Actual

What's happening in PresUniv


Published: 09 Dec 2019

Tourism has become the highlight of many countries to attract many local and international visitors to experience the wonder and uniqueness of that they bring about, while ultimately harnessing the economic benefits that they bring altogether. This requires careful utilization of the object of tourism, especially ones that are culturally and traditionally cared such as customary forests.

Doctorate Candidate at Leiden University Yance Arizona, SH, MH, MA who is also a lecturer of Law Study Program at President University held a guest lecture about the potential of customary forest utilization as a tourist attraction. He did so in front of a number of law students on 3 December 2019 during his visiting research to Osaka University of Tourism funded by SYLFF Fellowship Fund and the Tokyo Foundation. He specifically discussed the comparison of the potential of customary forest’s utilization towards tourism development between Indonesia and Japan.

Yance observed that based on several interviews and literature in Japan, customary forests in Japan, referred to as Iriai-ken or common forests are facing underuse due to minimum utilization. He cited three contributing factors leading to this condition, namely depopulation, industrialization and the lack of dependency towards the products of the forest, as well as anti-commons policies that support privatization and modernization of the forest.

His findings presented that the problem faced by Iriai-ken roots from the tradition that revolves around the decision-making process upon the maintenance of the forest that had traditionally been based on consensus. Should there be a person who rejects the proposed idea, consensus won’t be achieved. Currently, the ownerships of Iriai-ken have been acquired by many and they don’t necessarily reside within the area, making it difficult to reach consensus during decision-making process.

While there are some communities who would like to keep the forest maintenance traditionally and communally, some others proposed for a more modernized maintenance model including one that based on their traditional practice known as Satoyama, a form of agricultural landscape maintenance that covers broader aspects than that of forest maintenance.

This visiting research and the guest lecture were part of partnerships implementation between President University and Osaka University of Tourism. Afterward, Yance had the chance to meet with the Rector of Osaka University of Tourism to send his gratitude for the warm welcome he received during his stay in Japan and his hope to look forward to better partnerships between Indonesia and Japan, especially the two higher education institutions. (APW)

 


 

Dosen President University Membahas Potensi Pengembangan Pariwisata Hutan Adat dalam Visiting Research di Jepang

 

Pariwisata kini menjadi fokus banyak negara untuk menarik banyak wisatawan lokal dan internasional untuk mengalami keindahan dan keunikan yang bisa mereka tawarkan, dan dalam waktu yang sama mendapatkan keuntungan ekonomis yang mereka bawa. Hal ini membutuhkan pengggunaan yang cermat terhadap objek wisata, terutama objek-objek yang masih melibatkan perawatan secara kultural dan tradisional seperti hutan adat.

Kandidat Doktor di Leiden University Yance Arizona, SH, MH, MA yang juga dosen Program Studi Hukum di President University membawakan kuliah tamu mengenai potensi pengembangan wisata hutan adat. Ia melakukannya di depan mahasiswa-mahasiswa jurusan hukum pada 3 Desember 2019 ketika ia sedang menjalani visiting research ke Osaka University of Tourism yang didanai oleh SYLFF Fellowship Fund dan Tokyo Foundation. Ia secara spesifik mendiskusikan perbandingan antara potensi pengembangan pariwisata hutan adat di Indonesia dan di Jepang.

Yance mengobservasi  bahwa berdasarkan beberapa hasil wawancara dan bacaan di Jepang, hutan adat di Jepang, yang lebih dikenal sebagai Iriai-ken atau common forests, mengalami kurang pemanfaatan atau underuse. Ia merujuk pada tiga faktor yang berkontribusi menciptakan kondisi ini, yakni depopulasi, industrialisasi dan berkurangnya ketergantungan pada hasil hutan, serta kebijakan pemerintah anti-commons yang mendorong privatisasi kepemilikan sekaligus modernisasi pengelolaan hutan.

Temuan penelitiannya menyatakan bahwa permasalahan yang kini dihadapi Iriai-ken berakar pada tradisi dalam proses pengambilan keputusan atas pengelolaan hutan yang secara tradisional masih berdasarkan pada mufakat. Apabila ada seorang saja yang menolak ide baru yang ditawarkan, mufakat tidak akan tercapai. Kini, kepemilikan Iriai-ken telah terbagi kepada banyak orang dan tidak semuanya tinggal di area hutan tersebut, sehingga mempersulit pencapaian mufakat dalam proses pengambilan keputusan.

Walau masih ada beberapa komunitas yang berharap untuk mengelola hutan secara tradisional dan komunal, beberapa lainnya mulai beralih kepada model pengelolaan yang lebih modern, termasuk di antaranya model pengelolaan yang berbasis pada tradisi sebelumnya yakni Satoyama,, sebuah bentuk pengelolaan lanskap agrikultur yang lebih luas dari pada sebatas pengelolaan hutan.

Kegiatan visiting research dan kuliah tamu ini sekaligus implementasi kerjasama president University dan Osaka University of Tourism. Setelah memberikan kuliah, Yance berkesempatan untuk bertemu dengan Rektor Osaka University of Tourism  untuk menyampaikan terima kasih atas sambutan yang baik selama di Jepang dan berharap  kerjasama antara Indonesia dan Jepang, terutama di antara kedua institusi pendidikan terkait. (APW)