Social capital of the local community in forest conservation for disaster mitigation

Abstract

Social capital plays a significant role in forest conservation and community-based disaster mitigation efforts. The government has attempted to strengthen the social capital of the local community in forest conservation and disaster mitigation, but only a few have succeeded. This study examines the social capital of the local communities involved in forest conservation for disaster mitigation. This research applied a descriptive approach to the Salua Village, Kulawi District, Sigi Regency community. This study revealed that the structural social capital of the Salua village community was moderate to high in terms of forest conservation but had cognitive-social capital in the moderate to low category. The high structural social capital could not create collective action in forest conservation for disaster mitigation because the dominant actors in local institutions have low power in creating common knowledge about forest conservation and disaster mitigation. Important studies should be conducted to strengthen social capital in climate change mitigation actions to establish a common understanding of the importance of forest conservation in communities surrounding forest areas.