Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki has\ncalled on all parties to support the development of social forestry as a\nnational strategy for building sustainable forests whilst simultaneously\nimproving community welfare in an inclusive and sustainable manner.<\/p>\n
He stressed that the Ministry of Forestry, particularly the\nDirectorate General of Social Forestry, cannot work alone in broadening\nthe programme\u2019s impact, making multi-stakeholder collaboration essential\nfor successful implementation on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe at the Ministry of Forestry, especially the Directorate General\nof Social Forestry, cannot work alone. We need collaboration,\u201d the\nDeputy Minister said whilst closing a Lesson Learned Workshop entitled\n\u201cMoving from the Ground Up: Sowing Inclusive Social Forestry for\nSustainable Forests and Prosperous Communities\u201d in Jakarta on\nThursday.<\/p>\n
He noted that to date, the Ministry of Forestry has issued social\nforestry approvals covering 8.3 million hectares to 1.4 million\nhousehold heads across Indonesia through various management schemes\nincluding village forests, community forests, and customary forests.<\/p>\n
However, he acknowledged that mentoring capacity remains limited, as\nthere are only 14 technical implementation units (UPT) of Social\nForestry Offices throughout Indonesia to support approval\nrecipients.<\/p>\n
He therefore encouraged regional governments, non-governmental\norganisations, development partners, and community organisers to\nstrengthen mentoring efforts so that forest management can proceed\nproductively and sustainably.<\/p>\n
According to the Deputy Minister, social forestry is not merely a\nland access programme but a strategy for building resilience against\nclimate crises, reducing disaster risks, and opening up fairer economic\nopportunities.<\/p>\n
He added that sustainability can only be achieved if social forestry\ngroups are able to penetrate fair value chains, ensuring that production\ndoes not stop at the upstream level.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, he said the Directorate General of Social Forestry has\ncross-referenced data on household heads receiving social forestry\napprovals with the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) held by the\nMinistry of Social Affairs, which forms part of the national single\nsocial database.<\/p>\n
The results show that approximately 60 to 70 per cent of recipients\nfall within deciles 1 and 2, meaning they are classified as low-income\ncommunities whose welfare must be improved to support poverty\nalleviation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are indeed among those whose welfare we must improve so that\npoverty can be eradicated,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n
He expressed hope that the collaboration built would not end at the\nforum but would continue to be strengthened to accelerate social\nforestry progress across Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need collaboration from regional governments, NGOs, development\npartners, community organisers and others to jointly provide mentoring\nto communities that have received social forestry land approvals,\u201d the\nDeputy Minister said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes indigenous communities who have long demonstrated\ntheir local wisdom in preserving forest areas,\u201d he added.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/deputy-forestry-minister-calls-on-all-stakeholders-to-support-social-forestry-development-1771637377", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }