Profile

Indonesian Conservation Community Warsi (KKI Warsi)

Warsi is a non-government organisation established in 27 December 1991 by a number of inter-disciplinary and inter-genre activists that share the same views in responding to facts in natural resource management in that period. In the 1990s, forest management was centralised in Jakarta and under the control of only 20 conglomerates with 572 companies holding logging concessions of a total of 64 million hectares of forest in Indonesia. On the other hand, the number of the poor reached as many as 27.2 million people or 15.1 of the total population. Inequality existed in the concession, access, and management opportunity of forest areas.

Despite the government’s lack of recognition, the community living inside and around the forest areas have long perceived the forest as a valuable part their social, economic, cultural and even religious lives as what their ancestor have handed down through the generations. The model that the community has been using has proven to be capable of preserving natural resources and ensuring sustainable management.

Against this light, the founders of Warsi established a forum for the common struggle in ensuring sustainable development that can meet the need and welfare of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.

Warsi was initially established as WARSI (Warung Informasi Konservasi) Foundation by 12 non-government organisations in four provinces, that is West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and South Sumatra. WARSI Foundation was established to fight against the New Order government’s arrogant plan to relocate the community that has historically been living in the Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS) areas. WARSI offers a new approach in the management of TNKS through conservation with the community. In this approach, the community is an integrated part in the management of forest areas. Warsi believes that the community is capable of living in harmony with nature using their local wisdoms. With this approach, WARSI has been involved in the design of an approach in the integrated management of TNKS or what is commonly known as the Integrated Conservation Development Project TNKS (ICDP TNKS). ICDP TNKS was Warsi initial step in advancing towards bigger ideas.

In the next period, WARSI developed a forest management model that is based on marginalized indigenous people widely known as the Orang Rimba. WARSI has been successful in promoting the protection of forest areas as Orang Rimba’s habitat through a national park scheme. The success of the advocacy was further reinforced by the establishment of a new paradigm in the management of a national park that recognise the historical existence of human within the national park areas. The achievement has further made WARSI believe more in the Community-Centred Conservation approach.

For institutional strengthening, Warsi has changed from a foundation to an association in 2002. With the change, Warsi has turned into an organisation that is open to individuals with commitment to forest conservation and empowerment of communities living inside and around the forest. In addition, the institutional change has also brought a change to the organisations’ name: from WARSI to Komunitas Konservasi Indonesia – WARSI (KKI WARSI).

Strategic Program

Program for Knowledge Management, Evaluation and Development of Resources

The program was only established at the end of 2017 following the enthusiasm for good and proper knowledge management, evaluation system and resource management.