Optimising Community-Based Forest Management Policy in Indonesia: a Critical Review

Community-based forest management (CBFM) is a popular concept in many countries, covering over 400 million hectares worldwide. In Indonesia, CBFM is viewed as an important component of the forestry sector with the government's goal to establish 5.6 million hectares of CBFM by 2011 (twice the area of industrial plantation forests). The Indonesian government is pursuing CBFM as a strategy to reduce deforestation of tropical forests, to alleviate poverty in rural communities, and to contribute timber supplies to the processing industry.There has been a belief that CBFM can lead to a physical and socio-economic transformation at the local level. However, in practice, especially in Indonesia, this claim appears problematic because in over 35 years since it has been officially introduced it does not appear to have contributed significantly to address the problems of deforestation and rural poverty.Despite the government's ambitious goal for CBFM, there are several challenges, for instance the entrenched poverty of many rural communities and inconsistent and unsupportive policies of CBFM at the national, provincial, and local government. This paper is intended to explore, discusses, and criticize the implementation of CBFM policies in various countries and in particular in Indonesia. This paper also aims to explore its challenges in the future development in Indonesia

Social equity and livelihood implications of REDD+ in rural communities – a case study from Nepal

Despite growing international consensus that the use of the policy instrument REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries) could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions from the forestry sector and support bio-diversity with livelihood benefits, there are a range of unresolved issues, including potential implications for rural livelihoods. This paper presents results from recent research that examines social equity and livelihood implications of the piloting of REDD+ through Nepal’s community forestry system, within selected villages in the Gorkha district of Nepal. The research reveals the varying experiences of households, closely correlated to the socio-economic attributes of the households. Despite the ‘no harm and equitable’ policy, this research indicates that not everyone is experiencing the anticipated benefits of REDD+. Although poorer, women-headed and marginalized households are targeted in some ways (e.g. seed grants), the support is limited, and inadequately compensates the loss they have experienced in other ways (e.g. limited access to forests). Households bundling by caste may not necessarily address equity, but is likely to increase intra-caste marginalization

Understanding energy-related regimes: A participatory approach from central Australia

AbstractFor a particular community, what energy-related innovations constitute no-regrets strategies? We present a methodology to understand how alternative energy consuming activities and policy regimes impact on current and future liveability of socio-culturally diverse communities facing climate change. Our methodology augments the energy policy literature by harnessing three concepts (collaborative governance, innovation and political economic regime of provisioning) to support dialogue around changing energy-related activities. We convened workshops in Alice Springs, Australia to build capability to identify no-regrets energy-related housing or transport activities and strategies. In preparation, we interviewed policy actors and constructed three new housing-related future scenarios. After discussing the scenarios, policy and research actors prioritised five socio-technical activities or strategies. Evaluations indicate participants enjoyed opportunities given by the methodology to have focussed discussions about activities and innovation, while requesting more socially nuanced scenario storylines. We discuss implications for theory and technique development

Communicating REDD+ Issues at Local Level: Creating Latent and Manifest Conflict

”Carbon offsetting”in forestry-related projects is widely regarded as the ideal solution to the three challenges of the 21st Century: climate change, biodiversity conservation andsocio-economic development. At the same time, there is scepticism about the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) proposal particularly because of the weak governance and institutional capacities in many developing countries, which could jeopardize the delivery of benefits at the local level. One major problem is that most people have little knowledge on the causes and consequences of the climate change. This is partly because the information is largely scattered among scientific journals, and obscured by jargon and sophisticated mathematical models. Consequently, REDD+ is beyond thereach of manyof the people affected by REDD+. This paper examines the efforts and the capacity of the local governments and other development agents in explaining the REDD + issues and its impacts on the local people, especially customary communities. The research shows that lack of policy communication and promotion, as well as consultations with the affected groups arethe main contributing factors to latent and manifest conflicts. In turn, this conflicth as proven that NGOs, district governments and scientists have not been successful intermediaries. Thus, in the future policy communication on REDD+ should beaimed at improved network formation (i.e. between farmer groups with business partners and NGOs and other related actors), learning, negotiation and relationship building (i.e. between members of farmer groups, not only withtheir leaders within the farmer groups but also with governmental and business sectors). Policy communication should also create a new configuration of support and services in form of advocacy, empowerment and management skills and technical skills for conserving their natural resources, for adaptation to climate change and building more equitable governance and transparency at local level

Living on the margins: climate change impacts and adaptation by remote communities living in the Pacific Islands, the Himalaya and desert Australia

The latest IPCC assessment reports (2021, 2022 and 2023) confirm the devastating impacts of climate change are being felt with increasing frequency and intensity, with these impacts causing profound changes in the livelihoods of remote communities. People who are heavily dependent on agriculture, fisheries and forestry are particularly impacted, with risks and vulnerabilities increasing. These communities are already adapting their livelihoods, yet they often face constrained access to critical information, social safety nets, knowledge and skills, and technology, for effective adaptation to climate change. More importantly, they are typically outside the mainstream decision making and socio-economic structures that provide vital support during times of crisis. This article synthesizes analysis of the climate change impacts on, and adaptation by, remote communities living in very different environments – the tropical islands of the South Pacific, the mountains of the Himalaya in Nepal, and the deserts of central Australia. The authors’ analysis informs discussion about the limitations and strengths of local adaptation by remote communities and what strategies can support them build resilience

Changing rural livelihoods and forest use transition in the middle hills of Nepal

In recent decades, out-migration has become a key livelihood strategy for many rural households in the middle hills region of Nepal. In this region, rural communities are key actors in the management of local resources such as community forests. Analysis of the link between community forests and out-migration is largely missing in the literature, even though the demographic changes associated with out-migration affect forest resource use and management. This article discusses how rural communities and traditional landscapes in the middle hills are changing following out-migration and how this process has changed the management by rural communities of local forests (including community forests). Overall, the research found a reduced dependency by households on forest products (e.g. firewood, fodder and timber) sourced from community forests. Also, the reduced demand is being supplied increasingly from trees/forests grown on private farmland, including natural regenerated forests and trees planted on abandoned farmland. The declining need for forest products and the lack of an economic incentive for active forest management coupled with a decreasing sense of community has reduced the interest in community forests, leading to less intensive and infrequent forest management. Given the prevalence of out-migration and the changing socio-economic context in the middle hills, it appears time to reconsider the management of community forests beyond a narrow range of uses to enable greater commercialization and encourage ecosystem services to be harnessed so community forests better align with contemporary rural livelihoods and landscapes

Untangling the Regulatory Environment: Why do wood processing businesses in Indonesia fail to be competitive in the global market?

Smallholder tree planting has long been practiced by rural people throughout the tropics. However, the competitiveness of Indonesian wood products has decreased in the global market. Indonesia’s wooden furniture for instance, was assessed to have declined in competitiveness during 2006 to 2015. In addition, the World Economic Forum in its latest annual Global Competitiveness Index report (2019) lowered Indonesia’s position from 45th position to 50th in the product market. Although the small- and medium-scale wood processing businesses have begun to focus on commercial forest management goals, the way in which the competitiveness of their timber products is affected by forestry regulations remains a debate with significant policy implications. New regulations have been designed and implemented to solve various problems associated with smallholder-managed forests, such as specific administration of smallholder forest products, regulation of access to forests for people living near forests, and attempts to bridge the gap in forest management expertise between forestry companies and rural communities. However, rather than producing positive results for those concerned, new regulations appear to have become an additional constraint. This study aimed to map how regulations have influenced small-scale tree planting and wood processing industries in Indonesia, both directly and indirectly. It also examines the extent to which these regulations can be reformed to become an efficient and effective legal instrument in governing small-scale tree planting and wood processing industries. In addition, this study explored two less examined issues, namely: (1) Have the regulations become too complex and constraining? and (2) How does Indonesia create an ‘enabling’ regulatory environment? The study found that excessive regulation of commercial timber production reduces the interest by smallholders in tree growing. In addition, complicated regulations tend to increase the transaction costs incurred by those involved in commercial timber production

Understanding Social Capital in Management of Community Forest in Indonesia

Community forests are defined as forests that grow on private land and are managed by farmers on a small scale. Most of the community forests in Indonesia are managed by farmers, who mostly use social capital in community forest management. Understanding social capital of farmers in managing community forests is important to empower them. This research was a survey conducted by involving 240 respondents in three districts: Bulukumba (South Sulawesi Province), Gunungkidul (Yogyakarta Special Province), and Pati (Central Java Province). The research showed that majority of the farmers believed that community forests can support their livelihoods. Moreover, the research used trust, norm, and network to measure the social capital employed in the community forest management. The result revealed some trusted stakeholders for intervention in community forest management across the study locations were other farmers, farmer group committees, and farmer groups. Meanwhile, the norms that the farmers used in community forest were tradition and custom. In addition, the farming network was identified to understand behavior of the farmers in forest product marketing. A total of 68% of the farmers sell timber, whereas the others (52%) sell crops. Traders are the most important stakeholder in community forest product marketing. From this identification of social capital, we could develop appropriate strategies for intervention to manage the community forests for sustainable community forest management

Modern smallholders: creating diversified livelihoods and landscapes in Indonesia

Encouraging smallholders to diversify their livelihoods has been a long-held policy objective of many governments to create resilient rural communities that can cope with seasonal variations in food production and price fluctuations in commercial markets. Due to the dynamic nature of smallholders’ livelihoods, the relative contribution of different sources to household income often remains unclear. Recent research in Indonesia used a household survey of a stratified sample of smallholders (n = 240) in eight villages (five districts) to obtain data of smallholders’ income and the relative importance of agroforestry. The research analysed income data from the same households (80%) collected in 2013, 2017 and 2020, providing longitudinal data of livelihoods and household income. Results revealed important information about the nature of Indonesia’s rural economy, whereby many smallholders received most of their income from off-farm sources (56% of income). While most smallholders still reported farming as their primary occupation, their families’ livelihoods are diverse and mainly supported by non-farm enterprises. Even the mix of farming enterprises is evolving, with agroforestry a prominent land-use and source of household income in Indonesia (29% of income), indicating that smallholders are intentionally diversifying their land-use and livelihoods. Our research found that conventional agricultural enterprises generated just 14% of household income, yet remains vital for household food security. The high proportion of off-farm income for smallholders has important implications for land management and rural development across Indonesia, as smallholders forgo intensification of their farming systems and instead opt for diversification—and at scale, creating resilient landscapes and livelihoods