Forest Policy: Exchange of Experience between Switzerland and Indonesia: Decentralization Needs Clear Boundaries

Bern, 26.04.2004 - The Swiss forest has recovered well from the extensive deforestation it suffered 150 years ago. This improvement has been achieved, not least, as a result of federal co-operation combined with rigorous legislative regulation at national level. This model has attracted strong interest on the international stage and offers an important key to the conservation of the forests now at risk in the tropics and other climate areas. 170 guests from over 50 countries are taking part in a workshop on decentralization in the forest sector which has been organized jointly by Switzerland and Indonesia and will be held in Interlaken from 27 to 30 April 2004.

Everyday an area of forest equivalent in size to 25,000 football pitches disappears in the tropics. One of the main reasons for this is now identified in the ownership and administrative structures that exist in the affected regions: ownership of around 77% of the worlds forests is claimed by central or regional governments, despite the fact that many of these forests have been used by local communities for many years. When local populations are given greater decision-making powers and access to income from the use of the forest, they are generally more motivated to conserve and manage the resource more carefully. Thus, many countries have seen a shift towards the decentralization of their forest sectors in recent years.

Indonesia’s problems with its recent decentralization process

However, countries which are in the process of decentralizing their state forest organization – be they 19th-century Switzerland (see Fact Sheet 1; pdf, 16kB) or, for example, contemporary Indonesia with its tropical forests – constantly encounter similar problems.

Destruction of the forest as the trigger for decentralization. In 2001 Indonesia embarked on the rapid and ill-prepared transfer of central state authority to the regions in the area of forests. One of the main triggers for the decentralization process was the large-scale destruction of the forest under the centralized Suharto regime.
The forest is still under pressure. Nonetheless, every year around 60 million m3 of timber – around 13 times the volume of timber produced annually in Switzerland – is felled without official authorization. At the same time, two million hectares of natural forest are being replaced every year by tree plantations, oil palm trees and other agricultural products.
Lack of clarity in the legislation. International organizations and donor countries pinpoint the lack of clarity in the legislation governing the decentralization process and the high level of uncertainty concerning the associated legal conditions as one of the main reasons for the demise of Indonesia’s forest. At the same time, the timber-processing industry, which was developed in the Suharto era, continues to consume significant volumes of raw material, thus illegal felling continues throughout the country.

Legal certainty and co-determination for stakeholders

The following conditions – among others – must be fulfilled if the resource forest is to be used sustainably and the decentralization process to be completed successfully:

Property and use rights. An unambiguous legal framework which clearly governs ownership and use rights to the forest (preferably to local public forest owners) and the exercise of these rights is essential at national level. This gives local populations (local authority level) the legal certainty required to manage the forest, both sustainably and in the long term. The is no doubt that the absence of legal certainty results in the theft of timber and deforestation.
Co-determination and responsibility of the local populations and authorities. Local populations will be motivated to manage and conserve the resources in their localities if they have rights of co-determination and all responsibilities are clearly regulated. The same applies for the local authorities.

The forest service as mediator. The forest services (which are located at cantonal level in Switzerland) have a special role to play in the context of decentralization. They can ensure that national and local legislation and regulations are correctly implemented and advise local populations on the optimum management of the resource forest.

Exchange of experience at the Interlaken workshop

Switzerland – together with its international partners such as Indonesia, Brazil, Ghana, the Russian Federation and Canada (the participating countries represent over 70% of the world’s forest area) – aims to clarify the role of decentralization as the key to the conservation of the forest at the workshop in Interlaken from 27 to 30 April 2004. Countries which are currently in the throes of a decentralization process will exchange experience and discuss the difficult issues that arise in the course of the transfer of responsibility from central state to local bodies. The fact that these issues can actually be discussed today reflects the significant progress that has already been made and is an important outcome of the UN Forum on Forests (see ; pdf, 17kB).Along with SAEFL and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Intercooperation (Swiss Organization for Development and Cooperation) and the Canton of Berne are involved in the staging of the workshop. Switzerland will demonstrate how co-operation between the different state levels and public and private forest owners actually works in the course of four excursions to the Bernese Oberland and the Emmental Valley (see below).

Four concrete examples of decentralization from the Bernese Oberland and Emmental Valley
Participants in the Interlaken Workshop will have an opportunity to see concrete examples of the Swiss decentralization model at work on Wednesday 28 April 2004. The following excursions are included in the programme:

Emmental: preconditions for sustainable management in a private forest. Departure: Casino-Kursaal Interlaken, 7.45 a.m.
Brienz mountain streams: federal-cantonal co-operation in the protection forest. Departure: Casino-Kursaal Interlaken, 8 a.m.
Boltigen: interface between the canton and public forest owners. Departure: Casino-Kursaal Interlaken, 8 a.m.
Kleiner Rugen – Mürren – Isenfluh: federal interaction in changing times. Departure: Casino-Kursaal Interlaken, 8 a.m.

The excursions are also open to the media. Registration is obligatory. Interested members of the media should please contact Adrian Aeschlimann, SAEFL Information Officer, Tel. (+41) (0)79 277 51 83.