Community capacity building in social forestry development: A review

Abstract

Social forestry has shifted the forestry development paradigm from conventional forest management to community-based forest management. The history of community-based forest management in Java began with the Dutch colonial policy on forest production in 1873 and today it has grown widely, both within and outside forest areas. However, social forestry has not been able to overcome population pressure problems in the form of deforestation and forest degradation. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize and elevate the role of local communities in forest management. Success of social forestry can be achieved by developing cooperation through capacity building of local communities with community-based forest management. To develop community capacity, it is necessary to understand the basic concept of community capacity building in the social forestry system. A review of community capacity in social forestry is useful for developing a conceptual framework of local community capacity in the development of the social forestry system. Community capacity in the social forestry system is developed to realize forest sustainability and community welfare around the forest.