The Role of Communities in Social Forest Management

Since 2015, the government has targeted a policy of providing legal access to the management of state forests covering an area of 12.7 million hectares through a social forestry program. The social forestry program is a sustainable forest management system implemented in state forest areas or private/customary forests implemented by local communities to improve welfare, environmental balance and socio-cultural dynamics. Social forestry has various schemes, namely Village Forest (HD), Community Forest (HKm), Community Plantation Forest (HTR/IPHPS), Customary Forest (HA), and Forestry Partnership.

Efforts to improve community welfare through empowerment mechanisms and remaining guided by aspects of forest sustainability are needed in the form of strengthening village community economic institutions such as BUMMA (Indigenous Community-Owned Enterprises), Bumdes (Village-Owned Enterprises) and cooperatives. It is hoped that this economic institution will be able to move the economy of rural communities in accordance with the natural potential of the village.