National park establishment in developing countries: between legislation and reality in India and Indonesia

Modern national parks (NPs) born in the USA cannot be introduced wholly to developing countries, on assumption that institutional arrangements have been applied on the proposed areas. Therefore, procedures to create a NP become an important matter. Kerala State in India and Java Island in Indonesia were selected for the conditions that fulfilled the assumption. The focus of this study is the differences of legislative measures and local responses on the establishment of NPs. Results show that differences in legislative measures caused increment in reserved forest areas in India, while Indonesia is loosing its forest areas. However, both countries rarely finalized the NPs’ establishment procedures, because NPs have been established from already existing forest areas by changing the previous status and function. NPs were established even in highly populated region of the countries in order to protect and conserve the ecosystems as well as to support local people’s livelihood. Adoption of ecodevelopment initiatives and zoning systems in the management plans became the gateway and the solutions for better NPs management in Kerala and Java, respectively. Settlement of rights and establishment of legal basis of NPs in the early stage with transparency is required to make every effort for NP administration and management effective.