Study of Community Forest Management (HKm) on Socio-Economic Sustainability in Several Regions of Indonesia

Abstract

A community forest (HKm) is a type of state forest that is used primarily to empower communities in and around forest areas and to make sustainable forest management available to nearby communities. The research aims to analyze the benefits of community forestry (HKm) on the socio-economic aspects of the people around the forest. The research method was carried out in several steps, namely, at the initial stage, collecting articles, journals, and scientific articles from various sources and then making a resume on community forest management in several regions of Indonesia. The results of this study indicate that each region has a different focus in terms of orientation and varying degrees of success in HKm management. In general, the practice of community forestry is still more oriented towards short-term economic interests than environmental sustainability. The economic benefit is in the form of increased production, increased income, employment, the development of business opportunities, and business partnerships. The social benefit that occurs is in the form of increased public knowledge of social forestry, which allows the community to manage the forest, change people’s behavior by clearing land without burning, and reinforce the culture of cooperation.