Establishing Collaborative Management for Batu Ampar’s Mangrove Forest: Revitalising the Regional Mangroves Working Group (KKMD) is an entry point for establishing collaborative, community based mangroves management.

1. Policy brief
Establishing Collaborative Management for Batu Ampar’s
Mangrove Forest
Vol. 1/2014
1
Mangroves forests located in the Batu Ampar sub-district are
the largest in West Kalimantan. These mangroves forests are
threatened by destruction. A central and regional policy that
enables protection, production and participation is needed to
maintain and protect these forests.
To date, many actors have been involved in the management
of Batu Ampar’s mangroves forests. The central and regional
government have established a mangroves management pol-
icy for Batu Ampar. This legislation about mangrove forests
has been interpreted in various different ways resulting in a
gap between regulation and practise. There is also competi-
tion between companies and local communities related to use
of mangroves forests. Companies are issued business permits
for timber forest product exploitation in nature forest
(IUPHHK-HA) by the Ministry of Forestry, while many com-
munities use forests for producing traditional charcoal. All of
this contributes to reductions in the quality of forest cover in
Batu Ampar’s mangroves forests.
This study supports a community based forest management
approach for Batu Ampar’s mangroves forests. The Ministry
of Forestry has released several community based forest
management policy options. One of the options that has been
tried by the Kubu Raya regional government is to issue com-
munity plantation forest (HTR) permits. The unclear bounda-
ries over protection and production forest in Batu Ampar
make it difficult to know when HTR can be used as an option.
There is also a difference in perception between companies
and communities in relation to the boundaries of the protec-
tion forest zone. A company holding an IUPHHK-HA permit,
for example, has declared forests within their concession to
be protection forest area to limit local people from accessing
the area. Interestingly, the community are not able to access
government information on the status of the forest zone.
Other problems in Batu Ampar are the absence of implemen-
tation of integrated mangroves management policies. The Na-
tional Mangroves Ecosystems Management Strategy has not
worked in Batu Ampar. Similarly, the district government ini-
tiative to form a multiparty forum that was outlined in the
Regional Mangroves Working Group has not developed.
Observing the real problems that occur with mangroves eco-
systems and inter-actor relations, this study recommends
setting up a collaborative policy for mangroves forest man-
agement. To achieve this objective, revitalising the Regional
Mangroves Working Group is a potential entry point. We be-
lieve that the working group must promote a community
based forest management approach with the principles of
good forest and land governance. This means that transpar-
ency, participation, accountability, coordination and capacity
should be the central principles for all parties involved in the
working group.
Revitalising the Regional
Mangroves Working
Group (KKMD) is an entry
point for establishing
collaborative, community
based mangroves
management.
Executive Summary

2. 2
2
Mangroves forests in Indonesia make up 59.8% of all man-
groves in South East Asia, thus constituting the largest ex-
panse of mangroves forests in the region (Geisen et al,
2006:2). The results of a mangroves area mapping exercise by
Bakosutarnal in 2009 indicates that the West Kalimantan
mangroves are a total of 149,344 hectares, the fifth largest
area after Papua, East Kalimantan, Riau and South Sumatra
(www.indonesiawetlands.org).
The widest area of mangroves in West Kalimantan are in
Kupu Raya; home to 66% of all the provinces’ mangroves for-
ests. The largest area of mangroves in Kubu Raya are in the
sub-district of Batu Ampar. The results of a mapping exercise
by the Bogor Agriculture Institute (IPB) states that Batu Am-
par’s mangroves forests are 65,585 hectares in total, consist-
ing of 33,402 hectares of protection forests and 32,183 hec-
tares of production forests (Subchi et al 2012). The Batu Am-
par mangroves forests are located in estuaries and water
ways of the Kapuas River. These forests are dominated by
Rhizophora apiculate, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, and Xylocarups
granatum tree species.
Based on the Ministry of Forestry decree No. 936/Menhut-
II/2013 (see image 2), the designation of the forest zone in
the Batu Ampar village consists of protection forest (HL), lim-
ited production forests (HPT), production forest that can be
converted (HPT) and area for other uses (APL). The protec-
tion forest consists of an area of 8,551 hectares in the Kera-
wan valley, in Kubu Raya district, West Kalimantan, that was
established through Ministry of Forestry decree No. 127/
Menhut-II/2013 about the designation of four integrated pro-
tection forest zones.
The older citizens of the Batu Ampar village tell how they
once hunted fish, crabs and shrimp along the Kapuas River
that flowed past their village. The communities also used
mangroves timber to produce charcoal. When Japan settled
Indonesia, mangroves forests were opened by communities to
harvest timber for making charcoal. At first only a few people
produced charcoal. Now charcoal production is increasing,
resulting in it being harder to find fish, crabs, and shrimp. The
community suspects that the reductions in fish, crab and
shrimp populations are the result of the loss of mangroves
ecosystems in the area.
External parties also use Batu Ampar village’s natural re-
sources. A number of forest permits operate in this area. In
the production forest area, the Ministry of Forestry issued
IUUPHK-HA permits to several companies. One of these com-
panies that is currently operating is Bios Ltd. This company
received permits for 10,100 hectares of land, valid until 2021.
Bios Ltd uses the mangroves forests as raw material to supply
the pulp industry.
The community critiqued the presence of Bios Ltd for their
destruction of Batu Ampar’s mangroves forests, by using a
logging approach that causes land clearing. The community
reversely uses a selective logging approach for using man-
groves timber. The community only cuts trees that are more
than 20 centimetres in diameter.
Based on our observations, Bios Ltd’s logging methods are
causing large-scale perturbation about the diminishing qual-
ity of mangroves forests. To add to the problem, reforestation
in the former Bios Ltd logging sites has changed mangrove
forests ecosystems, as the dominant species (99%) are X.
Granatum trees. X. Granatum tree roots are not good habitat
for shrimp larvae, fish and crabs. Large-scale logging of man-
groves forests is causing a shift in species in mangroves trees
from the R. Apiculata to X. Garanatum. These changes have
caused mangroves forests in Batu Ampar to lose one of the
ecosystems, which are feeding grounds and nursery habitat
for shrimp larvae, fish and crabs. Reversely, small scale log-
ging of mangroves forests, around 0.25 hectares, does not al-
ter mangroves forest species ecosystems.
Small-scale logging can protect the biodiversity of mangroves
forests in Batu Ampar. Bios Ltd does not only log but also
does reforestation of mangroves areas. Based on our observa-
tion however, mangroves that are planted by Bios Ltd are
only a single species; rizhopora. In several of Bios Ltd former
logging sites, the mangroves that are growing tend to be only
Nyirih tree species. This has changed the structure and com-
position of mangroves’ biodiversity and resulted in a large
ecological gap.
The Batu Ampar’s mangrove forest: Status and condition
Image 1. Batu Ampar residents and a researcher examine the status of
mangroves forests in Batu Ampar (October, 2013).

3. 3
Policy gap, perceptions and practices with
mangroves forest management
Presidential regulation No. 73/2012 about the National Strat-
egy for Mangroves Management is a guideline for the central
government, the regional government, business and commu-
nities in mangroves management in Indonesia. One of the ac-
tions to implement the National Strategy for Mangroves Man-
agement was to form a Regional Mangroves Working Group,
which was started in 2012, however in reality it has not been
active.
Integrated mangroves forest management in Batu Ampar was
a decision by the Forestry Agency in partnership with Bogor-
based NGO LPP Mangroves. As with the Regional Mangroves
Working Group, this initiative has not been successful. Man-
groves forest management policies have not yet been imple-
mented effectively, and policies that allow for mangroves ex-
ploitation continue, demonstrated by the logging operations
of IUPHHK-HA holders. Communities that use mangroves and
that depend on mangroves ecosystems have not yet obtained
legal protection. The perception of actions towards the exis-
tence of mangroves forests differs. One of the problems is the
perception of the limited function of the forest system in Batu
Ampar. As mentioned in previous sections, the Ministry of
Forestry issued decree No.127/Menhut-II/2013 about desig-
nating the four integrated conservation forest zones in the
Kerawan valley in the Kubu Raya district, in West Kalimantan.
Neither the communities nor the Kubu Raya district govern-
ment knows the boundaries of the protection forest. For both
sides, information about the limitations of the protection for-
est system is important as it has implications for the limita-
tions of community access for the area. This contrasts with
the Kubu Raya Forestry Agency that wants to encourage the
issuing of Community Plantation Forests (HTR) for communi-
ties. In line with regulations for forestry regulations, permits
are only given for production forest use.
In the midst of this community and regional government con-
fusion over forest boundaries, Bios Ltd put up a signpost writ-
ten ‘Protection Forest’ in the surrounding area. The company
said that they are obligated to separate 43% of the area for
conservation purposes. However, the company cannot clarify
if the area marked with a Protection Forest sign is a part of
their concession area or not. The community are not sure
whether the area is state protection forest or a company pro-
tection forest.
Urgency for a community based forest
management approach
Involving communities in forest management (known as com-
munity based forest management; CBFM) has become a policy
of the Ministry of Forestry. This encompasses all community
empowerment approaches such as community plantation for-
estry (HTR), community forestry, and village forestry. This
study recommends that a collaborative approach that puts
the community as actors to protect rights, institutions and
forest management practices is needed for mangrove forest
management in Batu Ampar.
CBFM approaches for mangroves forests need to fulfil the fol-
lowing governance aspects:
1. Recognition of local community mangroves forest manage-
ment practices through the formation of village regulations.
2. Government policies for involving local communities in
mangroves forest management.
Image 2. A map indicating where the forest zone has changed to become non-forest zone as well as changes to the function of the forest zone;
and changes to the non-forest zone areas that have become forest zone area in West Kalimantan
(Source: Ministry of Forestry decree No. 936/Menhut-II/2013).
Function of the forest
zone before changes
Natural Forest Zone (KSA/
KPA)
Protection Forest (HL)
Limited Production Forest
(HPT)
Production Forest (HP)
Production Forest for
conversion (HPK)
Area for other uses (APL)

4. 4
3. Forest resource management that involves various inter-
ested stakeholders.
4. Mangroves forest management that has environmental,
economic, and social cultural links.
Taking a CBFM approach can provide double profits. First, ac-
commodating the aspirations of communities in mangroves
management benefit communities and make for easier man-
agement. The second benefit is that it shares responsibilities
with communities for mangroves protection. It also offers im-
portant benefits to community welfare. Doing this requires
the involvement of many different parties to discuss issues of
control and access to mangroves. Companies will benefit as
the sustainability of their raw materials will be secured. One
potential disadvantage for companies is losses from not being
able to do forest clearing as they had previously.
There have been attempts to establish CBFM since LPP Man-
groves started in 2003. However this stopped when there
were changes in administration and funds for the support
program were discontinued. There is potential for starting up
a CBFM model in the village with funding support and com-
mitment from all parties.
Summary
 Management practices, overseeing, ownership and use of
mangroves forests in Batu Ampar – specifically and gener-
ally in the Kubu Raya district – experience dynamic move-
ment as a result of direct economic, social cultural and po-
litical interventions.
 Several actors are involved in mangroves forests manage-
ment, these are communities, non-government organisa-
tions, local government (village, district and provincial),
central government and companies. Each actor has differ-
ent levels of involvement at different intensities.
 The Indonesian government has strengthened its commit-
ment to managing mangroves. This is demonstrated by the
issuing of the Presidential Instruction No. 73/2012 about
the National Mangroves Ecosystem Management Strategy.
This regulation forms a guideline and basis for the central
and regional government, businesses and communities in
Indonesia’s mangroves management. Yet many gaps re-
main between the legal regulation and the reality of man-
groves management.
Recommendations
This study indicates that there are various interests that im-
pact on mangroves management in Batu Ampar. For this a
sustainable management system is needed that involves all
parties (collaborative mangroves management). Specifically,
we recommend that:
 Local communities practice sustainable mangroves man-
agement. To do this, alternative income resources besides
traditional charcoal industry need to be developed.
 The Kubu Raya district government needs to develop a col-
laborative CBFM model for Batu Ampar mangroves forests.
In implementation, the district government needs to con-
sider good governance principles including transparency,
participation, accountability, coordination and law enforce-
ment. The first step for implementing this collaborative
management is to start a Regional Mangroves Working
Group.
 To provide a strong legal basis for collaborative manage-
ment, we recommend forming a regional or a village regu-
lation for mangroves management in Batu Ampar.
 The central government needs to facilitate the implementa-
tion of the National Mangroves Ecosystem Management
Strategy in West Kalimantan, specifically for the Kubu Raya
district. Central government support is needed to support
this management strategy in Kubu Raya.
 The government, specifically the Ministry of Forestry,
needs to ensure that permit holders using protection forest
based on the same ecological standards, and to ensure
mangroves forests are regenerated with the correct species
types.
 NGOs need to support and encourage CBFM for mangroves
management in Batu Ampar.
Researchers:
- P.M. Laksono - Tjut S. Johan - Sumijati A.S.
- Suhardi - Irham - A. Supriyanto
- H. Gusti Zulkifli Mulki - Esti Anantasari - Chatarina P. Istiyani
- Jajang A. Sonjaya - Almira Rianty - Ruddy Gustave
- Puspita Kusuma - Angga N. Utama - Rinto
Cover Photo:
Mangroves roots in the Kubu Raya district.
Photo by the research team.
This policy brief was published by the PSAP
UGM, Perkumpulan Pena and Konphalindo
with support by the Asia Foundation, and
the UK Climate Change Unit with assistance
from Epistema Institute.
The opinions and findings expressed in this
policy brief are those of the researchers
involved and do not reflect those of the Asia
Foundation, UKCCU or Epistema Institute.
Supported by: Funded by: