How Does Social Capital Matter in Managing Protected Forest? A Case of Indonesia

Abstract

"This paper discusses the role of social capital in the implementation of community-based forest management in protected forest in Lampung province, Indonesia. In this study, social capital includes the social networks and interactions within communities between different interests and stakeholder groups in forest management.

"The study area has a complex settlement and forest management history. Local people live surrounding the protected forest in West Lampung as a result of government-sponsored resettlement programs and spontaneous migrations, particularly from Java island. Coffee was the preferred crop because of international and domestic demand. High coffee price during 1970 -1980 resulted in a large opening of forest tract for coffee production. Since the area is a water source for hydro-power, conflict between Forest Department and villagers could not be avoided. In 1990s, coffee plantations were uprooted and the 'squatters' were evicted from State forests-on the grounds that a coffee-monoculture is unsustainable. The fall of the Soeharto regime in 1998 and the birth of Reform era signaled the re-opening of forest tract.

"A participatory approach was introduced in 1999. It aimed at involving local people in managing and utilizing the protected forest. A 'win-win' situation was proposed: old coffee stands could be maintained, but forest trees should be planted and funded by farmers. An official Reforestation Movement was initiated in 2003, requiring yet more forest trees to be planted. One impact was increased distrust to the Forest Department. Farmers saw the requirements as imposed and simply another way to re-evict them from protected forest areas. Traumatic prior experience together with inconsistent application of regulations were among the factors contributing to this distrust, although forest officers' attitudes have adopted a more 'down-to-earth' approach and meetings between Forest Department and farmers are frequently held. Another impact of Reforestation Movement was distrust within the farmer groups. The reason was unequal distribution of funds from Reforestation project, where some of fund is managed by the heads of farmer groups.

"The study reported here explores the features of positive and negative aspects of social capital within the communities. Positive aspects of social capital are indicated by learning from other farmer groups on tree species, exchanging information on the involvement in community- based forest management, and group cohesiveness in preventing old forests from being cut by outsiders. Negative aspects of social capital included migration of labour during coffee harvesting.

"Social capital is considered as an indicator of community cohesiveness; and its decline may implicate forest management. Possible impact include continuing expansion of the farming frontier into the old forest and copying of forest clearing practices for coffee by other farmers which is officially prohibited."