Floods remind Simancuang village in Indonesia to value their forest

A disastrous flood that submerged newly planted rice fields and several public facilities shook the collective consciousness of the Simancuang community in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The community made the difficult decision to report the illegal loggers that caused the flood to the authorities. And for the first time, a community report was followed up by a judicial process. Yudi Fernandes, member of the KKI Warsi team working with the community, reports.

Photo: Simancuang village landscape. (c) KKI Warsi

Since its establishment, the Simancuang VFMG has undergone three management changes, in line with the village rules stipulating management periods of 5 years. In 2021, most members of the VFMG were people who had not been involved in the process of applying for a village forest management permit. The change of management was not followed by an adequate transfer of knowledge, such as the initial motivation to protect the hutan desa as a water source.  

Photo: map of Simancuang village.

Illegal logging and devastative flood

While the older generation is passing away one by one, the younger generation of Simancuang has a different perspective. They see the village forest as a source of timber that can be harvested. In 2022, community members started massive illegal logging, going against the VFMG plans and the village regulations. The community, including the VFMG, was faced with a dilemma: prohibit the logging and report it to law enforcement, or refrain from any action since the perpetrators are local residents with whom they have a fraternal relationship. The dilemma continued and no steps were taken to halt the illegal logging.  

Until March 2023, when a flood submerged the community’s newly planted rice fields and several public facilities. The flood shook the collective consciousness of the Simancuang community.  

Informal conversations in the daily life of the community as well as input from KKI Warsi led to a growing collective awareness that the flood was somehow related to the illegal logging. The decision was made to report the illegal loggers to authorities, even though they were family. This decision is far from easy for a community with a typical mechanical solidarity like Simancuang, that has strong social norms and prioritises the process of deliberation in making collective decisions. Indications that the flood was caused by massive deforestation in the hutan desa prompted the community to urge the VFMG to pro-actively prevent deforestation. Subsequently, the VFMG sent out several warnings; however, the perpetrators did not heed the warnings, thinking it was impossible for them to be reported to law enforcement.  

Photo: the flooded rice fields in Simancuang. (c) KKI Warsi

Legal action

When community pressure on the VFMG increased, the VFMG asked the head of the village (Wali Nagari) to report the illegal logging to police, considering that if the VFMG was the direct reporter, it would create a horizontal conflict in the community. In October 2023, the village head filed a report with the Forest Management Unit (FMU) of the South Solok District. However, the FMU did not give any follow-up to the notification. The village head then decided to consult the sub-district head of Alam Pauh Duo who agreed to supervise the report to ensure a follow-up. In January 2024, a second report was sent to the FMU with a copy to the South Solok district police, and on January 9, 2024, the South Solok police conducted a raid and arrested three illegal loggers in the forest area of Simancuang village.  

Photo: a village meeting in Simancuang. (c) KKI Warsi

The case was brought before the Kotobaru Solok District Court. The trial proved the three perpetrators were legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime of cutting down trees in forest areas without a business license from the government, as well as working together. The panel of judges stated that these actions caused losses to the state, damage to socio-cultural life and to the environment, and increased global warming, which made it into a national and international issue.  At the sentencing hearing on June 4, 2024, the three perpetrators were sentenced to 1 year in prison and a fine of IDR 500,000,000 (ca. €27,880). The decision of the court, one year after the devastating flooding, is significant for the community of Simancuang. It works as a deterrence for people to engage in illegal logging and is also a boost of morale for the VFMG and for the community’s motivation to protect the village forest. 

Follow-up

After the court decision against the illegal loggers, the community held a joint deliberation to reaffirm the agreement to protect the forest. The community solidarity system is strong as ever and was not damaged by the reporting of three of its members to the authorities. KKI Warsi facilitated a training to develop a security plan that enables the Simancuang VFMG to identify stakeholders and risks and to develop procedures for reporting illegal logging. The VFMG has also developed forest patrol security protocols. With income from Warsi’s tree adoption scheme the VFMG can buy equipment for the forest patrols. Furthermore, KKI Warsi is supporting the community with the development of organic rice cultivation as a sustainable alternative livelihood. 

Forest Security Network Platform

In September 2024, together with other VFMGs in neighbouring villages, a Forest Security Network platform was established as a forum for knowledge sharing. The sentencing of the three illegal loggers from Simancuang village was the first time a community report was followed up by a judicial process. It is the first lesson the VFMGs can share in the Forest Security Network platform. 

The work in Simancuang village is part of the programmes Forests for a Just Future and Strengthen the Roots. Within the project Forests for a Just Future, IUCN NL and KKI Warsi work towards more sustainable and inclusive governance of tropical forests, in a way that promotes climate mitigation, water provisioning, biodiversity and human rights and that safeguards the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IP&LCs).

In Strengthen the Roots, KKI Warsi and IUCN NL work to foster grassroots-driven environmental and social development by strengthening community organisations that are dedicated to protecting the nature in and around their communities.