‘Tagal hutan’ workshop to promote conservation

KOTA KINABALU: A workshop to promote indigenous knowledge in sustainably managing forests, or “tagal hutan,” is expected to tackle the fundamental question on whether this practice could be used to conserve culture, forest and land through the development of a policy or legal framework.

“Tagal” in the Kadazan language means prohibition, and the system maintains harmony between users and their natural environment. The spirit behind the system is collective ownership and responsibility, sustainable use of resources and maintaining balance of life.

The February 17 “Workshop on Promoting Tag al Hut an to Con serve Traditional Indigenous Practices, Enhance Watershed Management and Address Climate Change” will learn and gather thoughts from on-going initiatives carried out by communities, government and academia. To be held in Bahasa Malaysia, the workshop at the Kota Kinabalu Forestry Office in Lok Kawi intends to delve into the potential of “tagal hutan” as a means to address issues of inclusion among indigenous communities in conserving and sustainably managing their resources as they have done for generations. It will look at past examples and the impact, both positive and negative, of turning this practice into law.

The management and implementation of a “tagal” system varies between community to community in terms of rules, fines and management structure, but the same concept of having closed and opened seasons, equitable sharing of the resource, and sharing of responsibility of enforcement and monitoring would apply.

Sabah was the first in Malaysia to have incorporated the traditional practice of “tagal” into the Sabah Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Enactment 2003 which has seen riverine “tagal” working well for a number of communities.

At the workshop, Jannie Lasimbang, of the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS), will present a key address based on a research paper entitled “Assessing the Potential of Tagal Hutan to Conserve Traditional Indigenous Practices, Enhance Watershed Management and Address Climate Change through Policy Frameworks.”

Her remarks are expected to form the basis for further discussions and act as a backdrop to presentations on culture and preservation of “tagal hutan,” protocols on hunting, socio-economic aspects and risk of natural disasters on the economic value and management of watersheds.

The workshop will also delve into laws and policies that support or infringe on the potential implementation of tagal hutan.

The workshop is the initiative of the Sabah Social Forestry Working Group (SASOF) that was formed to discuss and relate local relevant matters on social forestry, community livelihoods and climate change issues following the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) Conference held in Kota Kinabalu in May 2014. The ASFN is a government to government platform established since 2005 under ASEAN that addresses shared issues and concerns related to social forestry and climate change.

This event is co-organised by the Sabah Forestry Department with other members of the Sabah Social Forestry Working Group (SASOF), mainly Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP EP) Malaysia, Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP), Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS), PACOS Trust and Ridge to Reef.

At the workshop, all current partners in SASOF will sign terms of reference for present and potential members to support social forestry, in particular, traditional indigenous resource management practices and community based forest dependent livelihoods.

For further information, please contact Ricky A. Martin – 019 8632379, Jannie Lasimbang – 010 9311944 or Joanna del Rozario – 017 3661200.