FOREST destruction and poverty are two phenomena that are interconnected. Around 25.38 percent or more than 4.2 milion inhabitants of West Nusa Tenggara are categorized as poor according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in 2005. The focus of poverty in the region is found in outer-forest areas, coastal areas and other isolated places.

Results of satelite monitoring for the island of Lombok in 1996 and 2002 shows that there is a signific