What future direction for forest tenure reform implementation in Indonesia?: Perspectives of national-level stakeholders

Abstract

Key messagesTaken together, forest tenure reform implementation in Lampung and Maluku provinces capture key issues common across different settings in Indonesia, e.g. coordination among government actors, limited government budgets and uncertainty created by changing forestry regulations. In addition, other issues that are specific to one or the other province (e.g. lack of recognition of customary rights, inadequate capacity of implementing agencies, and lack of community knowledge and awareness) are also illustrative of broader tenure challenges in other parts of Indonesia. The findings from a participatory prospective analysis (PPA) study have provided central government with better information from different sites.Most national stakeholders, including government officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry who are responsible for forest reform implementation (Sub-directorate Community Forestry, Community Plantation Forest, Village Forest, and Partnership, and Forest Management Unit Division), as well as non-government stakeholders reviewed positively the sub-national action plans developed by stakeholders in Lampung and Maluku who were interested in securing local community tenure rights. These action plans emphasized multi-stakeholder collaboration (Maluku) and the strengthening of forest management units (FMUs) in Lampung, which is in line with national strategy to improve tenure reform implementation on the ground.The outcome of PPA, including drivers of constraints to tenure security, future scenarios of tenure reform and action plans, informed a recent national-level initiative to improve forest tenure reform implementation that promises to secure local rights, e.g. Working Group of Social Forestry and government regulation (PP No 83) that shortens the process of obtaining a license for social forestry.Perceptions among the national stakeholders indicate that the implementation of sub-national action plans aimed at securing tenure rights of local communities will be very challenging due to unclear boundaries and overlapping existing land uses among forest users. Hence, collaboration among stakeholders is key to the process.National stakeholders agree that the PPA approach can be adopted by the Working Group of Social Forestry at province level, with a focus on increasing community awareness and ownership of reforms under the social forestry scheme, including customary forest. The PPA is not a top-down approach, it builds intimacy and strengthens communication among stakeholders. It is thus important for the working group to create a new bureaucratic culture that promotes collective action during the implementation of the Social Forestry scheme.