Conflict transformation and collaboration in developing social forestry in Flores, Indonesia

Social movements to realize forest tenure reforms have been ongoing since the 1970s, particularly through policies under the broad umbrella of social forestry. In Indonesia, social forestry programs are initiated by the government, communities, NGOs, academics, companies, and donors, and are based on specific socio-economic and ecological interests. Weak synergies, however between programmatic implementation and stakeholder interests, triggers various forest tenure conflicts. The research examines the complexity of these conflicts, namely focusing around the approaches to conflict transformation that can lead to collaboration in realizing forest sustainability that also support interests of people living in and around forests. I employed a qualitative approach by collecting data through in-depth interviews and participatory observations in Flores in 2017 and 2020. The results show that forest tenure conflicts have occurred since the 1970s due to state forest territorialization. Conflicts culminated in the determination of state forest area boundaries through the 1984 state program entitled the “consensus-based forest land use planning” initiative. Until 2008, efforts to resolve conflicts by offering the community access rights through community forestry programs initiated by the government were rejected by NGOs and the local community. NGOs facilitated communities to demand the return of state forest land as customary forest. This conflict presented the opportunity to facilitate multi-stakeholder forestry programs through a conflict transformation approach by building long-term stakeholder collaboration. Since 2010, the collaboration between stakeholders took place through the community forest program. This study shows the need for more direct attention to studying conflict resolution under an integrated and long-term approach to conflict transformation and collaboration. Pragmatically, this study shows the importance of integrated social forestry policies that synergize various schemes initiated by stakeholders to realize forest sustainability and support local community interests.

Commoning the State Forest: Crafting Commons through an Indonesian Social Forestry Program

Studies of the commons grew out of responses to Hardin's bleak prediction of “tragedy of the commons,” that without state intervention or privatization, any commons will eventually be destroyed by allegedly self-interested users. As such, the commons studies traditionally tend to demonstrate cases where common pool resources (CPR) can be sustainably managed by groups of people beyond the state and market interventions. This paper shows a case from Sulawesi, Indonesia, where a state social forestry program can create a space for the program beneficiaries to build a commons. Through fieldwork that involves participant observation and in-depth interviews with program extension workers and beneficiaries in two social forestry farmer groups, this study found that the program can stimulate beneficiary groups to build collective action in managing the state forest plots admitted to them and that the two groups are the only successful ones among 14 neighboring groups that are involved in the same program. The study also shows that the management of the state-sponsored commons requires extension workers with deep knowledge about local people and landscape, economic incentives, and the flexibility of the local state agency in bending the rules based on bottom-up demands. Therefore, the case study shows that, on the one hand, the state program can actually stimulate the creation of the commons. On the other hand, commoning seems to be the only way to ensure a successful social forestry program.

Strategi Pendampingan dalam Pengembangan Usaha Kelompok Perhutanan Sosial di Kabupaten Merangin Provinsi Jambi

The social forestry groups in Merangin Regency, Jambi Province consisting of LPHD Lubuk Birah, LPHD Lubuk Beringin dan LPHD Rio Kemunyang are the groups that have been assisted by social forestry assistance. The business in these groups is underdeveloped as indicated by unavailiability of market access, limited capital, weak institutionalism, etc. The objective of this research is to discover strategy of assistance in social forestry groups business development in the 3 (three) aforementioned groups. The data are collected by conducting in-depth interview, observation, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD), also by distributing questionnaires. They are analyzed by using SWOT analysis with Internal Factor Analysis Summary (IFAS) and External Factor Analysis Summary (EFAS). Based on the SWOT analysis, it is found that the position of assistants is at quadrant IV (defensive strategy) which indicates that it is in unfavorable position where weakness and threat are more serious than its strength and opportunity. The strategy of assistance applied today is on increasing capacity of the assistants in business development, conforming outcomes of groups business with market needs, increasing intensity of effective communication and atmosphere with the groups, consolidating strength of the groups and improving communication with government and authorities to encounter threats of land clearing, increasing motivation of assistants, and living in the location when providing assistance.

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.

PERAN KESATUAN PENGELOLAAN HUTAN (KPH) DALAM IMPLEMENTASI PERHUTANAN SOSIAL (Studi di KPH Produksi Kerinci, Provinsi Jambi dan KPH Lindung Sijunjung, Provinsi Sumatera Barat)

Forest Management Unit (FMU)’s one of the site-level agencies that has information on forest biophysical condition and community socio-culture, so it has a significant role on Social Forestry (SF)’s success. The willingness and role of the FMU in the implementation of the SF program as an organization at the site level needs to be studied, especially from the perspective of the stakeholders involved in the SF. This study examines the role of FMUs to implement Social Forestry (SF) programs through the perspective of the parties involved in SF. This role is measured through the attitudes, orientation and actions shift of FMUs towards SF. The research hypothesis is that FMU’s roles through attitudes, orientations and actions influence the outcomes of social forestry. The study uses a quantitative approach involving 60 respondents with purpossive sampling, data processing and analysis using a scoring method to see the attitudes, orientations and actions shift and success of SF, and Pearson correlation analysis to confirmed the influence of FMU’s roles through attitudes, orientations and actions on SF’s success. The results of the study revealed that the attitudes of Production FMU Kerinci and Protection FMU Sijunjung support SF, while the FMUs' actions are based on site specific priorities. Under these conditions the shifting of FMUs attitudes and actions can explain the success of the SF in social and economy field.

Perception and adaptation of agroforestry farmers in Upper Citarum Watershed to climate change

Agroforestry is a form of an agricultural system that is adaptive to climate change. Based on the institutional form, the farming system developed under the social forestry program is agroforestry. This form of agroforestry is the essential capital for farmers to establish in their cultivated lands further. This study aim to determine agroforestry farmers’ perceptions in the Upper Citarum Watershed on climate change and the adaptation activities. The sample farmers are a sub-set of farmer households sample in the socio-economic survey conducted by ICASEPS – ACIAR in the collaborative research in 2019. The reliability of the data on variables that reflect farmers’ perceptions of adverse shocks experienced, which directly or indirectly related to climate changes, is tested with Cronbach’s Alpha. Data analysis is performed by cross-tabulation, while multiple regressions are used to determine the effect of social forestry cultivated areas on farmers’ income. The results show that more than 55 percent of farmers participating in social forestry say that since the last ten years climate patterns are increasingly unpredictable. The most negative impacts of climate change impacts are indirect effects which are pests and diseases. Popular adaptation are reactive ones, namely increasing the use of pesticides and more intensive use of inorganic fertilizers. Farmers adaptation which are more synergistic with mitigation such as organic farming or cultivation of perennial crops are still relatively low. The increase in the arable land area due to social forestry has significantly increased farmer’s household income. Referring to this phenomenon, conducive policies to increase farmer participation in these adaptation actions are needed.

Implications of omnibus law for forestland conflict resolution systems (a case study in Sumbawa)

There are many cases of forestland tenure in Indonesia and one of them occurre in a village on the island of Sumbawa. Currently, the Omnibus Law no.11/2020 and its derivative regulation PP no. 23/2021 came up to create a more robust business enabling environment in the forestry sector with one of the targets is to improve the economic conditions of the communities around the forests. In relation to the forestry conflict in Sumbawa, these regulations bring hope for the parties involved in the conflict in the efforts to resolve prolonged tenure conflicts. The purpose of this case study is to examine how the new forestry regulations can provide options for communities and the Forest Management Unit (FMU) in resolving forestry conflicts, assess how conflicting communities perceive the forms of cooperation of their expectation in the future, and provide options for potential partnerships to be initiated. The research methods used are historical study, survey, participant observation, semi-structured interviews with forest managers and communities, and focus group discussion that was all carried out in 2017. The findings show that according to PP. no. 23/2021 and the history of this area, this piece of land is a potential object of the social forestry program. In addition, through this action research, two farmer groups are successfully formed. This makes the legalization of social forestry one-step forward to be a reality. Moreover, all respondents agree to carry out partnership with the FMU. This study recommends that the ideal form of forestry partnership is community forestry considering the location of the conflict land is in a production forest area. The facilitations could be implemented to support; the community are the legalization of community forestry, support for the development of honey from stingless bees that has been being developed by some farmers, cashew based business development, and assistance in implementing agroforestry with a sustainable alley cropping model of wood-cashew-corn plants. Initiatives from local people and facilitation from FMU are required to succeed the implementation of Omnibus Law in the forestry sector.

The integration of social forestry, science and local community in the collaborative Muna teak (Tectona grandis) development

The demand for teak wood in Indonesia reached 7 million m3, however, only 10% can be produced. One of the best teak producers in Indonesia was Muna, Southeast Sulawesi which once has a golden period but now experiencing degradation and losing genetic resources. How to restore Muna teak and its genetic resource became the question of the research. This study uses descriptive qualitative research using data from interviews with relevant stakeholders and secondary data. The result of the study shows that the issuance of Business Permit for the Utilization of Timber Forest Product-in Community Forest for three Forest Farmer’s Cooperatives in 2017 on the area of 1,817 hectares through the Social Forestry scheme has made a positive contribution to the restoration of Muna teak forest. The management of the three cooperatives in partnership with a private company, and the government’s financial support by initiating a tissue culture laboratory and genetic engineering as an effort to propagate the Muna teak using mutation breeding techniques to obtain superior clones. Through multi parties, involvement, and support, the integration of government policies and science, in synergy with individual effort and local community movement, effort indicates a hope to restore Muna teak.

The social capital of the Tana Toraja community becomes one of the key strategies for social forestry development in the working area of the saddang I forest management unit

The success of forestry development is largely determined by the extent to which the level of community participation in contributing to forest management efforts and the quality of human resources that support it. The process of community empowerment is basically an effort how the community can recognize and reflect its own problems, potential itself and the environment and motivate in developing that potential proportionally in participatory ways or methods. Social capital is the ability of the community to relate to one another and become a very important force for the economic life of the community as well as other aspects of social existence. The characteristics of social capital become one of the indicators that will determine the sustainability of Social Forestry management. The low level of one of the categories of social capital will result in decreased support for activities carried out in the Social Forestry program.