THE POLITICS OF DEFORESTATION IN INDONESIA

Despite growing concern over the extent and consequences of tropical d eforestation in the 1980s and early 1990s, it is continuing unabated. This article maintains that a key reason for the failure to slow defor estation is the inadequacy of conventional explanations. These provide important insights into the specific agents and underlying causes of deforestation but do not sufficiently explain the process which leads to the destruction of tropical forests. To better understand this proc ess, it is necessary to examine the politics which shape and drive the various factors contributing to deforestation. In the case of Indones ia, a centralized military-dominated leadership, attitudes of the java nese decision makers, institutionalized corruption, an emphasis on sta bility and national integration, a political system which mainly benef its the elite, and financial and technical support from international institutions and Northern countries, especially Japan, encourage defor estation while protecting interests which exploit the forests. This po litical context increases the environmental impact of land clearing fo r agriculture, large-scale development projects, logging, poverty, pop ulation growth and poorly designed government policies. As a result, I ndonesia continues to lose nine hundred thousand hectares of forest ev ery year. The analysis suggests that to decrease the rate of forest lo ss in Indonesia it is essential to recognize and reshape political ins titutions and attitudes driving deforestation - only then will effecti ve solutions be possible.