Forestry devolution model for the resilience of smallholder livelihood system in the forest area of the eastern part of Indonesia

Abstract

The policy centralization forest areas in Indonesia caused structural poverty and land conflict, and the result of about 14,62 million small farmers around the forest. In the forestry decentralization era, Indonesia is targeting 29,14 million ha of forest management rights schemes to establish several forestry management schemes such as Forest Management Unit (KPH), Community Forests (HKM), Village Forests (HD), and Community-based forest plantation (HTR). However, most of them are having stagnation and did not reach the target. This paper discussed the result of devolution policy and type on KPH, HKM, HD, and HTR that had a positive impact on accelerating the development of forest management rights and increasing the livelihood of small farmers. The result illustrates several findings. Firstly, the policy of politic decentralization (de-concentration) from provincial government to the rights stakeholders (KPH, HD, HKM, and HTR) has to ensure the implementation of administrative decentralization (delegation) and functional decentralization (devolution) as well as the implementation of democratic forest management that signed by the distribution and redistribution authority from central bureaucracy to the lowest level that causing high participation of small farmers. Secondly, the policy of administration decentralization (delegation) creates the spatial of forest area management by farmers and ensure the security of tenure rights between land-based social relations in various small farmers group. Thirdly, the policy of functional decentralization (devolution) provides management rights to small farmers to develop an agroforestry pattern that enhances livelihood resilience while maintaining the quality of forest ecosystems.