Buffer Zone Management

Some people think that to implement a conservation project means, we have to think conservatively, and that the techniques used should follow conventional rules. Preserving a conservation area is not an easy task, and there are many threats and challenges which require individually well thought out strategies to solve the problem.
Therefore, in our observation it's clear that management strategy for a buffer zone areas is depend on the local conditions. Furthermore, that perspective taken during implementation of the buffer zone concept relies heavily on the manager who takes the decision in the field.
The buffer zone has been defined by act no. 5 1990, conservation of living resources and their ecosystems to be those areas outside nature reserves, thus further emphasizing that the conservation area contains an important heritage with a high priority for preservation. To do so, we need highly innovative solutions in managing the land adjoining conservation areas. 


The application of three principles to speed up buffer zone development can taka several forms. For example in the Arfak Mountains, there continues planting of Aristolochia spp the food plants of birdwing butterflies. Planting occurs in the buffer zone so that butterflies from inside the reserves fly out and lay eggs in village gardens. The resulted pupae represent the harvest and are sold as an economic incentive for the people out side the reserve.
This activity is also directly linked to the quality of the forest habitat - if it is damaged then the number of egg laying females will fall.
Kerinci Seblat National Park takes another approach. In the Lempur river waters catchment area to prevent expansion of farm-land into the park, the local community is involved in setting the Narional Park boundary. It is recognized that protection of the catchment area serves as an entry point, but the management objectives in the Lempur Village can be to other thing, lika a feeling of responsibility for the collectively chosen protected area; this would protect the National Park abutting the Lempur headwaters.

Another obstacle faced in managing a conservation area is not only human encroachment upon that area, but it can also the other way around wild animals living in the conservation area can also encroach upon people's gardens, as is the case in the Way Kambas National Park buffer zone area is outside the conservation area, so that there is no signifant conflict in terms of forest encroachment by the local people. "However, there is a unique obstacle there, namely the elephants which disrupt the hybrid coconut plantation owned by the plantation office, whis is adjacent to the conservation area. In order to prevent the above encroachment, a boundary of ditches need to be erected 
                               as a physical obstacle in the buffer zone, or trees planted which are 
                               disliked by elephants ". 


The search for alternate management techniques, is not limited to the above examples, as there are many other activities, like the increased cooperation with farmers in the Social Forestry and Agroforestry schemes which have been carried out in the buffer zones of several conservation areas in Indonesia. Yet whenever new concept is implemented, it will certainly have its own constraints and obstacles. For examples, the Social Forestry Program faces obstacles due to the unclear chain of supervision, confusing objectives of the program, conflicting perceptions amongst program participatns about these objectives, inadequately skilled technical staff, isolation of migrant farmers, bureaucratic problems with new methods, and lack of concern and comitment to address the problems faced by forest group.

"What about people who have already encroached upon the conservation area ?"
Solving this problem is not easy, for example in the case of Kerinci Seblat National Park, where areas which have been encroached upon and inhabited need to be stablized (or status-quo) to prevent furhter encroachment. Further more, the local government (PEMDA) and Kerinci Seblat National Park will need to review and evaluate the situation, and then to atempt a rationalization, take necessary steps to stabilize the interaction between human activities and Kerinci Seblat National Park, and finally produce a sustainable development program around the park.
What needs to be emphasized is the fact that the management of a buffer zone very much depends on the target group living in the area. The solution should be based on their adjusted to the desired objectives i.e. the preservatin of the conservation area and the walfare of the surrounding communities.

Buffer Zone Concept

The buffer zone concept is easy to explain, but difficult to implementing the field, particularly in conservation area and nature reserves in Indonesia. Although complicated to establish a buffer zone, it does not mean there are no efforts toward the realization of buffer zones in nature conservation in Indonesia.
For the lay man, buffer zone is defined as an area established outside a nature reserve which serves to hold back destructive activities or pressures on the nature reserve. However, the idea of a single protection layer is not translatable to field conditions as approaches to guarding the conservation area connot be limited by exact area and distance from its boundaries.
And the other problem arise from the act no. 5 of 1990 which states that the buffer zone area is outside the conservation area, and up to now there is no clear understanding of the status of buffer zones, of what we should do if the buffer zone is inside the conservation area. So, the status of buffer zone is still confused in the terms of its area; it might be questioned where the real location of a buffer zone is ?


Three Principles
Relating to implementation in the field, at least three principles are being tried in The Kerinci Seblat National Park to speed up the establishment of a buffer zone. 


Access

Means serveral features related to ownership of community land. THis has meant a firm clarification to the communities about ownership of their land. The classic problem met with in nature reserve management is generally rooted in the expansion of the local population leading to encroachment on the protected area. This problem is worst if supported by local customs and traditions. If there exist clear land ownership, this is turn will give more freedom of activity to farm a garden; automatically people with land inside the reserve must leave without argument.      
                     Here, the problem of ownership rights is very closely linked to law enforcement.


Uses

Leans towards the context of original planning. In this, we need synchronization between regional planning at a national or provincial level, this must be stressed as land use, for housing changes naturaly with population growth. It's not a secret that much rice-field has been converted to residential use.






Economic

Directed to the strategy of incentives, inspired by an "if-then" approach. This means that if we are can absorb changes in accordance with existing regulations, and people choose to give up their land in the conservation area, then they should receive various incentives that could include development aid from the responsible government agencies. But, if this progress is reserved, and people go against the regulations, then it has proven effective to enforce laws and give penalties to the violator. 




These three principles are not arranged in order, but very much depend on the conditions in the field.

Definition and Establishement of Buffer Zone for Conservation Area

A buffer zone is required if the integrity and orignal condition of a conservation are is threatened. The threat usually comes from those who want to use natural resources for economic purposes. Almost all conservation areas in Indonesia are bordered by areas occcupied by communities which generally are poor social-economically. Therefore, their education level, population, and awareness are not in accordance with the objectives of conservation development program.


Indonesia Act No. 5, 1990 on The Conservation of Biological Resources and Ecosystem stipulates that "the government can designate an area adjacent to a conservation are as a buffer zone". This means that a buffer zone must be designed and established outside a conservation area. Furthermore, in the explanatory remarks of the Act, it is stipulated that a buffer zone is an area located beyond a natural reserve area, either as another forest area, free state land, or as land with certain rights, which is required and able to preserve the integrity of a Natural Reserve Area.


Definition of a Buffer Zone

A buffer zone is, in principle, a unit of land located outside a Conservation Area with different status, area, and levels of use according to the needs, local conditions, and status of land. Based of the status, an area to be designated as a buffer zone will be :
- forest area which consists of protected forest,
- limited productive forest. 
- permanent production forest. 
- conservation forest.
- coastal area.
- state land with free status.
- state land under imposition of certain concession 
   such as farm land, mining land or concession land
- community land such as dry land, wet rice land and garden.


The management of the buffer zone remains in the hards those who have the right over it, but they must manage it according to government stipulations. Management methods established by the government are now being formulated in a government regulation.


Establishment of a Buffer Zone

A buffer zone plays a vital role in preventing encroachment and threats to both Natural Reserve areas and Conservation Areas. The primary function of Natural Reserve area is to preserve plant and animal diversity and their ecosystem, and also as life support systems. The function of Nature Conservation area is to protect the life support system, to preserve the plant and animal diversity, and for sustainable use of biological resources and their ecosystems.
Establishing a buffer zone which suits local needs requires an on-site process of investigation. Based on the investigation, a proposal is submitted to Minister of Forestry. The establishment of a buffer zone will not eliminate a community's rights over the land but will only regulate its use in order that the area can provide a high economic value and be able to protect the integrity of the Natural Reserve Area and Conservation Area. 


Considering that the rights over the land still lie with the land owner, the process of establishment should be handled carefully, under the coordination or regional government.
In additon, in establishing a potential buffer zone, a literature study and on-site observation must be conducted to obtain an overview of issues and patterns of interaction between local communities and the conservation area.
The next step is to make an inventory of potentials and problems in the area. Results of the inventory must then be analyzed. Based on the analysis, a unit of area for a buffer zone is planned with a management pattern which aims to transform the dependence of local people on physical potentials of the area (for example, flora and fauna resources) and to the dependence on service benefits (for example, advantage from ecotourism or from sustainable utilization).