3. PROCEDURE AND METHODS
3.4. Evaluative Phase
3.4.1.1. Legal Provisions
The aim of this step was to study and assess the current national legal provisions down to the basic administrative level, which was necessary, to understand how things are regulated.
The respective steps were as follows:
1) taking an overview of the relevant legislation,
2) collecting the respective legislation texts from the national level to the lowest necessary level,
3) assessing the gaps that exist, and 4) Summarizing the output.
The results are presented as a part of the research findings (Chapter 4 and 6.1).
3.4.1.2. Case Studies
A case study approach was adopted after the subjects of the research had been defined. According to Danim (2000), the case study method provides the following advantages:
it gives a basic framework for further actions because of the relevance for specific cases,
it focuses on a specific issue and may serve as a source for creating new questions and hypotheses for further research,
the results can be useful to give another perspective which differs from current generalizations.
However, disadvantages do also exist, namely:
the research is less representative because the subject and/or unit of research are limited,
generalization can only be developed afterwards when a wider range of cases have been considered,
case studies risk subjectivity during sample selection, and
inaccuracy can result from data that is only analysed locally.
a) Case Study Selection
The selected cases had to be focussed on forest functions, particularly with regard to ecological means and their importance in development. Apart from the forestry sector itself, forest functions were considered as relevant with respect to the development of: water supply, agriculture, infrastructure and settlement. The study cases were all chosen within the Bengawan Solo River Basin (later: BS Basin) as the designated study area.
The concept was to get a complex description or picture of the multifunctional relevancies of the forest in the area, not only under natural conditions but also including the human systems in place.
The selected case studies include:
(1) Forestry and Watershed Management: Forest Land Rehabilitation Program for the Wonogiri Reservoir.
(2) Forestry and Segregative Nature Conservation: The Designation of Conservation Areas.
(3) Forestry and Integrated Nature Conservation issues: SFM Certification of (Teak) Plantation.
(4) Plantation Forestry and Local People’s Benefits: Community Forestry and Social Forestry.
(5) Urban and Transportation Development and Forestry: The Strategic Road Infrastructure Project (SRIP).
(6) Local Government: Regional Development and Urban Forestry.
Site observations, interviews and discussions with experts were taken during three months of the third quarter in 2004. For data actualization purposes, a further study and field observation was carried out at the end of 2011 and early 2012.
b) Data and Information Acquisition
Site observation was practiced to figure out the current conditions as a result of the development process, together with discussions conducted with the key personnel for forest planning in Java (BPKH IX and Perhutani); for FRL programme/watershed level (BRLKT-Solo); and for public services (DepKimpraswil). The latter has also involved professional consultants.
Two types of research methods were applied for data and information acquisition purposes, namely:
(1) Qualitative method
This method is characterized by selecting the source of information and identifying the work process to describe the overall phenomena. It is characterized also as an inductive method of reasoning to obtain or discover general laws from particular facts.
It was adopted in the discussion phase involving several competent individuals, in the explorative phase (‘focussed-synthesis method’) and in the evaluative phase following Burton 1979 (in Danim 2000).
(2) Secondary data analysis method
Secondary data has been acquired from the selected relevant project reports as objective evidences of the planning activities. Hyman (1972 in Danim 2000) presents the benefits of using this method rather than collecting original data. Inter-alia these are: saving time and money, less invasion-of-privacy objections as well as the ease of making comparative analysis. This method also has disadvantages, including: the necessary data may simply not be available, and the available data may contain errors that the researcher cannot detect, due to hidden political or bureaucratic interests, as a few examples.
To reduce such errors, in depth interviews and discussion implementing the snowball-approach, as well as site observations and crosschecks of data from the different sectors were applied. The advantage of this technique is to better understand the decision processes in management units’ development (Danim 2000).
c) Data Stratification for Assessment
The guidance for data collection was inspired by the developed matrix for Forest Land Rehabilitation/FLR (MoF Decree no.20/2001). However, a modification was needed following the requirements for EsA principles. There are four activities in a management process that were researched to refine the dimensions of the FLR criteria combined with the FAO’s recommendation on CBD (), namely:
planning (evaluate, adjust, assess the problem)
management and organization (design action)
implementation
control and monitoring
Content details of this matrix are given in Table 3.2.
3.4.2. Synthesis
The SWOT analysis was used for the final synthesis and assessment. It is a structured planning method to evaluate the internal strengths and weaknesses/limitations as well as external opportunities and threats that are usually associated to a project. SWOT is also an instrument to develop appropriate management strategies. It involves specifying the objectives of the project and identifying (the internal and external) factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective (Hill and Westbrook 1997).
Concerning this particular investigation,
Strengths are characteristics of the current forest management that give advantages for EsA implementation.
Weaknesses (or limitations) are characteristics of the forest management that give disadvantages compared to others.
Opportunities are external chances to improve the performance of the forest management with respect to the natural environment.
Threats are external factors that could cause trouble for the EsA implementation (natural, socio-cultural, political, administrative etc).
Identifications of SWOT are essential because they provide well structured information for the development of appropriate management strategies and for the planning of subsequent steps to achieve the selected objectives.
The following relevant questions were developed for the SWOT Analysis:
Strengths (characteristics of the current forest management that give advantages for EsA implementation)
Which EsA principles have been already recognized and/or implemented?
What steps have been taken by the forestry sector with respect to the CBD’s EsA principles i.e. under existing forestry laws or by forest planning and implementation?
Which ecological forest functions have been considered and supported?
What kind of scientific support has already been provided? To what extent can forest workers influence the project outcome?
What types of resources have already been used for collaboration with other sectors or communities?
The answers to these questions may be useful for the decision makers with respect to the design of more realistic policies concerning forestry development, in the context of integrated development that underlies the ecosystem approach.
Weaknesses (characteristics of the forest management that give disadvantages compared to others)
Which EsA principles have not yet been recognized (i.e. by laws) or not well implemented?
What constraints face the planning, management, implementation and monitoring processes?
Are there any disadvantaged stakeholders? If yes, what kind of alternative approaches can be introduced?
Identification of the weaknesses of the current forest arrangement may be useful as the starting point for improvement.
Opportunities (external chances to improve the performance of the forest management with respect to the natural environment)
What kinds of opportunities do exist for forest (re-)arrangement based on ecological functions when the CBD’s EsA is applied - including, inter-sectoral collaboration?
What types of opportunities can be identified for foresters and the communities?
The identification of opportunities for forest function planning can be useful to enable improvements and to reduce the weaknesses and limitations of the current forestry practices.
Threats (external factors that could cause trouble for the EsA implementation)
What kind of obstacles had to be faced when implementing the CBD’s EsA in forest management?
What kind of threats might appear concerning the interests of stakeholders or biodiversity when the CBD’s EsA will be fully implemented?
This analysis allows to anticipate obstruction and to formulate better adapted and more realistic policies and strategies concerning ecological improvement through forest functions arrangement.
Table 3.2. Matrix for the Research Assessment
Issues
Management
(Organisation, Adaptive Management)
EsA Principles: 1,2,3,7,8,9
Spatial
(Eco-Structure, Function and Integrity)
EsA Principles: 5,6,10
Stakeholder and Economic
EsA Principles: 1,4,10,11,12
Management System Authority Cooperation Mechanism Unit Management Ownership Function Information Participation Incentive / Disincentive
Dimension Planning
Management and Organization Implementation
Control and Monitoring
3.5. Final Phase