{"id":2970,"date":"2009-07-10T12:24:36","date_gmt":"2009-07-10T12:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.kent.ac.uk\/human-ecology\/?p=163"},"modified":"2018-09-13T08:04:42","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T08:04:42","slug":"islamic-beliefs-in-sumatran-forest-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sac-news-events\/2009\/07\/10\/islamic-beliefs-in-sumatran-forest-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Islamic beliefs in Sumatran forest management"},"content":{"rendered":"

Current projects:<\/strong>\u00a0Integrating religion within conservation: Islamic beliefs and Sumatran forest management\"Islamic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Principal Investigator<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0–<\/em>\u00a0Professor Stuart Harrop<\/p>\n

Project Officer<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0– Jeanne McKay<\/p>\n

Project Dates<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0– 2009\/12<\/p>\n

Funding Body<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0Darwin Initiative<\/a><\/p>\n

The vast archipelago of Indonesia contains about 10% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest. This plays a critical role nationally by providing ecosystem services for rural communities and internationally by maintaining biodiversity and contributing to the regulation of climatic systems. Unfortunately, Indonesia, and in particular Sumatra, has some of the highest rates of tropical deforestation, especially beyond protected areas. Thus, innovative approaches to community-based conservation are urgently needed.<\/p>\n

Indonesia has the world\u2019s largest Muslim population (88% of its 245,500,000 population follows Islam). Religion has a strong influence on daily life and within Islam there are several key principles (Tauhid<\/em>,\u00a0Khalifah,\u00a0<\/em>M<\/em>izan\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Fitrah<\/em>) written in the\u00a0Al-Qur’an<\/em>(Muslim holy book) that underpin nature conservation and outline the human role in conserving natural resources. Further, three interrelated land-use management systems apply Islamic principles within nature conservation: i)\u00a0Hima\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 management zones established for sustainable natural resource use; ii)\u00a0Harim<\/em>\u00a0– inviolable sanctuaries used for protecting water resources and their services; and, iii)\u00a0Ihya Al-Mawat –\u00a0<\/em>reviving neglected land to become productive.<\/p>\n

Thus, this project aims to implement a faith-based community outreach programme to strengthen and integrate the religious management systems of\u00a0Hima\u00a0<\/em>(through participatory mapping of land and forest use systems and by ensuring their protection through joint community\/Dept. Forestry patrols),\u00a0Harim\u00a0<\/em>(through watershed management) and\u00a0Ihya Al-Mawat\u00a0<\/em>(through creating\u00a0nagari<\/em>\u00a0tree nurseries and then\u00a0nagari<\/em>\u00a0agroforestry systems to rehabilitate and reforest degraded lands) into the legally recognised traditional (nagari<\/em>) system (usually comprising several villages). This will be conducted through,<\/p>\n