Governing rubber market chains in Indonesia

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) has generated substantial profits to communities living near forests in many countries. In Indonesia, rubber producers have taken advantage of international demand, national development schemes, and high competition among wholesalers working for processing plants.

Supported by local authorities, they organise auctionsfor the entire production of some villages. This has many benefits; wholesalersreduce their collecting costs and farmers get better prices. This practice isalso a strong incentive for communities to organise themselves effectively.

However, conservationists are concerned about the lossof biodiversity as communities convert mixed rubber agroforestsinto monocultures. This practice also presents risks to producers:

• Industries that userubber are complaining about decreasing quality.
• There are risks forproducers relating to possible global market changes, such as productsubstitution or competition between producing regions – illustrated by therecent plummeting of global rubber prices.