The Environment and Forestry Ministry has adopted a sustainable ecosystem management approach in the implementation of the social forestry “Perhutanan Sosial” program, according to the latest reporting from Antara News.
Bambang Supriyanto, Director General of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnerships at the ministry said, “Our approach is not sustainable timber management, but sustainable ecosystem management.”
The Social Forestry Program aims to improve the welfare of communities living around forests, he explained.
The program has three pillars:
1. Social Pillar
This consists of customary communities;
2. Ecological Pillar
This includes forest management;
3. Community Partnership Pillar
This encompasses village forests, community forests, community plantation forests, customary forests, and forestry partnerships under the social forestry program.
The Director General emphasized the importance of forestry mentors in institutional strengthening as well as forest and business governance in implementing sustainable ecosystem management.
“If the community gets a good price, of course, they will plant the forest resources well,” he said.
According to the ministry’s data, as of September 1, 2022, the social forestry program covers an area of 5,077,086.80-hectares.
The government has issued 7,678-decrees/ decision letters to establish social forestry groups and at least 9,924-social forestry business groups (KUPS) have been formed.
Social forests are operated by local or customary communities and aim to improve their welfare, while maintaining the environmental balance and sociocultural dynamics.
During Wednesday’s discussion, Supriyanto said that there has been a paradigm shift in the development of plantation forests from monoculture practices, or the planting of only one crop species, to multilayer planting.
Multilayer planting ensures that forests do not have only one type of vegetation, as under the main tree, other types of plants can be planted, thereby benefiting the community’s economy, he explained.
Source: Antara News
