Social Forestry Policy Research Articles

ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND EXOGENOUS VARIABLES AFFECTING THE OUTCOME OF SOCIAL FORESTRY POLICIES IN CENTRAL SULAWESI, INDONESIA

Social forestry (SF) is Indonesian policy that aims to provide legal access to the community in utilizing forest resources and seek sustainable forest management, contributing to the community's economic improvement. This study examines the action situation of implementing SF policies in Central Sulawesi Province and analyses the roles of stakeholders and exogenous variables determining SF policies' outcomes. The Institutional Analysis Development (IAD) framework was applied in the study by identifying and analyzing the action situation and its relation to the implementation of SF in Central Sulawesi. The research revealed that the implementation of social forestry in Central Sulawesi Province is not optimal. This is indicated by the fact that local institutions have not achieved self-governance, the sustainability of forest function has not been realized, and the social forestry programs have not significantly increased the income of the local community.. Implementing the SF policy depends on the facilitator's capacity at the site level and stakeholders' support. The action for strengthening social forestry at site levels requires strong collaboration among stakeholders by considering their interests and capacities. These findings suggested the urgency of future research to examine strategies for governing the role of stakeholders in boosting local institutional capacity and the outcomes of SF policies.

The Controversy of Social Forestry Policy: Public Reaction on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Decree No. 287/2022/KHDPK in Java, Indonesia

Social forestry in Java, Indonesia, refers to policies and practices aimed at involving local communities in management and protection of forest areas. The study focuses on the controversy surrounding Decree No. 287/2022/KHDPK of the social forest policy which was rejected by local forest communities and public. The primary contribution of this research is to investigate the reasons behind the rejection on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry regarding Forest Areas with Special Management (KHDPK) policy, particularly the reduction in the forest area it entails. The main stakeholder involved in this controversy include Perum Perhutani, which has a vested interest in maintaining control of 2.4-million-hectare of forest land in Java. A qualitative research method was employed, using a case study approach applied for content analysis. Data were gathered from online newspapers and social media reports published between April 2022 and October 2022. The results indicates that the ongoing controversy reflects a disharmonious relationship between regulators and operators in implementing Agrarian Reform and Social Forestry policies on Java Island. The data suggest that the failure to manage the dialogue between stakeholders can create a challenging environment for the sustainability of both people and forests. Furthermore, involvement of stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of new environmental policies can foster better relationships. This study also highlights the critical role of dialogue and collaboration among regulators, operators, local communities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders.

Reviewing Social Forestry in Indonesia through an Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance

Collaboration is a major problem affecting implementation of Social Forestry Policy in Indonesia. This paper aimed at synthesising the results of previous studies to identify challenges and knowledge gaps using an Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance (IFCG) model. A systematic literature review method was used to search the Scopus database, and a total of 47 studies on Social Forestry Policy in Indonesia from 2019‐2022 were reviewed. The results suggested three main challenges: 1) limited community capacity, namely in initiating and making forest management effective; 2) burdensome administrative-bureaucratic fulfilment; and 3) lack of attention to multi-level (vertical-horizontal) collaborative processes from policy making to implementation at the member level. The review found that the IFCG model, though important, does not emphasise actor complexity related to leadership, which has different levels and scopes. Additionally, economic benefits are essential to sustain collaboration between parties. Furthermore, the internal conditions of the community contribute to effective collective action, and economic benefits are essential in sustaining the collaborative process. The paper recommends further research into social forestry to examine the impact of Social Forestry Policy, which have been under-examined by previous studies.

Regulatory Capture by Corporations, Liberalization of Industrial Forest Sector and Deforestation in Indonesia

This study was motivated by the proliferation of forest management businesses for industrial interests. The issuance of the Industrial Plantation Forest policy has benefited pulp and paper corporations, which can be observed from both the rapidly increasing amount of production and the area used under corporate land management, which has even exceeded the amount of land used as regulated by existing regulations.There were three problems that this study seeks to address. Firstly, how had the Industrial Plantation Forest policies during the administrations of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo impacted P.T. Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper and local communities. Secondly, in what ways the policy had caused deforestation, especially on peatlands. Thirdly, how had the state, as the policy maker, maintained the social life of the communities to reduce conflicts that would disrupt production, particularly in Riau. This study show that the industrial plantation forest policies had benefited pulp and paper corporations, that rely on wood as raw materials, by providing various facilities and subsidies from the government. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration issued a lot more policies that benefited corporations than Joko Widodo's administration. Meanwhile, Joko Widodo in its first period administration attempted to make amendment by making a moratorium policy that temporarily suspended the issuance of new forest and land management permits. In addition, the Joko Widodo administration also introduced a social forestry policy that allowed communities to own forestry management land. However, during the second period of his administration, forestry policies, again, had benefited corporations, especially with the issuance of the Job Creation Law which gave rise to many protests from the public.Fred Block’s in his book “the Revising State theory” to the conclusion that the business community has a strong influence on the formation of state policy and that business people seek government’s assistance to support their profit-seeking activities through various policies. The policies are in the form of trade protection, subsidy programs, tax benefits, punitive treatment of strikers, contracts from the government, and so on. However, Block also believes that other than providing support to corporations to accumulate capital, the government must also maintain social stability both as a protection for business confidence and because the government wants to maintain its power. Social forestry policy, for example, is aimed at reducing social conflicts by providing access to communities with cultivated land to improve their welfare.

Implementation of Social Forestry Policy on Fulfillment of Empowerment Rights of Women Family Heads in Gaining Access to Forest Management in Sabrang Ambulu

This study aims to demonstrate that the Social Forestry Program in Sabrang Village positively impacts poverty alleviation and community welfare, particularly among women family heads, through forest land management. This study employed a descriptive qualitative data analysis strategy. This research method uses the purposive sampling strategy. The findings of this study show that the realization of women's rights can already be felt and benefited. Forest land management activities are carried out through the social forestry initiative to maximize natural resource potential over 35 years. As a result, it may be argued that it successfully changed the community's economics, particularly that of women's household heads.

Implementation of social forestry policy – Can it reduce economic inequality in sustainable management of forest areas?

You should leave 8 mm of space above the abstract and 10 mm after the Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry Number P.83/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/10/2016 Concerning Social Forestry that Social Forestry activities are required through efforts to give local communities legal access in the form of Village Forest management, Village Forest utilization, and Village Forest management. The Village Forest initiative aims to sustainably raise village welfare. With a total size of 2,940 hectares, Sungai Tohor Village Forest is one of the Village Forests and. It’s existence is complicated, and it has a challenging issue. In addition to concerns and issues relating to social, cultural, economic, and even organizational factors, the topic of ecological sustainability is crucial. The goal of this study is to determine how Village Forest Utilization Policies can sustainably increase the economic welfare of Village Communities. A case study methodology and a qualitative technique are both used in this work. Using in-depth interviews, observation, Focus Group Discussion, and documentation approaches collect primary and secondary data. Key informants were interviewed using the purposive sampling technique. The policy’s substance includes interests, different benefit types, the degree of change, the position of the policymakers and program implementers, as well as resources. The novelty of this study was that not every location can implement Village Forest regulations.

Potential Of Albizzia Forest in Food Crops Based Agroforestry

Management of State-owned forests needs to involve the community in utilizing the area. One of them is that the community around the forest area is given authority to obtain permission to manage the forest. Efforts were made to get legalization for the community in accessing and managing forest areas; the government issued a social forestry policy. Management of forest areas using a regime management system requires the participation of communities around the site, so it is necessary to be more active in managing agroforestry-based land. The primary aim of this research is to determine the potential of the Albizzia forest in helping the community provide arable land for agriculture in the development of an agroforestry system. The data collection technique used in this research is field observation, with interview techniques carried out directly. Farmers' responses (77%) of farmers who have introduced this system stated that they were delighted, (19%) answered that they were not happy, and 4% said they were satisfied. Farmers' satisfaction with this management system is seen as a local community product that has proven effective in dealing with economic changes in communities around the Albizzia forest area

Monitoring forest gain and loss based on LandTrendr algorithm and Landsat images in KTH Pati social forestry area, Indonesia

Social forestry schemes are now being implemented in numerous state forest areas in Indonesia, aiming to reduce deforestation and improve the community’s livelihood. However, spatial monitoring in the social forestry area is still limited to see how the implementation progresses. The present study aimed to identify the change of forest taking a case in Pati Forest Farmer Communities (KTH Pati) social forestry area from 1996 to 2022 using the LandTrendr algorithm based on Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) value of Landsat image series. The results detected forest loss and gain covering an area of 453.97 ha and 494.18 ha, respectively. Two main reasons causing the forest loss are the country’s financial and political situation from 1997 to 2003 and the harvest of forest plantations in 2017–2018. However, it was found that the study area had a positive forest gain with the current continuous growth of 292.32 ha (20.16% of the total area). Even though the social forestry policy has not significantly shown a positive impact on forest growth, spatial monitoring through remote sensing can be a great tool for observing the progress.

IMPLEMENTASI KEBIJAKAN PERHUTANAN SOSIAL SKEMA HUTAN KEMASYARAKATAN ( Studi Kasus Peraturan Adat ( RI’I ) Sebagai Penunjang Kebijakan Perhutanan Sosial Di Hutan Kemasyarakatan Wolobobo, Desa Turekisa, Kecamatan Golewa Barat, Kabupaten Ngada, Flores, Nusa

Problems that in forest areas are usually damage done by people who live around forest areas. The damage that usually occurs is forest fires, illegal logging, and encroachment. Within the Wolobobo HKm area, damage such as encroachment was still found until 2001 with a total land area of ​​481 hectares. To avoid a higher level of damage, the government, namely UPT KPH Ngada Regency together with the LSM Serbio Ngada, took a middle path by making the Ri'i customary regulation which was proclaimed on November 8, 2003. Over time, the government established the Wolobobo HKm area with a forest function as HP (Production Forest) in 2010 and the establishment of Social Forestry in 2016.The research was carried out in the HKm Wolobobo area, Bajawa, Ngada Regency, this research was conducted to find out the Implementation of Social Forestry Policy and the Implementation of Ri'i Customary Regulations. The research was conducted for 2 months June - August 2022. Respondents in this study came from five KTH with a total of 72 members. The method used in this study is qualitative. The results of the research obtained through the interview method with the help of a questionnaire found that the Implementation of Social Forestry Policy and the Implementation of Ri'i Customary Regulations had not gone well because the UPT KPH in Ngada Regency was not optimal in conducting outreach and assistance to the management community and the low level of good human resources from both quantity and quality.

An adaptive social forestry model in West Papua based on cultural forests and the main potential of NTFPS: Theory and practice

The presence of the Job Creation Law Number 11 of 2020 opened a new discourse on social forestry policy in Indonesia. The discourse on the concept of forest resource management is used as the basis for the theory and practice of local community-based development. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of adaptive natural resource management for the development of site-scale social forestry. As potential superior Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), the types of Papuan nutmeg and black fruit have been utilized by local communities for generations. A mixed method using descriptive system analysis was used in developing the concept of cultural forest. The results of the study found that a cultural-forest-based adaptive natural resource management scenario in West Papua from case studies on the use of nutmeg in Fakfak and black fruit districts in Teluk Wondama district can be designed as a model for social forestry at the site level. The three landscape typologies of natural forest habitat, secondary forest and home gardens are a systemic-holistic unit that demonstrates certainty of access and ownership for determining site-scale social forestry schemes in West Papua.

Agent-based modelling application for social forestry policy evaluation

Social forestry (SF) as a community involvement program in forest areas needs to be frequently evaluated, particularly on policy aspects considering the dynamics of program implementation. Policy issues related to SF program have not been well identified. As a result, the implementation of SF policies may not achieve the target and recurrently lead to new problems. This research aims to develop the best scenario to support the achievement of SF target but is limited to SF areas adjacent to oil palm plantations. The actor-based modelling was developed using Netlogo 6.2 analytical tool. The results showed that the implementation of SF program should include the economic welfare improvement of local communities as a main consideration. The best scenario to achieve SF target is providing full access for local communities to manage forest areas and developing a mechanism to market the commodities by considering domestic wood consumption. The model simulation indicates that this management approach would be able to maintain forest cover as well as increase the community’s income. Therefore, information on wood consumption level needs to be promoted as an investment opportunity in the forestry sector, which has not been well considered previously in SF program. This strategy can be used to increase the participation of local communities in SF program by providing sufficient economic benefit as well as improving the inclusion of local communities in sustainable forest management.

Synergy Development of “State-Representative Apparatus” in Accelerating Social Forestry Policy Outcomes in Ngawi Regency, East Java

Social forestry is a new approach to solving problems around forests, such as poverty, social inequality, and massive deforestation. Indonesia’s new social forestry policy has given local communities greater rights and legal certainty regarding their involvement in forest management. However, local communities cannot stand alone in their implementation but must collaborate with other relevant stakeholders. A qualitative descriptive approach is used in this paper to capture efforts to build synergies between stakeholders in forest management and empowerment of forest communities in Ngawi Regency and identify opportunities and challenges afterward. The results of our analysis found that the signing of the MoU can be the first step to accelerate the achievement of social forestry policy outcomes. The dichotomy between “forest” and “social” affairs is increasingly visible in the division of tasks of each stakeholder involved. There is a need for clear legal rules regarding the roles and limits of allowable intervention for Regency governments. In addition, an urgent issue that needs to be addressed is the acceleration of capacity building and the capability of local communities, which are identified as essential factors in the success of social forestry policies.

Holding social forestry hostage in Indonesia: Contested bureaucracy mandates and potential escape pathways

The government of Indonesia continues to commit to social forestry as one of its cornerstone rural development policies. Social forestry mechanisms aim to grant legal rights/ permits to groups of local communities to manage previously inaccessible state forests, with the dual aims of improving the livelihoods of rural communities and encouraging participation in forest rehabilitation. Explicit policy targets include the allocation of 12.7 million hectares of state forests for local communities through a suite of social forestry project mechanisms. While the number of social forestry licenses have increased markedly over the past few years, current social forestry initiatives still fall short of meeting the ambitious land area targets. More importantly, increasing evidence points to social forestry policy outcomes only partially serving its initial intended promises. This paper helps to explain these partial outcomes and unmet promises from the perspective of social forestry bureaucracy structures and designs. We found that despite the core social forestry bureaucracy undergoing substantial expansion, several other bureaucracies also channeled their interests into the realm of social forestry policy. These other bureaucracies do not necessarily fit within the intended goals of social forestry policy. Indeed, several bureaucracies continue to hold social forestry policy implementation hostage through other forestry mandates, which results in an institutional chokehold on key social forestry interests. These other bureaucracies even introduced models to redirect social forestry initiatives by retrofitting mandates into their own policy priorities. To address these increasing roadblocks to achieving social forestry policy designs, this paper outlines and proposes a more simplified bureaucratic structure to assist in the implementation of a social forestry policy more in line with its intended goals. Specifically, tasks and responsibilities could be transferred to a single bureaucracy that has mechanisms more closely connected to local people, such as those already envisioned and established in the form of forest management units.

Implementation Gap of Social Forestry Policy: The Case of HKm Beringin Jaya and HTR Hajran

The current social forestry policy is considered to accelerate the issuance of social forestry licences, but after the licence is obtained, various difficulties and obstacles are still experienced by licence holder community to achieve the objective of social forestry policy. For this reason, this study questions who is actually stakeholder or party stipulated in social forestry regulation to carry out social forestry and facilitate community to overcome the difficulties and obstacles they experienced. This study aims to analyze the implementation gap of social forestry policy towards those stipulated in social forestry regulation compared with their implementation in the field. This research was conducted at HKm Beringin Jaya and HTR Hajran. The results show that three groups of actors are stipulated in social forestry regulation, namely community with their rights and obligations, central and regional governments with their authorities and related stakeholders to support the implementation of social forestry. In two research locations, implementation gap of social forestry policy toward three groups of actors occurred in the field. The rights that can be obtained and the obligations that must be fulfilled by licence holder communities are mostly facilitated by non-governmental organizations and are influenced by the networking capacity of the community. The authority of the central and local governments to facilitate the community is not functioning adequately at the field level due to the separate political system and authority between the central and regional governments. The involvement of other related stakeholders is considered low because of their interests that must be accommodated and requiring the capacity of the community to access stakeholders.

Implementation of Social Forestry Policy: A Review of Community Access

The issuance of social forestry licence and the achievement of benefits to the community in the post-licensing stage are still obstacles and difficulties for the community which is demanding the community access. The research aims to analyze the access of the community of social forestry licence holders in the pre-licence and post-licensing stages through field studies in forest community of Beringin Jaya Lampung and people’s forest plantation of Hajran Jambi qualitatively. In the pre-licence stage, the two license holder communities have the same access to all members who will be involved, information, facilitator, and government authorities. In the post-licensing stage, Beringin Jaya community has higher access to all members, facilitator, information, knowledge, government authorities, capital, technology, programs/activities of agencies and local markets, compared to Hajran community. Access to these matters is carried out by the community and facilitated by facilitator by linking the community to those who control these matters –which are not adequately provided by social forestry policies– through processes, mechanisms and social relationships. Successful facilitation of access requires networked capacity among community members and networking with other parties outside the community. The high level of access and networking capacity of community to obtain benefits from the implementation of social forestry policies must be supported by the suitability of subject-objects in granting licence at the pre-licence stage and the availability of supporting infrastructure.

ANALISIS NARASI / DISKURSUS TERHADAP KEBIJAKAN PERHUTANAN SOSIAL Di WILAYAH KERJA PERHUTANI

The Social Forestry Policy (PS) in the Perhutani working area has started a new beginning towards the current PS implementation. The issuance of regulation P.39 / 2017 was colored by various narratives / discourses from various actors decorating the journey of the policy issuance above. Using a narrative / discourse analysis approach, this study intends to explore the narratives used by parties in the policy process and those who receive the impact of SF policies. The research method used is descriptive qualitative analysis within-depth interviews with selected respondents proportionally (purposive sampling). The results of the study explain that the narrative of each party is different. The narrative brought by the pro to the policy is based on the condition of the forest and the social conditions of the community around the forest that have not been successfully improved, including the PHBM program that needs to be evaluated. The IPHPS scheme provides opportunities for access and higher profit sharing for the community to manage forests with low cover conditions (10%) and or social conditions that need to be addressed. Perhutani brought a narrative about the current regulation violating the previous regulation.

Towards the Implementation of Social Forestry Policy in Aceh Province, Indonesia: Process and Institutional Assessment

The Indonesian government devised numerous strategic plans to achieve 12.7 million hectares of social forestry areas as targeted by the social forestry program. This target is achieved through specific policies issued by the Indonesian government, which regulate the implementation and management of village forests. This study examined the readiness of the Forest Management Unit and the Village Forest Management Institute as the main institutions involved in the implementation of village forests. Additionally, the study discovered that readiness was directly proportional to the poverty alleviation level among forest users, the improvement of forest conditions, and the empowerment of forest users. This research applied an objective-based evaluation and institutional assessment. Furthermore, the data obtained was qualitative data, which was quantified using a scale, then the calculated scale results were analysed to produce index value. The data analysis was employed by adopting an FMU performance appraisal method, which utilised community-managed forest management indicators. In the last five years, from the submission of the permit proposal to the issuance of forest license, the results showed an increase of community participation, particularly on the initiatives of (i) institutionalising business unit management, (ii) integration of the village forest management to the village fund, (iii) building the capacity of village enterprise group, and (iv) contributing to wildlife conflict mitigation.

Social forestry in Southeast Asia: Evolving interests, discourses and the many notions of equity

Southeast Asia has long promoted social forestry (SF) in conservation areas, fallow forests, tree plantations, areas in timber concessions and locally managed agro-forest systems, with the engagement of diverse actors and objectives. SF has evolved from early aims of empowerment and devolution of rights advocated by global reform movements, and is now reframed in the market ideal as a win–win–win endeavor for sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation and robust entrepreneurial livelihoods. Southeast Asian states have formulated numerous standardized SF programs and policies that are often linked to broader development goals and priorities, but which have not always been a ‘win’ for local communities in falling short to provide full tenure rights. Civil society organizations that have provided grounded perspectives on environmental justice and rights have also converged with states on entrepreneurship and market-based solutions. Meanwhile, the private sector actor that is seen as key to these solutions is conspicuously absent within the SF policy space. Within this space of diverse and at times contradictory objectives, whose interests do SF policies serve? We examine the social forestry assemblage to investigate the different discourses, interests and agendas in the implementation of SF schemes in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Malaysian state of Sabah. The formal SF schemes involve shifting or reinforcing old discourses around forest problems and possible solutions, territorialization processes that can lead to inequities in the exclusion of rights, participation and access, and risks exacerbating contestations and inequities in claims to forest land and resources.

The boom of social forestry policy and the bust of social forests in Indonesia: Developing and applying an access-exclusion framework to assess policy outcomes

Governments around the world are promoting social forests as part of their stated commitments for sustainability and social justice. Since 2014, social forest policy in Indonesia has undergone rapid expansion, increasing by a factor of five, from 653,311 ha to around 3,369,583 ha in 2019. This paper examines the processes through which social forest policy is implemented to consider who benefits (access) and who loses (exclusion) within different policy stages. We identify these stages to include initial formulation, formal handover, and policy implementation, and map them onto an access-exclusion framework to analyze how power is contested and who benefits. Applying the framework to three case studies from Sulawesi demonstrates that at the initial stage, processes that generate social forestry are defined by access and exclusion related to the collection and control of information. Through processes that define the formal handover stage, key actors contest rules and establish the contours of legitimacy governing social forestry. Finally, during implementation, access and exclusion occur through the management and use of resources. By analyzing access and exclusion dynamics across temporal dimensions that structure social forestry policy, we at once demystify what social forestry entails while providing a clearer picture about the boom of its expansion in Indonesia since 2014, showing how a highly anticipated policy filled with populist ideals goes bust from below.

Three Generations of Forest Peoples' Empowerment in Indonesia: Process Towards Sustainable and Equitable Forest Management

Human activities that alter land cover have destroyed natural ecosystems and caused conflict. In Indonesia, community-based forest management (CBFM) policies implemented by the government seek to empower communities, ameliorate forest conversion, and reduce environmental conflict. This article critically assesses contemporary CBFM policy in Indonesia by analyzing its history and outcomes through policy analysis. To systematically review previous literature on CBFM, this research uses the PRISMA method. It finds that communities are often able to manage forest areas sustainably through sociocultural systems that combine management customs and culture. Empowerment through CBFM policy therefore promises to promote community subsistence, equity, and security regarding forest management. However, granting total resource rights to communities can result in land conversion unless managerial safeguards are in place. Many studies find that the clarity of land boundaries, the consistency of regulation, and the partiality of land governance drive CBFM program success. To facilitate land governance for the successful implementation of Indonesian social forestry, communities need access rights, authority to manage forests, and sufficient knowledge transfer to participate in formal forest management. In contrast to previous iterations of CBFM in Indonesia, current social forestry policy acknowledges these governance needs and seeks to implement them.