Local Wisdom Transformation of Wetu Telu Community on Bayan Forest Management, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

Wetu Telu Community in Bayan, North Lombok, applies awig-awig in community’s forest management. Its success is proved by relatively maintained indigenous forests. Altered land-use in Bayan Area is only 3 (17.65%), less than 4 in Gangga (23.53%), and 10 in Kayangan (58.82%). Applications of awig-awig in these forests were up and down, influenced by government’s policy. Purpose of this study is to determine the transformation of local wisdom in forest management of Wetu Telu Community in Bayan Area. Bayan’s selected research sites are Karang and Bajo Villages by purposive sampling. Of the two villages, we selected four villages that have community’s forests. The study was conducted from February to June 2013. Head of village and young man of each four village interviewed as respondents. Key informants in this study are elders of community, bureaucrats, NGOs and religious leaders, selected through snowball sampling. Data collections were by observation, interviews, documentation, and then descriptively analyzed using the model of Miles and Huberman. Observed variables were the transformation of local wisdom, i.e. 1) impacts of government policies on forest management; 2) the change on accessibility of forest resource usage; and 3) institutional changes of awig-awig. The results show that government policies fluctuate before and after the reformation era led to forest management pattern on Wetu Telu which transforms centralized into decentralized. The risk of exploitative practices can be avoided with the implementation of integrated control system mechanisms between civil society and the state. Accessibility of Wetu Telu forest resources in the pre- and post-reformation is fluctuated, in line with the accommodation of society’s demands for forest management to be fair, democratic, indiscriminate and sustainable in Wetu Telu system, through the application of formal rules and custom rules. Institutional of Wetu Telu forest’s awig-awig transformed as a result of stronger forms of social control through increased participation of civil society in order to achieve sustainable function and usage of forest resources that are flexible, participative, and accommodative.

Keywords: Wetu Telu Community, community’s forest management, transformation of local wisdom