Dutch Scientific Forestry
When it became vital to govern terrain rather than merely people in the nineteenth century, the Dutch created forest regulations in Java, restricting locals’ access to forests. Wood could now only be harvested for defined purposes, such as producing riverboats or building houses, and only from specific forests under strict control. Villagers were fined for grazing cattle in young stands, transporting timber without permission, or using horse carts or animals on forest routes. The need to manage forests for shipbuilding and railways, as in India, prompted the establishment of a forest service. All of this, however, necessitated labor to chop the trees, transport the logs, and prepare the sleepers.
Forest Transformations in Java
Forest Transformations in Java: Java is one of the famous Sunda Islands in Indonesia; bordered by the Indian Ocean to the South and the Java Sea to the North. The population of Java is 147.7 million people, making it one of the most populous islands with approximately 55% of the Indonesian population. It is known as an Indonesian rice-producing island but it was originally mostly covered by forests. The Dutch were the colonial power in Indonesia, and the regulations for forest control in Indonesia and India were very similar. The Dutch began forest management on the Indonesian island of Java. They, like the British, desired Java timber for shipbuilding.
Forest Transformation in Java
Table of Content
- Woodcutters of Java
- Dutch Scientific Forestry
- Blandongdiensten system
- War and Deforestation