Changes in local social economy and forest management through the introduction of collaborative forest management (PHBM), and the challenges it poses on equitable partnership: A case study of KPH Pemalang, Central Java, Indonesia

Decentralisation of forest management has advanced across the world, and local people,s participation has been a vital element in achieving sustainable forest management. In 2001, Collaborative Forest Management (PHBM) was initiated by the State Forest Company (Perhutani) in Java, Indonesia, in order to manage state forests in collaboration with local communities. The objectives of this study are to 1) examine the contract configuration and organisation structure of PHBM, 2) clarify changes in the social economy and forest management after PHBM introduction, 3) describe the attitudes of the local people, and 4) discuss the challenges to the further PHBM implementation. The findings showed that PHBM contributed to the suppression of illegal logging, village development, and improvement of the local people’s household economy. However, there was lack of transparency between Perhutani and the Forest Village Community Association (LMDH) composed of local people. There was also a disparity in the degree of awareness on PHBM between board members and non-board members in LMDH. Additionally, whereas full-time farmers depend more on income from PHBM, their satisfaction tended to be relatively low. The reasons for their dissatisfaction could be attributed to both endogenous and exogenous factors of PHBM. We concluded that PHBM had a high potential to manage state forests sustainably through benefit/cost sharing system. However, increasing the satisfaction of participants was still a key challenge. Accordingly, the flexible revision of PHBM agreement including benefit sharing rate as a function of social and economic changes was crucial for long-term collaborative forest management.