ABSTRACT
The IPPK (small-scale timber harvesting) period proved to be a short-term boom but left a lasting impression. No longer were forests merely home and reserve area for swidden or subsistence needs. Forests had become cash, and ‘compensation and fees’ had become part of local people's vocabulary. Government and society relationships changed forever. Decentralization brought the state to society, and IPPKs brought a cash economy. Meanwhile, the government tried to fulfil its regulatory role over a society that perceived itself to be ‘free’ without realizing that freedom has its price.
