Deputy Forestry Minister Calls on All Stakeholders to Support Social Forestry Development
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki has called on all parties to support the development of social forestry as a national strategy for building sustainable forests whilst simultaneously improving community welfare in an inclusive and sustainable manner.
He stressed that the Ministry of Forestry, particularly the Directorate General of Social Forestry, cannot work alone in broadening the programme's impact, making multi-stakeholder collaboration essential for successful implementation on the ground.
"We at the Ministry of Forestry, especially the Directorate General of Social Forestry, cannot work alone. We need collaboration," the Deputy Minister said whilst closing a Lesson Learned Workshop entitled "Moving from the Ground Up: Sowing Inclusive Social Forestry for Sustainable Forests and Prosperous Communities" in Jakarta on Thursday.
He noted that to date, the Ministry of Forestry has issued social forestry approvals covering 8.3 million hectares to 1.4 million household heads across Indonesia through various management schemes including village forests, community forests, and customary forests.
However, he acknowledged that mentoring capacity remains limited, as there are only 14 technical implementation units (UPT) of Social Forestry Offices throughout Indonesia to support approval recipients.
He therefore encouraged regional governments, non-governmental organisations, development partners, and community organisers to strengthen mentoring efforts so that forest management can proceed productively and sustainably.
According to the Deputy Minister, social forestry is not merely a land access programme but a strategy for building resilience against climate crises, reducing disaster risks, and opening up fairer economic opportunities.
He added that sustainability can only be achieved if social forestry groups are able to penetrate fair value chains, ensuring that production does not stop at the upstream level.
Furthermore, he said the Directorate General of Social Forestry has cross-referenced data on household heads receiving social forestry approvals with the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) held by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which forms part of the national single social database.
The results show that approximately 60 to 70 per cent of recipients fall within deciles 1 and 2, meaning they are classified as low-income communities whose welfare must be improved to support poverty alleviation.
"They are indeed among those whose welfare we must improve so that poverty can be eradicated," he emphasised.
He expressed hope that the collaboration built would not end at the forum but would continue to be strengthened to accelerate social forestry progress across Indonesia.
"We need collaboration from regional governments, NGOs, development partners, community organisers and others to jointly provide mentoring to communities that have received social forestry land approvals," the Deputy Minister said.
"This includes indigenous communities who have long demonstrated their local wisdom in preserving forest areas," he added.
He stressed that the Ministry of Forestry, particularly the Directorate General of Social Forestry, cannot work alone in broadening the programme's impact, making multi-stakeholder collaboration essential for successful implementation on the ground.
"We at the Ministry of Forestry, especially the Directorate General of Social Forestry, cannot work alone. We need collaboration," the Deputy Minister said whilst closing a Lesson Learned Workshop entitled "Moving from the Ground Up: Sowing Inclusive Social Forestry for Sustainable Forests and Prosperous Communities" in Jakarta on Thursday.
He noted that to date, the Ministry of Forestry has issued social forestry approvals covering 8.3 million hectares to 1.4 million household heads across Indonesia through various management schemes including village forests, community forests, and customary forests.
However, he acknowledged that mentoring capacity remains limited, as there are only 14 technical implementation units (UPT) of Social Forestry Offices throughout Indonesia to support approval recipients.
He therefore encouraged regional governments, non-governmental organisations, development partners, and community organisers to strengthen mentoring efforts so that forest management can proceed productively and sustainably.
According to the Deputy Minister, social forestry is not merely a land access programme but a strategy for building resilience against climate crises, reducing disaster risks, and opening up fairer economic opportunities.
He added that sustainability can only be achieved if social forestry groups are able to penetrate fair value chains, ensuring that production does not stop at the upstream level.
Furthermore, he said the Directorate General of Social Forestry has cross-referenced data on household heads receiving social forestry approvals with the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) held by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which forms part of the national single social database.
The results show that approximately 60 to 70 per cent of recipients fall within deciles 1 and 2, meaning they are classified as low-income communities whose welfare must be improved to support poverty alleviation.
"They are indeed among those whose welfare we must improve so that poverty can be eradicated," he emphasised.
He expressed hope that the collaboration built would not end at the forum but would continue to be strengthened to accelerate social forestry progress across Indonesia.
"We need collaboration from regional governments, NGOs, development partners, community organisers and others to jointly provide mentoring to communities that have received social forestry land approvals," the Deputy Minister said.
"This includes indigenous communities who have long demonstrated their local wisdom in preserving forest areas," he added.