tural enterprises, the situation differs from boththose presented above. The geomorphologicaland historical conditions have resulted in theestablishment of commercial tree cultivationon vast privately owned areas. As Watson(1987) explains, in Kerinci, the colonial Dutchpower, then later the central Indonesian powerwere in conflict for a long time with the cus-tomary local power, who were not well disposedto receive orders from above. This was mani-fested particularly by a marked reticence toadopt introduced rice varieties with a shortcycle. In contrast, the promotion of exportcrops by the Dutch, then by the IndonesianState, was well adopted, and led to a greatincrease in wealth, which did not howevertranslate into better cohabitation with centralpower. Profound transformations linked to theintroduction of commercial crops led to trans-formations in land management and a highlydeveloped concept of the private ownership ofland and resources. This can be attributed tothe response of the local population to theDutch colonial administration establishing for-est reserves in 1929 and prohibiting the use offorest land; the population responded by mark-ing territory through massive cinnamon plan-tation. The collective management of land andplant resources is becoming weaker in agri-

cultural lands. This leads to excessive behav-iour in the harvesting of certain non-commer-cial resources, such as cutting bamboos, gath-ering wild fruits by children, etc. Bamboos,originally a collective resource with a high sym-bolic value, are becoming privatized in agri-cultural zones, and are the object of many con-flicts. Bamboo resources are a focus of mistrustand surveillance, and consequently theft.

Due to the marked social stratification thatdeveloped in the pioneer agricultural zones, therichest farmers, who entered into a process ofcapitalization linked to the market economy,no longer see the forest as anything other thana free access resource that can serve to increasetheir capital and enable them to make theirmany investments in their agricultural enter-prises profitable. These social transformationsgive place to uncontrolled and destructive useof forest resources.

Because of this, if buffer zones are to beestablished, they should be based on appropri-ate local forms of management, with their ownrules limiting the exploitation and managementof resources. The system used by the village ofSemerap seems fairly effective for promotingintensification of agroforestry.

Weber and Reveret (1993) have shown thatcommon property resources from which theinhabitants are excluded by policies prohibit-ing access to forests, are subsequently no longerconsidered as common property to be managedlocally. This type of situation was highlightedby Gadgil et al. (1988) for forests placed underreserve in India. It would seem that in Kerin-ci, this same situation may have resulted insevere deforestation in the agricultural pioneerzones. Studying modes of resource appropria-tion and decision-making processes for themanagement of these resources by the variousinterest groups involved is indispensable forresolving conflicts between centralized man-agement and local management which differ intheir modes of resource appropriation.

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 33Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Sebiat Nationai Park,


Relationship betweencommercial networksand agroforestrydynamics

The old fruit agroforests of the type describedat Semerap, or the more recent agroforests ofthe type described at Jujun, are intended to becommercial. Products such as jengkol, kemiri,and many fruits (durian, mangostan, cupak,etc.) are commercialized in short circuits, i.e.in the different markets in the valley. The sys-tem of markets rotating from one place toanother enables farmers specialized in tradingcertain products (rice, fruits, vegetables) toplace their produce on different markets in thevalley. Longer circuits exist between Kerinciand the coastal regions. The principal advan-tage of the valley lies in the differences in har-vesting schedules between Kerinci and thecoastal regions.

Products such as firewood, medicinalplants or timber are traditionally very littlecommercialized. A new market in timber hasbegun to emerge, linked to the development ofnew small businesses. These recent changeshave a direct impact on the diversification ofagroforestry. At Jujun in particular, we are see-ing an intensification of plantations of the threetimber species that are the most commercial-ized: Toona sinensis - surian, Alangium kurzii- melaku, and Michelia champaca - semulun.

For the fruit market, improvement of theroad network in the valley is enabling betterdistribution of fruits, both on short and longtrade circuits - the ‘export’ of fruits to coastalregions is now envisaged. The farmers are verysensitive to these recent changes, and the diver-sified structure and composition of the agro-forests offer the necessary flexibility to favourproducts that are gaining importance in themarket.

Improving the circuits and channels ofcommercialization leads to diversification ofthe agroforests. But this trend can be reversedif the market demands only a small number ofspecies. In the case of timber at Jujun, we arewitnessing the progressive elimination of non-commercialized timber species which arereplaced by the three now commercializedspecies. At its most excessive, in cinnamonmonoculture, the farmers are totally dependenton the market economy. The long-term man-agement of collective resources is disappearingin favour of a logic of individual capitalization.This has a negative impact on the use of forests,which are now felled so that new cash cropscan be established. ●:+

34 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

shows that a line of strength of natural resourcemanagement is in managing the waterresources needed to feed the rice fields. Becauseof this, conserving the forests upstream isimportant in the eyes of the population. Motivesfor forest conservation are thus not the samefor conservation managers and farmers, theconservation managers being mainly concernedto conserve biodiversity while the farmers arepreoccupied with managing catchment areasfor their practical subsistence needs. A betterorientation of the discourse and objectives ofconservation could probably improve relationsbetween farmers and conservation managers.

Study of the symbolic representations offorests and agroforests, together with a studyof the various uses of plants and indigenousmanagement practices, shows that under-standing the management systems is only pos-sible if economic, symbolic and institutionalaspects are taken into account.

The systems of classification of the farm-ers flow from a perception of the living andinert world that differs in several aspects fromscientific classifications. The perception of bio-logical diversity and ecological processes resultsfrom interaction between practices, uses andrepresentations of the plant life that belong toeach society. For a true partnership to be pos-sible between conservation managers and farm-ers, a first step must be taken in the recipro-cal recognition of the many possible percep-tions of the diversity of the living world andthe practices that flow from these classificationsystems.

The foret areas placed in reserves and nolonger accessible to the farmers lose, in theireyes, their economic and symbolic value. Localinstitutions no longer control the managementof resources of a protected area. Paradoxically,prohibiting access to the forest, even usingcoercion in some cases, opens the way to thedestruction of the forest.

The establishment of a buffer zone willrequire defining a forest zone to which the pop-ulation can have access according to a systemof control and limitation of resource exploita-tion subject to local village authorities. It seemsessential that the inhabitants can again use theforest resources and manage part of this forestso that there is a reappropriation of the forestdomain on their part. Numerous studies havebeen made of rattan extraction in Kerinci andthe limited harvesting level should be able tocontinue at the same time as the planting ofrattan in the peripheral zones of the park(Siebert 1989). A belt of agroforests around thisforest buffer zone would function as a zone ofintensive production, reliant on a statute of pri-vate or collective property according to eachvillage. Pelak type agroforestry systems char-acterized by their flexibility of production, theirecological and social viability and modes of con-trolling community resources, could be, in thelong term, true buffer zones around the park’speriphery, as long as other forms of employ-ment can be created in parallel with the man-agement of these agroforests. For example,employment generated by the development ofnetworks of commercialization of agroforestryproducts could be envisaged. Since the expan-sion of these agroforests is limited, it is clearthat in the long term, agriculture alone can-not meet the population’s needs and innova-tive projects need to be set up according to aprogressive development process that closelyinvolves the inhabitants.

ons



The in situ conservation of biological diver-sity that results from farmer’s practices is rarelyrecognized by forest managers. In addition tothe village forests, the agroforests shelter alarge number of forest species for utilitarian,social and cultural reasons. The conservationfunction of agroforests - not a goal in itself forthe farmers, but simply the result of their cul-tural practices - is not immune to all threats.For example, the two species of wild fruit trees,Mangifera applanata Kosterm. - pohon pauhand Palaquium macrocarpum - punti, are todaydisappearing following prohibition of wood-cut-ting in the park. These species once protectedfor other uses are now cut for their wood. Sincethey are slow-growing species, they tend to dis-appear rapidly. Supporting conservation orga-nizations to plant these species in the periph-eral forest zones to which the farmers may haveaccess, according to a system’ of communitycontrol, will contribute to recreating a heritagein trees that is useful to the inhabitants. A widerange of timber species with more or less slowgrowth rates is also present in the agroforestsand will tend to disappear under the pressureof market demands. They could also be plant-ed in these peripheral zones.

Analysis of the modes of managing agro-forests, particularly of the link between agro-forest development and land tenure, shows thatcommunity control is a long-term guarantee ofthe reproduction of the agroforestry system,especially in situations of high pressure on land.In pioneer agricultural zones, the situation hasmoved towards lack of collective control of landresources, a change which tends towards indi-vidual capitalization to the detriment of the for-est area. Particular efforts should be addressedto the very rich farmers so as to make thempartners in conservation. It is they who havealways confronted the outside powers and theonly way of re-establishing control over theclearing of new forest lands will be to establisha form of management that does not excludethem.

Finally, the transformation of ladangs intoperennial agroforests in Kerinci shows thatintensification of agroforests is possible underthe influence of demographic pressure. Suchintensification should be progressive, observ-ing the cultivation rules known by the farmer,for example the use of sun-loving ‘cold’ speciesin the first phase of agroforest installation.Management of adventitious herbs is alsoimportant as herb cover of steep slopes helpsavoid initial erosion. Annual food crop pro-duction is also necessary, and should be envis-aged in intercropping patterns of cultivation inthe zones of the valley suitable for market-gar-dening because of the geomorphological andclimatic conditions (rich volcanic soils and acooler climate linked to higher altitude).

Agricultural policies based on the promo-tion of a few export products have a direct effecton the destruction of forests and make thefarmers heavily dependent on the internation-al market. By contrast, support from govern-ment and conservation organizations for thedevelopment of circuits of commercializationof agroforestry products would stimulate diver-sification of agroforests.

The results presented in this paper showthat recognition of the knowledge and prac-tices of farmers by conservation managerswould contribute to reducing tensions and con-flicts between these two parties. Intensificationand improvement of the production of the agro-forests is possible and desirable given the lim-its to the expansion of agricultural landimposed by the park. These developments couldcome about provided that the inhabitants aregenuinely involved in the process of decision-making for all the changes that could comeabout in the region. +

36 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representationa and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

ents

This work formed part of the activities of theLaboratoire de Botanique, University Montpel-ier II (URA CNRS 327). I thank particularlythe Director, Francis Hallé, who supervised mythesis. The Ministère Français de la Rechercheawarded me a grant for this research. I amgrateful for the support of the Indonesian For-est Conservation Department (PHPA) andWWF-Indonesia, particularly Sutisna Wartapu-tra and Russell Betts who initiated and sup-ported this work. UNESCO-MAB funded thisresearch through a MAB Young ScientistsAward and I warmly thank Malcolm Hadley ofthe Division of Ecological Sciences. My thanksgo to Laiya Sitasi of the UNESCO RegionalOffice in Jakarta and Yuni Tri Hewindati whotranslated the abstract into Indonesian andAnnick Fédensieu, Bertrand Sansonnens andPhilippe Savouré who I worked with at Kerin-ci. I also thank the Indonesian Institute of Sci-ences (LIPI). Meriem Bouamrane (UNESCO),Laure Emperaire (ORSTOM), Pierre Grenand(ORSTOM), Francis Hallé and Annette Hladik(CNRS) and Gary Martin (People and Plants)took the trouble to read carefully and commenton an earlier version of this text, for which Iam grateful, though any remaining errors aremy own. Finally, I would like to thank theinhabitants of Kerinci for their great patienceand the warmth with which they received me.I hope this work will contribute to a just recog-nition of their knowledge and expertise. +



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40 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerlnci Seblat National Park.Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

Aleurites mollucana EUPHORBIACEAE kemiri/ buah keras tree a~ A

Y.A. 159

Y.A. 359Y.A. 400Y.A. 208

Y.A. 462Y.A. 407Y.A. 305Y.A. 494Y.A. 490Y.A. 344Y.A. 378Y.A. 218Y.A. 166Y.A. 484Y.A. 488

ces

Persea sp. LAURACEAE medang durianPopowia sp. ANNONACEAE kayu menitPterospermum javanicum STERCULIACEAE bayurSchizostachyum irraten POACEAE buluh temiangMicrocos laurifolia TILIACEAE kayu uho - uho

A

Bauhinia sp. CAESALPINIACEAE akar jangkat Y.A. 528 liana w @Schizostachyum pleianthemum POACEAE buluh tanqkal —

Amorphophallus sp. ARACEAE batang kerubut Y.A. 133 herbCaesalpinia cf. major CAESALPINIACEAEA buah kaliang Y.A. 561 lianaCostus speciosus ZINGIBERACEAE setawar herbDioscorea cf bulbifera DIOSCOREACEAE gadung babi Y.A. 552 herbFicus hispida MORACEAE serbukperempuan Y.A. 352 treeFicus parietalis serbuk laki laki Y.A. 547 treeFicus sp. kayu si anak Y.A. 519 hemi-epiphyteLuvunga sp. RUTACEAE limau bunian Y.A. 349 lianaMENISPERMACEAE akar penang penang Y.A. 551 lianaMicromelum sp. RUTACEAE kayu semaman Y.A. 501 shrubMYRTACEAE kayu bal anggin Y.A. 280 treePandanus sp. PANDANACEAE pandanPiper cf. chaba PIPERACEAE

shrubsirih hantu Y.A. 132 liana

* Y.A.: Herbarium collection Yildiz AumeeruddyPEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING

Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park, ”Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

41

Piper sp. PIPERACEAE sirih kakap Y.A. 246 lianaCanthium horridum RUBIACEAE kayu kemuning Y.A. 172 shrubSmilax sp. LILIACEAE akar kawat Y.A. 549 lianaZingiber sp. ZINGIBERACEAE ngelan merah Y.A. 493 herbPiper sp. PIPERACEAE sirih bunian liana

ANNONACEAE menit seluang Y.A. 358 treeCordyline sp. LILIACEAE batang tawar shrub

Artocarpus elasticus MORACEAE pohon terok Y.A. 413 treeBambusa vulgaris var. vulgaris POACEAE aur minyak Y.A. 234 bambooCaryota mitis ARECACEAE lengisi/ miang isi Y.A. 274 shrubFicus benjamina MORACEAE kayu aro kecil daun Y.A. 546 treeFicus drupacea MORACEAE kayu aro lebar daunFicus sumatrana MORACEAE

Y.A. 548 treekayu aro Y.A. 262 tree

MENISPERMACEAE daun suduh suduh Y.A. 525 lianaStyrax benzoin STYRACACEAE keminian Y.A. 167 tree

Bambusa multiplex POACEAEBambusa vulgaris POACEAECaryota sp. ARECACEAECurculigo sp. HYPOXIDACEAEDaemonorops depressicula ARECACEAEDaemonorops melano chaetes ARECACEAEEugenia sp. 3 MYRTACEAEEugenia sp. 4. MYRTACEAEFicus ampelas MORACEAEFicus sp. MORACEAEFicus sp. MORACEAEGigantochloa robusta POACEAEGigantochloa sp. 1 POACEAEGigantochloa sp. 2 POACEAEKnema sp. MYRISTICACEAELygodium circinnatumMallotus sp. EUPHORBIACEAEunidentifiedSapindus rarak SAPINDACEAESchyzostachyum brachycladum POACEAE

aur cinaaur bihasapohon sampuldaun gerekrotan udangrotan getahkayu temeraskayu temeras betinaamplaskayu ketajikayu sekedinbambu mayanbuluh kapalbuluh srikkayu sedarahpaku akarmasihoakar lulokelikirbuluh telang

Y.A. 206Y.A. 205

Y.A. 367Y.A. 491Y.A. 492Y.A. 279

Y.A. 117Y.A. 281Y.A. 520

Y.A. 236Y.A. 235Y.A. 223Y.A. 529Y.A. 178Y.A. 550Y.A. 184Y.A. 144

bamboobamboo

herblianalianashrubshrubshrubtreetreebamboobamboobambootreelianatreeliana

bamboo

42 PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994Local representations and management of agroforests on the periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,Sumatra, Indonesia - YILDIZ AUMEERUDDY

Appendix 2. Plants of pelak agroforests in Jujun and Keluru

Ex : spontaneous species which are exotic or come from other regions of IndonesiaN: spontaneous species of the natural vegetationC : cultivated speciesO: occasionalF: frequentY.A. : herbarium collection Yildiz Aumeeruddy

SCIENTIFIC NAME Ex/ O/F VERNACULAR Y.A. LIFE- SECONDARYN/C NAME FORM USE AND NOTES

Aleurites mo/uccana EUPHORBIACEAE

Alpinia galanga ZINGIBERACEAE

Baccaurea Ianceolata EUPHORBIACEAECurcuma longa ZINCIBERACEAE

Eugenia caryophylata MYRTACEAE

Eugenia polyanthaGarcinia sp. CLUSIACEAEKaempferia galanga ZINGIBERACEAEPandanus amaryllifolius

(syn Pandanus odorus) PANDANACEAE

Zingiber officinale ZINGIBERACEAE

Ex,C

C

NC

C

Ex,CNc

C

C

F

F

OF

F

FOF

F

F

kemintan/kemiri tree

langkuas herb

mempaung 155 treekunyet herb

cengkeh tree

daun salam 166 treeasam kandis 263 treecekur herb

daun oandan herb

padi padi/sempede herb

seed: spice and oilcosmetic and medicinalrhizome:condiment and medicinalfruit: acidifies saucesrhizome: yellow foodcolouring - ritual /leaves: flavoring in foodfloral buds:condiments / leavesmedicinalleaves: condimentsacidifyingmagic function

leaves: food colouring andflavoringrhizome: condimentand medicinal

Artocarpus heterophyllus MORACEAE

Averrhoa carambola OXALIDACEAE

Baccaurea dulcis EUPHORBIACEAEBaccaurea sp.Citrus reticulate RUTACEAECitrus grandisDurio zibethinus BOMBACACEAE

Syzygium aqueum MYRTACEAECarcinia mangostana CLUSIACEAELansium domesticum MELIACEAEMangifera foetida ANACARDIACEAEMangifera foetidaMangifera indicaMangifera odorataMusa sp. MUSACEAE

Nephelium lappaceum SAPINDACEAENephelium sp.Palaquium macrocarpum SAPOTACEAE

Persea americana LAURACEAE

Ex,C F

Ex,C F

Ex,C FN,C FC FC FEx,C F

Ex,C FEx,C FEx,C ON,C FN,C FEx,C FEx,C FC F

Ex,C FN OEx,N O

Ex,C F

nangka tree

belimbing shrub

cupak 119 treelisaut 345 treelimau manis shrublimau besar shrubdurian var. gadja /var.terung ou terutung tree

jambu air treemanggis treelangsat treebacang 145 treebacang var. tayeh 135 arbreamplamkuenipisang

rambutan

138 treetreetree

shrub339 tree344 tree

tree

leaves: fodder /wood: furniture, timberfruits mostly eatenby childrenwood : constructionwood: construction

wood: construction /leaves cosmetic

bark medicinalbark medicinalwood: construction

wood: constructionwood: constructionleaves: wrappersfloral bud: vegetable

wood: constructionwood: construction; treevalued as a topographicalmarkerleaves medicinal

PEOPLE AND PLANTS WORKING PAPER 3, OCTOBER 1994 a 3Local representations and management of agroforests on the Periphery of Kerinci Seblat National Park,

.—


Already published in this series::

1. Cunningham, A. B. 1993. African Medicinal Plants: Setting Priorities at the Interface betweenConservation and Primary Health care.

2. Cunningham, A. B. 1993. Sustainability of Harvesting Prunus africana Bark in Cameroon:A Medicinal Plant in International Trade.

The People

and Plants

initiative was started in July 1992by WWF, UNESCO and the Royal BotanicGardens, Kew to promote the sustainableand equitable use of plant resources throughproviding support to ethnobotanistsfrom developing countries.

The initiative stems from the recognitionthat people in rural communities often havedetailed and profound knowledge of the

properties and ecology of locally occurringplants, and rely on them for many of theirfoods, medicines, fuel, building materials Contact addresses:and other products. However, muchof this knowledge is being lost with Biodiversity Unitthe transformation of local ecosystems Conservation Policy Divisionand local cultures. Over-harvesting WWF Internationalof non cultivated plants is increasingly World Conservation Centrecommon, caused by loss of habitat, increase Avenue du Mont-Blancin local use and the growing demands of trade. 1 1 9 6 G l a n dLong-term conservation of plant resources and SWITZERLANDthe knowledge associated with them is needed Fax: 41223648219for the benefit of the local peopleand for their potential use to localcommunities in other places.

The diversity of traditional plant-resource Division of Ecological Sciencesmanagement practices runs through Man and the Biosphere Programmea spectrum from “cultivation” through UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoyto gathering “wild” plants, all of which are 75352 Parisincluded in the People and Plants approach. Cedex 07 SP

FRANCEEthnobotanists can work together with local Fax 33140659897people to study and record the uses of plantresources, identify cases of over-harvestingof non-cultivated plants, find sustainableharvesting methods and investigatealternatives such as cultivation. The Director

Royal Botanic Gardens, KewThe People and Plants initiative is building Richmondsupport for ethnobotanists from developing Surrey TW93ABcountries who work with local people on issues UNITED KINGDOMrelated to the conservation of both plant Fax: 44813325197resources and traditional ecologicalknowledge. Key participants organizeparticipatory workshops, undertake discussionand advisory visists to field projects andprovide literature on ethnobotany, traditionalecological knowledge and sustainable plantresource use. It is hoped that a networkof ethnobotanists working on these issuesin different countries and regions can bedeveloped to exchange information, shareexperience and collaborate on field projects.