VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

This is a story of a female young DXR from India, Adita Prithika. Read the whole story on this link. 

https://eagerbeaverreadxer.wordpress.com/2018/12/26/opportunity-of-a-lifetime-my-indonesian-radio-sojourn/?fbclid=IwAR2zf0x8DudSPYpBPSSBg3_9QiRsEykOlYzT9ox0imnUfZdJ6Cjzed3VcIY

General Elections have just been held in Bangladesh. The results are quite astounding. The Awami League party led by Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina won 98% of parliamentary seats. This achievement will make PM Sheikh Hasina take her position for the fourth time. But the opposition considers the ruling government has used all means to win the general elections. Even, some parties consider her government to be authoritarian.

The election this time was marked by the detention of a journalist from a local newspaper. This reporter revealed the potential for fraud after seeing one of the electoral districts having around 20 thousand votes. This was more than the List of Registered Voters in the region. Then, the police arrested the reporter on charges of violating the Digital Security Act. But, the law is considered controversial.

Indeed, under the current administration, Bangladesh's growth rate has been said to be good for the past four years. In 2014, the economic growth of the country with a population of 167 million reached 6.3 percent. In 2017, it increased to 7.4% mainly contributed by trade with the United States and the European Union. But domestic voices want a positive rate of economic growth accompanied by positive democracy. Now, that hope is not realized yet. Opposition accusations are that the government is blocking voters’ sympathy to the opposition, following the arrest of pro-opposition activists. The United States, which is the biggest investor in the country, is ambiguous. On one hand, it expressed concerns over violence and intimidation ahead of the election. On the other hand, the USA gave appreciation to voters in Bangladesh.

On January 10, the new government of Bangladesh will be sworn in to lead the country. Bangladesh needs to learn from other countries that encourage economic improvement without abandoning the fundamental principles of democracy. Some countries with Confucian culture prioritize economic improvement by neglecting democracy. We look forward to whether there have been changes in the development of democracy in Bangladesh by the newly-elected government.

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry has implemented a social forestry program by implementing affirmative policies, namely increasing a sense of justice for the community, including indigenous people. Through this policy, the realization of social forest permits is expected to be completed in five to eight years so that the proportion of people to forests can increase, even though the corporation still dominates. Social Forestry itself is a system of sustainable forest management carried out in state forest areas by local communities to improve welfare, maintain environmental balance and maintain socio-cultural dynamics.

The government for the 2015-2019 period has allocated 12.7 million hectares for Social Forestry, through village forest schemes, community forests, customary forests, community plantations and forestry partnerships. Social forestry programs are aimed to create harmony by improving people's welfare and forest conservation. Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya Bakar said that the social forestry will be a program that will continue and be increased in 2019. The program has been allocated around 13 million hectares.

After social forest reserves reach the target, the next step is to increase the issuance of social forest permits. Throughout 2018, the average provision of social forestry permits amounted to 105 thousand forestry permits per month. This number increased compared to the previous year as many as 44 thousand permits per month. This increase occurred in line with improvements in governance in the form of de-bureaucratization and deregulation carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The process of distributing social forest permits is a significant challenge because it must involve many parties, both regional governments, activists and academics to continue to assist the community in understanding social forest business management. Mentoring is also needed so that plants in social forests can produce maximum economic and ecological values. Companion of the social forest program, Tosca Santoso affirmed that if this social forestry program is implemented correctly, it can improve the regional economy, open employment, prevent natural disasters and help control climate change.