Transformation of forest governance: policy concepts and actor changes in social forestry program implementation in Indonesia

Abstract

In Indonesia, particularly in Java, forest governance has been taking place since the State Forest Corporation (SFC) came to power. The emergence of the Social Forestry Forest Utilization Permit (IPHPS) and Strengthening and Protection-Forestry Partnership (Kulin-KK) programs in the SFC area marked the start of an essential phase of social forestry (SF), in which forest access and management were transferred to community groups. The 2017 regulatory policy regarding SF programs in the SFC region significantly impacts governance and actor relations in Java. This study examines the transformation that is taking place using the concept of policy arrangement and analysis of changes in actors at the program implementation level. We find that policy coalitions are formed by government actors and civil society groups using forest and socioeconomic condition-based discourse. The rules of the game that are formed cannot be divorced from the interests of the actors who desire change. The findings at IPHPS indicate that SFC actors have less impact than they do in the Kulin-KK program, where they remain powerful because this program is regarded as a continuation of the PHBM concept that SFC introduced. Community group facilitators are influential actors in a network of community groups in Java that are mainly involved in promoting social forestry programs. This study proposes expanding community participation in the program so that previously powerful actors' interests do not exploit it.