Public, Private and Community Inclusive Partnerships (PPCIP): towards a better institutional setting for an Indonesian social forestry program

Internationally, there has been a paradigm shift in forest resource management from state-based forest management to community-based forest management. This change has also occurred in Indonesia, namely through the social forestry program as outlined in the the Minister Regulation on Social Forestry and the Minister Regulation on Social Forestry in Perhutani Area. Indeed, these Ministerial Regulations already contain the principles of community-based forest management. However, the implementation still leaves problems. This paper will analyze the procedural weaknesses and inaccuracies in the designation of these Ministerial Regulations. The approach used is the statutory approach and comparison with qualitative analysis. The result shows that it is necessary to change the policy model by changing procedures by re-functioning the role of Forest Management Units as an institution that has the authority to manage forest resources in its area. Besides, the Social Forestry program should only be intended for forest communities who have pioneered forest resource management, whether they have joined the Community Joint Forest Management program or not. However, they must reside around forests managed by Perum Perhutani.

Government has attempted to involve communities in state forest management to improve environment quality as well as generate the welfare of communities around the forest. However, local communities have low participation level in social forestry programs. This research aims to examine government’s implementation on social forestry programs in Pantar Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province using interview and focus group discussion methods. The result shows that two efforts are done to accelerate social forestry programs. Firstly, Government creates some groups to apply social forestry program. Secondly, Government hires Non-Government Organization (NGO) to assist community to propose state forest and to get forest management license. However, those efforts do not work properly, Consequently environmental quality and community welfare are not improved. Based our research, it is suggested for the government to supervise communities in state forest management and increase participation of communities in social forestry program through giving benefits from social forestry programs

Deforestrasi dan degradasi hutan yang disebabkan oleh buruknya tata kelola hutan telah menimbulkan hilangnya akses masyarakat terhadap sumberdaya hutan (SDH). Dalam upaya memperbaiki tata kelola hutan serta meningkatkan hak dan akses legal masyarakat dalam memanfaatkan hutan, Pemerintah Indonesia telah mengalokasikan kawasan hutan seluas 12,7 juta hektar dalam Program Perhutanan Sosial (PS). Di tingkat daerah, Provinsi Sumut telah menetapkan target PS seluas 550.887 hektar. Sejak program PS dikeluarkan tahun 2016, dalam implementasinya masih berjalan lambat dan belum menjadi pendukung tata kelola hutan yang baik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kelembagaan implementasi program PS di Provinsi Sumut. Metode pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan wawancara, FGD, dan kajian dokumen. Analisis penelitian dilakukan secara deskriptif dan kelembagaan melalui pendekatan kerangka kerja: Struktur Kelembagaan - Karaketeristik Sumberdaya – Perilaku Aktor – Kinerja. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa, program PS di Provinsi Sumut masih berjalan lambat sehingga belum menjadi pendukung dalam tata kelola hutan yang baik. Situasi kelembagaan program PS menunjukkan: (1) Pemda Provinsi Sumut belum mempunyai peraturan khusus tentang Fasilitasi Implementasi Program PS; (2) Program PS mampu mengubah karakteristik SDH dari common pool goods menjadi private goods; (3) Adanya perbedaan kepentingan dan kekuasaan actor menjadikan perilaku actor belum sepenuhnya mendukung program PS; (4) Kinerja implemementasi program PS masih terkategori rendah. Untuk meningkatkan kinerja kelembagaan direkomendasikan: Pada tingkat nasional diterbitkan Inpres atau Kepres dan pada tingkat Provinsi Sumut diterbitkan Peraturan Gubernur tentang Fasilitisi Implementasi PS; Melakukan peningkatan kualitas dan pendampingan aktor pelaksana program PS; Disusun rencana aksi bersama dalam pelaksanaan program PS;Untuk meningkatkan motivasi aktor PS maka diadakan Inovasi Perhutanan Sosial Award; serta Adanya pengintergrasian program PS dengan industri atau jasa berbasis SDH dengan memanfaatkan teknologi informasi digital
 Kata kunci: Perhutanan Sosial; Kelembagaan; Tata Kelola Hutan, Provinsi Sumut

Social Forestry in Indonesia ranges from promoting multi-purpose tree planting and poverty alleviation to devolution of forest management. Indonesia has implemented its Social Forestry programme since colonial times, but the period 2015–2021 marked remarkable changes in institutions and achievements. Social Forestry is expected to respond to livelihood, forest conservation, and tenurial conflicts. The conflicts, including those involving non-Indigenous peoples, emerge from complex forest gazettement, land administration, and migration issues. Amidst this situation, the Social Forestry programme has to cope with conflict resolution, particularly for arable land in the forest. This chapter argues that the Social Forestry programme will face difficulty in achieving this objective if communities’ claims are not properly settled. Besides, data regarding land tenure, village territories, resource potential, and population numbers are lacking. Thus, the Indonesian Government needs to put more effort into synchronising land administration policies and forestry, demographic, and spatial data so that the Social Forestry programme might succeed.

The Indonesian state and local community have been conducting forest co-management as part of a new social forestry program initiative. This initiative is proposed to overcome environmental degradation as well as to enhance community well-being by increasing economic outcome of the forest. However, this program has the potential for conflict because of asymmetry between resources dedicated to approving social forestry permits versus capacity building, monitoring, and evaluating management outcomes. The social innovation approaches have been adopted as a potential solution to address complex social forestry program. This article aims to explore how social innovation and village governance in forest communities works. The research framework is designed by modifying the social innovation concept from the Theoretical, Empirical and Policy Foundations for Building Social Innovation in Europe (TEPSIE). Qualitative method is applied, by conducting in-depth interview and focus group discussion with forest policy experts, village authorities, and other stakeholders. Two neighbouring villages namely Sirnajaya and Tugu Utara in the Bogor District, West Java are visited. Sirnajaya represents village with strong government support by the Pilot Program for Incubation of Village Innovation in Local Economic Development (PIID-PEL), while Tugu Utara represents a strong society initiative in local development. The result reveals that social innovation has worked at different phases. However, good cooperation between formal and informal actors can have a better outcome on village development, compared to if each moves independently. The extension of social innovation and network of development can become an engine of village growth to the larger scope. The successful management for social forestry in Indonesia needs to be based on a hybrid governance model that needs to be “good” and “proper”. Therefore, the designs and practices for social forestry governance must be developed in more socially inclusive, reflected local social-economic, political, and cultural conditions.

West Sumatra Province has an area of approximately 4,229,730 hectares, with approximately 54.43% or approximately 2,300,000 hectares being state forest areas. This forest area consists of conservation forests, protected forests, and production forests. The authority of the West Sumatra Provincial Government based on regional autonomy is to manage protected forest areas and production forests, namely with an area of 2.3 million hectares. Based on data from the West Sumatra Provincial Forestry Service in 2023, the area of forest areas managed through the social forestry program reached 50,410 hectares. The management area of KPHL Agam Raya is 39,285 hectares with a social forestry permit area of 16,247 hectares. To enforce environmental law and resolve conflicts by communities around the forest, with the presence of a social forestry program that provides space for communities around the forest for communities who have already or are trying in protected forest areas and production forests so as not to violate the law, the community can properly manage the area legally which is given management rights by the government through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to utilize the potential of the forest without having to reduce the protection and conservation functions. The role of social forestry in the context of conflict resolution and environmental law enforcement in the forestry sector is as follows: Prevention of Land Conflicts and Forest Damage: Government programs in the form of social forestry programs can provide legal certainty for communities in managing forests through schemes such as Village Forests, Community Forests, People's Plantation Forests, Forestry Partnerships, and Customary Forests. With this legal certainty, land conflicts between communities and other parties, including companies, can be minimized. In addition, communities who have the legal right to manage forests tend to be more committed to maintaining the sustainability of forest areas rather than encroaching, burning or illegal logging that can damage the area. In West Sumatra, there are several examples of the success of the Social Forestry program in resolving conflicts. For example, in the Agam and South Solok areas, community-based forest management has succeeded in reducing tenure conflicts and improving local welfare. In some cases, recognition of customary forests has also helped reduce conflicts with large companies. Social Forestry in West Sumatra has made a positive contribution to resolving conflicts, but it needs ongoing support from various parties to ensure its long-term impact.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created impacts on various aspects of life and caused a shock to all sectors, including agriculture. The Indonesian government continues encouraging access for communities to be involved in forest management through social forestry programs Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 9 of 2021 on Social Forestry Management is Indonesia’s latest policy regulating social forestry. For Java Island, the social forestry program is regulated by the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 39 of 2017. Traditional agroforestry has been carried out by farmers throughout Indonesia for a long time, both in state forest areas through social forestry programs and on private land dominated by woody tree species called private forests. This research aims to examine the resilience of agroforestry farmers in social forestry areas and private forest during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. This research was conducted in Garut and Bandung Districts, West Java Province, Indonesia, from May to July 2022. Interviews were performed with 219 respondents from six farmer groups: four groups that obtained social forestry permits through the recognition and protection of forestry partnerships (pengakuan dan perlindungan kemitraan kehutanan/KULIN KK) scheme and two groups in a private forest. The household livelihood resilience approach was used to analyze the agroforestry farmers’ resilience, comprised of financial, human, social, physical, and natural capital. Data were processed with a Likert scale (1, 2, and 3) and visualized using a spider diagram to compare and distinguish the five types of capital. The results showed the COVID-19 pandemic affected both social forestry and private forest farmers, where there was a decrease in agroforestry product prices and an increase in production input prices. These excluded private forest products, specifically cardamom, which has increased prices. Agroforestry farmers in the private forest have higher resilience than social forestry. These results highlight the need to increase financial capital, which has the lowest value for increasing household resilience. The level of resilience is influenced by the characteristics of farmers, especially their level of education, land ownership, and income. Based on the results, capital assistance, market access, and training related to post-harvesting are strategies for improving resilience. The results also contributed to efforts needed to increase the resilience of social forestry and private forest farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is needed to determine the resilience of agroforestry farmers in social forestry and community forests after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agroforestry can offer a balance between conservation and production in agricultural systems to provide socio-economic and ecological benefits. Agroforestry is a land use system that is applied in the social forestry program . The social forestry program aims to improve community welfare while still paying attention to environmental aspects and sociocultural dynamics. This paper aims to describe the adoption of agroforestry innovations in social forestry programs. The method used in this research is a literature study or review of various research results related to adoption and agroforestry innovation and social forestry from international journals, national journals, international proceedings, and national proceedings. Data analysis was carried out descriptively. The result of the study shows that a groforestry innovations in social forestry are needed by communities to increase benefits and reduce costs. Agroforestry innovation can be applied well in aspects of production/cultivation, such as the selection of plant species , arrangement of growing spaces or cropping patterns, maintenance, as well as in post-harvest ing , marketing , and institutional aspects. So far , there have been many agroforestry innovations result ed from the agroforestry-based forest and land management, both innovations derived from local farmers' knowledge and innovations result ed from scientific research es or a combination of the m . The agroforestry innovations that are most attractive to the community are agroforestry innovations along the cycle , which provide communities with longer opportunities to use the land. The main factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry innovations that must be considered are economic factor s . Keywords: adoption, agroforestry, innovation, social forestry

Women’s rights and privileges are now global issues. Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh has reviewed all its policies and programmes to remove gender discrimination and to bring women in the mainstream of development arenas to warrant their roles are significant. In the very recent past women participation was emphasized in forestry activities in Bangladesh. Social forestry programme is such an important sector where rural poor and destitute women have actively been participating during the last decade. Data were collected from 100 randomly selected women who have been working in the social forestry programme of the Forest Extension Division and two national NGOs namely Jagoroni Chakra and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) supported by the Social Forestry Extension Circle, Jessore, Bangladesh. This study demonstrated that the social forestry programme contributed for the livelihood improvement of the rural women through their active participation in the programme. Social awareness, health consciousness, family decision making power, and income generation capability built by the social forestry programme for the rural women in Bangladesh. Sustainability of the livelihood for women from social forestry programme would be an issue, need to be addressed in future studies.

Community-based forest management (CBFM) has replaced centralised governance in forest management. CBFM or CBFM is now called social forestry. Controlling sustainable forests through social forestry programmes is bound to have challenges. To face these challenges, it is necessary to know the benefits of forests in people's lives. KPH Tanah Laut has several KTHs around the forest that already have SF licences, including in Galam, Kandangan Lama, and Martadah villages. Knowing the value and level of community livelihoods in this study was conducted using hexagon assets. Hexagon asset results are used to determine the sustainability strategy of community livelihoods. The methods used in this research are RAA to determine the value and level of livelihoods and FGDs to determine strategies to improve the sustainability of community livelihood systems. The research was conducted in 3 KTHs in KPH Tanah Laut, namely KTH Batu Kura, Gapoktanhut Sumber Kahuripan, and KTH Gunung Birah. The results showed that the livelihood level in KTH Batu Kura and Gapoktanhut Sumber Kahuripan was at the sustainable level, while KTH Gunung Birah was at the very sustainable level. The strategy to improve the sustainability of the livelihood system of communities around forests holding PS licences in KPH Tanah Laut is in quadrant I, which means that the strategy is an aggressive strategy.

Social Forestry (SF) Program is a sustainable forest management implemented in different management types by community forest organizations (CFOs) in Indonesia, namely collective and individual management types. This study aimed (1) to compare the social capital of different management types of the SF program; and, (2) to evaluate the relationship between social capital and community participation. The study was carried out in four CFOs in four villages in North Sumatra Province from 2019 to 2020.The data were collected from 73 respondents from the collective type and 113 respondents from the individual type. T-test was used to evaluate the social capital of the different management types, while the relationship between social capital and participation was evaluated by multiple regression analysis. This study found that the CFOs that implement a collective management possess a better social capital compared to an individual management. The collective management has more intensive meetings that can increase social interactions. The collective management also possess the wider networks and the more varied community activities that improve the social capital of the CFOs. The community features such as the more homogenous communities and the smaller size of the collective type communities may cause the stronger social capital of SF groups. Furthermore, social capital significantly influences community participation in the SF program. For the collective type, social interaction, trust, reciprocity, and leadership are the determinant factors that can improve community participation. In contrast, for the collective type, they are only social interaction, trust, and reciprocity.

People do not live without connections. By the same token communities that practice social forestry also have ties with other organizations and institutions. Some of these organizations have a direct bearing with the social forestry program. Others may, on the surface, seem not to have any connection with forestry, but these affect the practice of social forestry. These organizations and institutions can be grouped into categories, depending on whether they are based outside the community or within. Organizations can also be classified according to their function. If the latter, an organization can be commodity-based, or deliver services, provide funding or support research. Community-based institutions likewise have their own functions. Depending on their interaction with the community, external organizations can have detrimental effects on a social forestry program, or on the community itself. However, these negative effects can be minimized if some measures are taken. External organizations can also have positive consequences, which communities need to practice social forestry effectively.

Social forestry programs, aimed to reduce poverty in forest communities while maintaining the forest function, are increasingly incorporating gender issues and responsiveness. By design, social forestry program is supposed to promote justice and equality for forest users, but on the ground discriminatory practices against women are occurring. Drawing case study from two Indonesian villages, this study examined the extent of discrimination against women in the implementation of the state social forestry programs. In-depth interviews, observations, and focused group discussions were conducted to collect the data from the villages to analyze the extent of discriminatory practices by using a social justice framework with a three-dimensional approach, namely recognition, representation, and participation, as well as distribution. This study found that women were not recognized as the primary users of forest land (not considered as farmers), low representation and participation of women in the Social Forestry Groups, and unequal distribution of benefits between women and men in obtaining assistance and participation in training for capacity building. Furthermore, gender based discrimination and inequality in social forestry are influenced by local social constructions in the form of patriarchal culture and religious belief. Finally, discrimination against women can take place even in state programs designed to bring justice in the context of joint forestry management, and the formal programs with a degree of gender responsive elements can be succumbed to biased local informal institutions and beliefs.

Social forestry (SF) in Bangladesh is designed as a development strategy to promote the bio-socioeconomic conditions through poverty alleviation and better distribution of income. Success of this program depends on the active participation of the target people. SF program was initiated in Sakhipur Upazila of Tangail district in 1988-89. The study revealed that people are participating in SF activities organized by government and non-government organizations (NGOs) and are getting different types of benefits from the program. Of the respondents 80% are engaged in Forest Department’s and 20% are engaged in NGOs’ SF program. Among the participants 90% are male and 10% are female. Of the participants 80% are farmers, 11% are service holders and only 9% are housewives. In the study area participatory woodlot program involved majority (62%) of the participants, followed by sal forest coppice system (26%) and agroforestry (12%). SF plantation has increased overall income of the participants and now they are very careful to protect their plots against damages.

Extraction activities across Indonesia have caused drastic changes to forest ecologies. The Indonesian government responded to this through a policy of Industrial Plantation Forest concessions, which were given to the private sector in the hopes of overcoming damages from forest extraction activities while at the same time utilizing unproductive forest land. However, this policy does not pay attention to the existence of people who de facto control and use the land and has triggered new conflicts around agrarian claims based on different interpretations of land rights. In an effort to resolve conflicts, the government has implemented a community-based forest area management policy, which involves a partnership between local communities and companies known as the social forestry partnership scheme. This scheme is partial tenure in the form of management rights and legality to communities to manage land in forest areas. In this study, we report how the community interprets this program as a solution to agrarian conflicts. Using qualitative methods, this study finds that social forestry has not been entirely accepted by local communities for several reasons. These include the low level of public trust due to the actions taken by the company during the land claim process, demands for property rights from social movements that were not fulfilled through this scheme, and the community's continued cultivation of oil palm, which is a non-forest crop, on their land. The last reason requires the community to replace their plantations with non-oil palm plantations if they wish to participate in the social forestry program. This research further examines how the community's readiness to adopt non-oil palm plantations is influenced by factors of income, convenience, socio-cultural and ecological adaptation, and the potential for new conflicts to arise.