A forest product out of control: Gutta percha in Indonesia and the wider Malay world, 1845-1915

This chapter focuses on the latex gutta percha, the most valuable commodity harvested from the 'Malesian' dipterocarp forests in the second half of
the nineteenth century.1 It examines the collection and marketing of
'gutta', and the efforts of the colonial powers, especially the Netherlands
and Britain, to control its supply and quality. The gutta percha experience
had an important influence on the development of policy towards both the
forests and their indigenous inhabitants, in whose hands its collection
largely remained. Evidence is presented on the ecological impact of
harvesting and the role of this commodity in local and wider economies
and in cultural interaction. Various strategies - indigenous, trader and
colonial - are interwoven in the political ecology of gutta percha, while
parallels are drawn with aspects of modem theory concerning non-timber
forest products.