Impact assessment of new social forestry program on the accessibility and economic circumstances of the forest communities

Abstract

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 9 of 2021 concerning Social Forestry (SF) is the latest regulation that simplifies the provision of access to the community. The regulation states that SF is a sustainable forest management system implemented in state forest areas or private forests (customary forests) carried out by local communities or customary law communities as the main actors to improve their welfare, environmental balance, and sociocultural dynamics. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of SF with new regulations. This study was conducted in a pine production forest in Ciamis Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia. Respondents, as many as 88, were members of forest farmer groups with an area of 108 hectares. The SF activities at this location used pine and coffee cropping patterns. Interviews with SF farmers were employed in this study to gather information about the impact of the regulation's issuance on economic factors and changes in forest access. The study results show that the new regulation increases community access to the forest, including being allowed to plant various plants that were prohibited by the previous regulation. In addition, forest concession rights have a longer duration, from five to 35 years, giving farmers more opportunities to gain economic benefits.