Author(s)

Daisuke Terauchi, Ndan Imang, Martinus Nanang, Masayuki Kawai, Mustofa Agung Sardjono, Fadjar Pambudhi, Makoto Inoue

Center for Social Forestry, Mulawarman University, Samarinda, Indonesia.
Department of Global Agricultural Sciences, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Human Geography, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

To examine the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) program as an alternative to an oil palm plantation in West Kutai district of East Kalimantan, we determined the profitability of land use and REDD+, and the land use preferences and practices of the local people, as well as their participation in and preferences for forestry programs. Our findings indicate the following: 1) the profitability of an oil palm plantation was higher than that from other land uses and the REDD+ program; 2) the local preferences for land uses were mostly consistent with the profitability of the land uses, except for oil palm plantation due to non-financial concerns; 3) the local people combined each land use in accordance with their various needs; and 4) the local people were interested in a Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) program in nonforestry zones. Considering these evidences, an improved RHL program based on an intensive agroforestry system and a conservation-based REDD+ program based on existing customary conservation forest management by the local people are proposed. Given the high opportunity cost and the low preference for an oil palm plantation, designing the REDD+ program by paying attention to the non-financial benefits for a community is a way forward. To enhance the non-financial benefits, it is important to take into consideration local preferences and livelihood activities in designing the REDD+ program. This study also implies the need for a reconsideration of the position of participation of local people in the safeguards of REDD+.

REDD+, Oil Palm Plantation, Local People, Land Use Preference, Land Use Profitability

Terauchi, D. , Imang, N. , Nanang, M. , Kawai, M. , Sardjono, M. , Pambudhi, F. and Inoue, M. (2014) Implication for Designing a REDD+ Program in a Frontier of Oil Palm Plantation Development: Evidence in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Open Journal of Forestry, 4, 259-277. doi: 10.4236/ojf.2014.43033.