Socio Economic Roles of Dragon Blood in Participative Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest and Land

Abstract

Overexploitation, both by the public and other parties that interact directly or indirectly with natural resources is one of the causes of forest and land degradation. Dragon's blood development as one of the non-timber forest products is expected to be a solution to reduce the level of forests and land damage. This study aims to describe the community's efforts in the utilization and development of dragon's blood, as well as their impact on the rehabilitation of forest areas that have been degraded due to over-exploitation. The study was conducted in Semendo Darat Ulu, Muara Enim Regency, South Sumatra Province. Field observations and interviews were used to collect information on respondents' characteristics and their behavior in relation to the utilization and development of dragon's blood. Data were analyzed descriptively and qualitatively to answer the research objectives. The findings show that the communities around forest areas have more eagerness to harvest dragon's blood sustainably. People who previously have only perform dragon's blood collection from the natural forest, began to make efforts for the development of dragon's blood on their private land. The higher economic value of dragon's blood raises public awareness to protect and preserve it. The successful development of dragon's blood is expected to be a solution for forest and land rehabilitation in Muara Enim. Communities sources of income from dragon's blood can reduce the dependence on the forest, so that public access to forests decreases. At last, the preservation of forests and land will be maintained and sustained.