Population-Environment Dynamics in Lahat, South Sumatera, Indonesia (original) (raw)

1999, PEOPLE AND THEIR PLANET (MacMillan Press, London / St. Martin's Press, New York)

This study observing the deforestation in the protected forest areas in Pagaralam (formerly part of the Lahat Regency) of South Sumatra Province in Indonesia. The relationship between population and environment in the case of the deforestation in Pagaralam is modeled on pushing and pulling factors between the rural people and the protected forest areas as follows: Some of the pushing factors include population density pressure, village lands scarcity, coffee production cycle, and farmers' materialistic desires. Meanwhile the pulling factors are ecological and geographical advantages (e.g. fertile soil, appropriateness for plantation, mountainous areas), large area of protected forest, and incentive of coffee market. The deterrent factors include forest patrol, forcible operations, farmers' fears of being treated as criminals, and farmers' feeling of guilty for illegally cultivating the protected forest areas. Meanwhile the facilitating factors are inadequate forest preservation, unenforced forestry law (inconsistent legal process), and local government deficiencies (insensitivity of village-level administrators) Note: This article is based on my MA-thesis from the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology (1993). I presented a summary of my thesis at the Third International Conference of ICSE (International Consortium for the Study of Environmental Security), held at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tuft University (Boston/Medford, Massachusetts, USA) on May 31 - June 4, 1994. My presentation was then published as Chapter 6 in Baudot and Moomaw (editors), People and Their Planet: Searching for Balance, London—New York: MacMillan Press Ltd./St. Martin’s Press Inc. (ISBN: 0-333-68811-2).