Theme 1: What is a Forest?
Under the theme 'What is a Forest? ', we fostered an interactive environment by asking each group to arrange two sets of puzzles (see Fig 1). The images were carefully chosen to elicit the participants’ views on what defines a forest. After successfully solving the puzzles, we asked each group to share their views of a forest and a non-forest and to identify their main characteristics.
Fig 1. The two pictures start the discussion “What makes a forest a non/forest?”. The above text says, “a forest that has been transformed into a plantation by the community.” The below text says, “a natural forest that human mischievous hands have not touched.”
The participants came up with forest characteristics such as:
- High tree density
- Consisting of large-diameter trees
- High biodiversity
- Located far from the settlement area
- Natural, free from human activity
- It cannot be used for plantation
Descriptions that came up for non-forest characteristics include:
- Low tree density
- Consisting of small-diameter trees
- Monoculture plantations such as coffee, rubber, and durian
- Located in the utilisation zone
- It has been infringed upon by human
These descriptions suggest a tension in the relationship between the forest and humans, as suggested by Fig 2, where human activities make a forest a non-forest. To strengthen this argument, the participants characterised a forest as being far from their settlement and a non-forest as being in the utilisation zone close to where they live.
Fig 2. A picture of a forest (above) and a non-forest (below).
When we asked the community why it is important to protect the forest, they described it as an oxygen producer, a source for water , a place for eco-tourism, a home for diverse flora and fauna, and a source of medicinal plants. These answers suggest that the community participants recognised a forest as a multiplicity of relations that turn it into more than just a commodity. This relational multiplicity also came to expression when we asked them about what threatens their forests. A village group responded that illegal mining activities in the village’s river posed a threat to their forests.