Tree cover change has been very rapid in Sumatra in the past two decades, with some evidence that land without tree cover is transiting into plantations (oil palm, monoculture rubber, fastwood plantations for the pulp and paper industry); rubber agroforest are declining, no logging has been sustainable and fully protected forest is scarce. The patterns of change suggest that the main drivers are an interplay between large scale concessions, migrant labour and local intensification of tree crop systems, with local food production a fraction of consumption. The coastal peatlands have been transformed later than the lowland peneplain, and have become hot spots of carbon emissions as well as conflict. The tree cover change has impacted on biodiversity, carbon stocks and water quality, with a growing interest in restoring ecosystem service issues.

1. Understanding tree cover transition
in Borneo and Sumatra SL –
patterns, drivers, consequences and
further questions
Yves Laumonier and Atiek Widayati

2. Typology of districts based on ‘forest transition’
(Dewi et al.)

3. Land cover 1990

4. Land cover 2000

5. Land cover 2010
Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi
Merangin, Jambi

6. Jambi land cover changes

7. Case studies in Jambi: drivers onwards
• Tanjung Jabung Barat: lowland coastal areas,
large peatland areas, strong migrant
communities, past logging areas towards
recovery phase
• Merangin: upland areas, continued forest
extraction/conversions, degradation phase

8. Analyses on drivers of LUC
Geospatial/map analyses
on trajectories of changes
secondary /
! Multistakeholders’
statistical data, perceptions
modelling, …

9. Tanjung Jabung Barat – driver and
consequences

10. Merangin - driver and consequences
Consequences:
Monoculture devt.
•Carbon loss
•Reduced diversity

11. Driver-actor-intervention loops
van Noordwijk et al, 2011

12. Further subject areas, questions
• Exploration on sustainable tree cover
maintenance by: local knowledge, land tenure
issues, formal institutions vs community forestry
• Watershed function (impacts of degradation),
upstream-downstream connections, buffering
function of trees in landscape
• (Large scale investments vs smallholders driving
the development of oil palm, rubber, etc)

13. Borneo sentinel
sites

14. History of the variation in land cover and land use types
along the tree cover transition, main actors/drivers
Source: UNEP/GRID-Arendal, 'Extent of deforestation in Borneo 1950-2005, and projection towards 2020', UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and
Graphics Library, 2007, http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/extent-of-deforestation-in-borneo-1950-2005-and-projection-towards-2020 2

15. TRF Observatory network SL
Sumatra Borneo SL

17. SOCIAL ECOLOGICAL DATA SET, KAPUAS HULU REGENCY
Keluin
Nanga Hovat
65 villages for
socio-economics,
rights and tenure
survey
Nanga Dua 12 ha permanent
forest plots
2 ha
agroforest/garden
plots

18. Data available: Stratified sampling design across
major environmental gradient
Satellite imageries combined with
topographical, climatic and geological
data (in the absence of soil maps),
optical data and radar data (Landsat,
SPOT, Alos Palsar)
Ecological studies on forest and
mixed garden, sample plots for
structural, biomass, floristic and
often soil data
Hydrological data and soil erosion
monitoring

19. Livelihood and governance data
• Detailed socio-economic surveys
• Important tree species and their value chains
• Spatial economic gradients, transition from river-
to road-based patterns?
• Land rights, potential conflicts, governance
system (local, migrant, state and investors)
• Interventions (e.g. infrastructural developments,
extractive activities, land acquisitions) and
associated regulation or policy change

20. Impact pathways / awareness, outreach activities
(regencies, provincial, national)
• Stakeholder awareness about tree cover change in context
of economy and environmental issues
• Local partnership NGOs, radio, TV programs
• Pathways for influencing drivers/actors in scenarios for
more desirable LU
• At the regency and province level we ensure that the
lessons are taken up and applied at a wider scale in the
vicinity of the work.
• At national level we promote lessons learned to improve
spatial planning nationally. We work with technical
ministries (e.g. Agriculture, Forestry, Planning) to integrate
lessons learned as part of their development activities.

21. Research choices
• Improving synergies between mitigation and adaptation strategies
with better climate information
• Ecosystem Services for sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity
conservation (Developing tools to assess biodiversity trends and
changes in the capacity of ecosystems to deliver services, focusing
on functional diversity linked to ES, habitat diversity, soil and water
flow systems).
• Implementing the Integrated Law Enforcement Approach to curb
forestry crimes: Strengthening collaboration across agencies
• Gender differentiated local management systems and ecosystem
services
• Local perceptions and protection of the orangutan

22. Thank you