ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how a conservation movement came to the village of Setulang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Despite having settled in the area since 1968, the people are perceived as immigrants with fewer rights to resources than the ‘original’ people. As a result, different parties made claims on the forest region with its potential for timber in the hope of gaining the attention of timber entrepreneurs willing to make offers to the local people. The people of Setulang rejected the small-scale timber harvesting (IPPKs) introduced during the decentralization era (2000 to 2002). In contrast to other villages in the region, which invited investors to clear fell their forest lands, Setulang's fight to protect its forests brought it the 2003 Kalpataru award 1 from the president of Indonesia.
