Indonesia’s decentralization laws, enacted in 1999, took effect in January 2001. These new laws decentralized authority to the districts and re-balanced revenue sharing between the district, provincial and central levels of government. Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Government and Law 25/1999 on Fiscal Balancing were devised as part of a collective effort to restructure state governance and revenue sharing. Central government was driven primarily by pressures from district and provincial governments to create a system of governance that would be more fair and democratic, and promote regional prosperity. The new decentralization measures were brought in as an effort to maintain...

We used a policy action research approach, whereby all concerned stakeholders were given an opportunity to take part in the study through information sharing, public consultation, public meetings and focus group discussions (FGDs). Given the varied interests in forest policy impacts, our project was conducted in cooperation with the provincial and district governments as well as the local legislature in the District of Tanjung Jabung Barat (Tanjabbar), the universities, the press and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who provided inputs and information (mostly secondary data) for this study.

At the village level we were helped by the close cooperation of village...

The introductory considerations of the District Regulations (Perda) on IPHHI (No. 21/2000 on Forest By-Products Collection Permits) and RHH (No 15/2002 on Forest Product Taxation) state that the basis upon which they have been created is consistent with national regulations¹⁵.

The District Regulation on IPHHI clearly states that the taxation of by-products from forestry operations is to be regulated by the district¹⁶. Legally, policies setting out the district’s authority to collect fees should be provided with Penjelasan Umum or a general elaboration that provides a detailed legal basis for the authorities. However, none of the three district regulations under study...

In practice, at both central and district levels of government there are very limited opportunities for public involvement in decision making concerning the forestry sector. The processes do not involve those stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly affected by policy outcomes. Universities, NGOs, civil society groups and the business community are still not considered an important source of information and views to guide policy making. Remote communities who are dependent on forests for their entire livelihoods are almost completely excluded. To date, neither central government nor the Tanjung Jabung Barat (Tanjabbar) District Government has issued a regulation setting out...

As part of its effort to increase regionally generated revenues (PAD), the Tanjabbar District Government has introduced local forestry fees⁵³. It has established a Local Forestry Fees Collection Centre (Tempat Penarikan Retribusi Kehutanan, TPR) and a Forest Protection and Conservation Post, known locally as P3H (Pos Pengamanan dan Pelestarian Hutan) in Tanjabbar. According to the District Head, the purpose of the P3H is not only to protect regional revenue sources but also to halt illegal logging, which is rampant in the district. The District Head hopes that P3H will decrease the transport of illegal timber to and from Tanjabbar. However,...

Based on a review of the District of Tanjung Jabung Barat (Tanjabbar)’s forestry regulations (Perda), our research highlighted the following fundamental issues:

Policy-making mechanisms need to be reformed because they have basic procedural weaknesses, unclear content and inapplicable policies, making implementation difficult on the ground. Therefore Tanjabbar District Government should conduct a judicial review, overview and evaluation of all its forestry laws and involve a wide range of local stakeholders.

District regulations should not contradict higher regulations. A local policy is contradictory if it regulates an area that does not lie within the remit of the district government, if its...