TY - JOUR
T1 - Where to put community-based forestry?
T2 - Reconciling conservation and livelihood in Lampung, Indonesia
AU - Putraditama, Andika
AU - Kim, Yeon Su
AU - Baral, Himlal
N1 - Funding Information:
This research is funded by a fellowship from the United States Agency for International Development and Center for International Forestry Research (USAID-CIFOR) through the USAID Governing Oil Palm Landscapes for Sustainability (GOLS) Project. We thank Dr. Steve Lawry (CIFOR) and Pak Yayan Ruchyansyah (Head of Batutegi Forest Management Unit) for their insights and supports for this research, as well as the stakeholders and community members who participated in our focus group discussions.
Funding Information:
However, biophysical features of the sites significantly affect the ability of the CFM groups to achieve the stated conservation and economic goals of the HKM scheme. When planting more trees can only mean reducing economic benefit, there is less chance of improving forest conditions. Higher elevation sites with steeper slopes may reduce likelihood of forest degradation due to lack of access, but it also prevents farmers from having more livelihood crop options, thus reducing their motivation in restoring degraded areas. Lack of technical capacity to process and market their forest and agricultural products is also preventing HKM units from earning higher economic benefits. Currently this role is filled sporadically by a local NGO (Konsorsium Kota Agung Utara) that is funded mostly by bilateral grants 6 6 . Despite their best effort to empower HKM units in Tanggamus district, they do not have enough funding and staff capacity to support all HKM units in the area. Most farmers believe that the government can do more to help them meet the reforestation target. Specifically. technical assistance to select tree species for TCF is an area where the government can improve HKM implementation. This is also an important point for improving decentralized forest governance structure ( Bae et al. 2014 ; Kim et al., 2016 ; Sahide et al., 2016 ). As the forefront of forest management at the field level, FMUs are responsible to assist implementation of HKMs within their jurisdiction ( Kim et al., 2016 ). Batutegie Forest Management Unit is completely funded by the provincial government budget, and does not receive any funding from the central government. As of 2017, the annual budget of the FMU is Rp. 285 million (around USD 19,950) to oversee an area of 58,174 hectare ( KPHL Batu Tegi 2012 ; MoEF2018 ). This budget is barely enough to pay for their own 35 staffs, let alone developing an impactful and technically sound assistance program for HKM concessions within their jurisdiction. Allocating more resources into FMUs providing day-to-day support for the implementation of HKM program can mean improving the quality of monitoring and evaluation of each HKM and increasing the ability for government to identify issues on HKM implementation early in the program. These two are keys for the decision makers to evaluate the implementation of HKM regularly, adapt, and improve policies to ensure that both conservation and economic goals can be achieved.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Community-based forestry (CBF) has been promoted as a potential win-win solution for improving forest conservation and livelihood outcomes. Incorporating location-specific factors from participants’ perspectives in the design and implementation of CBF has been noted as an important prerequisite for ensuring positive outcomes. This study investigates benefits and challenges of CBF perceived by participating farmers in two Community Forests (HKM – Hutan Kemasyarakatan) in Lampung, Indonesia. Two sites were chosen systematically based on their distinct biophysical characteristics. Through qualitative assessments using interviews and focus group discussions with the farmers, we found that securing land tenure is the most important motivation for them to participate in CBF and abide by the government-imposed rules and regulations. Participants in both sites have experienced increased income, as well as other benefits, such as reduced fire incidents and illegal activities. However, benefits and challenges that the two HKMs face differ and are affected by their biophysical features, such as elevation, slope, proximity to village and roads. Participants, especially in the remote HKM in high elevation, perceive long-term and poorly monitored goals, such as reforestation, unrealistic. Site-specific and targeted technical supports are needed to identify overstory tree species that can also provide livelihood benefits. We argue for explicit considerations of biophysical features for CBF site designations and technical supports that meet site specific needs. This study provides a practical pathway to ensure economic benefits of CBF, which is an important factor for promoting CBF's success.
AB - Community-based forestry (CBF) has been promoted as a potential win-win solution for improving forest conservation and livelihood outcomes. Incorporating location-specific factors from participants’ perspectives in the design and implementation of CBF has been noted as an important prerequisite for ensuring positive outcomes. This study investigates benefits and challenges of CBF perceived by participating farmers in two Community Forests (HKM – Hutan Kemasyarakatan) in Lampung, Indonesia. Two sites were chosen systematically based on their distinct biophysical characteristics. Through qualitative assessments using interviews and focus group discussions with the farmers, we found that securing land tenure is the most important motivation for them to participate in CBF and abide by the government-imposed rules and regulations. Participants in both sites have experienced increased income, as well as other benefits, such as reduced fire incidents and illegal activities. However, benefits and challenges that the two HKMs face differ and are affected by their biophysical features, such as elevation, slope, proximity to village and roads. Participants, especially in the remote HKM in high elevation, perceive long-term and poorly monitored goals, such as reforestation, unrealistic. Site-specific and targeted technical supports are needed to identify overstory tree species that can also provide livelihood benefits. We argue for explicit considerations of biophysical features for CBF site designations and technical supports that meet site specific needs. This study provides a practical pathway to ensure economic benefits of CBF, which is an important factor for promoting CBF's success.
KW - Biophysical features
KW - Community-based forestry
KW - HKM – Hutan Kemasyarakatan
KW - Indonesia
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U2 - 10.1016/j.tfp.2021.100062
DO - 10.1016/j.tfp.2021.100062
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85103113843
SN - 2666-7193
VL - 4
JO - Trees, Forests and People
JF - Trees, Forests and People
M1 - 100062
ER -