State of the Rainforest 2014

Local perspectives in rainforest research

By Miriam van Heist Miriam van Heist has extensive experience from Indonesia, and has co-directed a conservation research station in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Asking is easy Local people were often pleased to be asked what mattered to them and why, and could tell us about species and places in the forest that provided food, building materials, medicine and income, or had particular cultural significance. Other parts of the landscape were important too: fields and fallows, former villages, rivers and swamps. Scoring these different land and forest types for various categories showed what was most valued by women and men, young and old. Field trips guided by local informants helped us see the landscape, soil and vegetation through their eyes and understand the value of the species found there. Mapping with communities was particularly instructive: people showed their detailed knowledge of the landscape, sites and resources. We learned the local names of locations and heard related stories and

If our goal is to conserve rainforest biodiversity and to support the local people, we should ask those people what is important to them when planning conservation. Spending months in villages in East Kalimantan with researchers from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), we found that the local people supported ‘conservation’ – but on their own terms and with goals they recognize. For example, our attitude survey showed that remote villagers, townspeople and civil servants alike agreed that the forest needed protection, and supported land- use planning that provided for the needs of local people, kept the water clean and conserved flora and fauna. Such agreement provides a shared basis for conservation planning backed up by local support.

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STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014