Reconciling Livelihoods and Conservation for Rattan Sustainable Harvesting in Lore Lindu National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Reconciling livelihoods and conservation aspects in rattan utilization is an intricate problem. To shed light on possible solutions, this study analyzed multiple scenarios using system dynamics models for balancing the ecological and economic sustainability of rattan harvesting in the Lore Lindu National Park. The system dynamics models were developed from the rattan inventory and collected socio-economic data. The analysis was performed using three scenarios: the current harvesting practice; sustainable harvesting without restocking; and sustainable harvesting with restocking. It was found that reconciling livelihoods with conservation could be best achieved under the third scenario. Further, the reconciliation will be best achieved through allocating a specific rattan utilization area, deciding the harvesting quota, determining the number of harvesters, proposing a reasonable price, and restocking rattan for optimizing income and a sustainable rattan population. To realize this condition, it will be necessary to develop a local institution to manage rattan in Lore Lindu National Park. These results also support a policy to give access of forest-dependent communities for utilizing rattan in protected areas as long as this is aligned with conservation strategies.