What is tana ulen good for? Considerations on indigenous forest management, conservation, and research in the interior of Indonesian Borneo.

Abstract

Nongovernmental organizations active in the field of biodiversity conservation such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have contributed to the legitimation of “unproven assumptions” and romantic notions about forest people as traditional conservationists. In this paper, I will look at a form of indigenous forest tenure, tana ulen, in the area of the Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. I explore how tana ulen has been used and interpreted by local communities and WWF staff in relation to emerging issues of community rights and conservation of biodiversity in the area. In doing this, I argue that without an account that discloses the ways in which forms of forest management are variably affected by and effecting the social, economic, and ecological circumstances in which they are situated, we would be unable to understand local practices and, consequently, would be unprepared to design viable policy alternatives with regard to community-based management of conservation areas.