<![CDATA[The forest of Gunung  Lumut  in Pasir District,  East Kalimantan was designated for a protection  forest in 1983. It is surrounded  by 15 villages and one settlement  lies inside it. Communities in those villages are dependent upon the landscape and forest resources mainly for non timber forest products. This study was focused on the perception of the communities on the importance of the landscape and forests. The study was conducted in two settlements, located  in and outside  (near) the protection  forest,  namely  Rantau  Layung  Village  and Mului Sub-Village.  Data collection  was undertaken through general field observations, key- informant personal  interviews and focus group discussions.  In Rantau  Layung, the most important land  type  was rice field, whereas  in Mului  was forest.  There  were  13 and 14 use categories  of landscape resources in Rantau  Layung  and Mului,  respectively, such as food, medicine,  constructions and source of income. People in Rantau  Layung  and Mului ranked  plants  to be more  important than  animals.  People also considered  products  from wild  resources  to be more  important than those from cultivated  and purchased  sources. Communities living  in both  settlements  considered  the future  uses of forests to be the most important as compared to those of the present and past. They suggested that sungkai (Peronema canescens) and telien (Eusideroxylon zwageri) to be the most important plants while payau  (Cervus unicolor) and telaus (Muntiacus muntjak) to be the most important animals. People used the wildlife mainly for food and source of income. They also identified important and potential  resources for economic development in the area, i.e. ecotourism  and hydro- power for electric  generator.]]>
Copyrights © 2009
