The Shape of Forest, Social and Economic Conditions of Community Living around Production Forest with Industrial Plantation Forest Permit (Case Study: Forest Management Unit of KPH Meranti)

Abstract

The industrial plantation forest (HTI) has changed the structure of forest management from natural forest to constructed forest. The changes occured on the biophysical, ecology, area management, and social aspects. The development of HTI has caused not only positive impacts, but also land-based conflicts and issues related to access to forest resource. This research aims to analyze the existing condition of the forest and the social and economic problems faced by the local community living around the concession area. The research was conducted in the vicinity of PT Sentosa Bahagia Bersama's using qualitative approach and data extracting through in-depth interviews with predetermined key informants. This study finds that the shape of forests in the HTI concession area could be defined based on its cultivation patterns, age and growth of plants, land clearing and area accessibility, forest management organization, ecology and productivity of the area.