Strategy of agrarian-forestry crisis management: Participation, collaboration, and conflict

Abstract

The presence of communities in conservation areas provides chronic and systemic problems on land and biological resources and potential to become agrarian-forestry conflicts. The existence is often interpreted as a threat that will impact on the occurrence of ecosystem crisis with the increasing intensity and scale of natural disasters that led to social-economic and environmental catastrophe. This paper deals with dilemma questions from the Dongi-dongi community, Sigi Regency, Indonesia on social justice or conservation, human or environment? The research employed a qualitative descriptive method to decompose the source and root of the conflict, while the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to examine the implications of land conflict on socio-economic and environmental aspects. SWOT analysis directly directed to determine a strategy for reducing conflict and agrarian-forestry crisis. The results show that agrarian-forestry disputes can be reduced by prioritizing community-based forest management regarding participation and collaboration (socio-economic and ecological aspects) through clarity of forest management structures and institutions, land tenure and utilization systems. Also, avoiding conflicts through border setting and legitimacy. In this case, there should be a clear understanding that conversion of forest land to economic and environmentally insecure causes not only forest destruction but also natural disasters such as floods, drought, land erosion and socio-economic problems (declining quality of life, destruction local cultural arrangements and the loss of endemic flora and fauna species).