The Ministry of Environment and Forestry grants 560-hectare forest management access to Lombok communities
Lombok Timur (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Kemenhut) has granted access to 411 heads of families to manage a forest area covering 560.67 hectares in East Lombok Regency and West Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).
Minister of Environment and Forestry (Menhut) Raja Juli Antoni has handed over six Decrees (SK) relating to approvals for social forestry management to community groups in the area.
‘The decrees are part of the government’s commitment to provide legal certainty while offering forest management access for communities inside and around forest areas through the social forestry programme,’ the minister said in East Lombok, NTB, on Saturday.
The six community groups receiving forest-management access include the Lembaga Desa Lembah Sempage in West Lombok, covering around 87 hectares for 222 households. Then, Bun Puja Forest Farmers Group in East Lombok covering around 143 hectares for 115 households, and the Gili Sulang Tourism Awareness Community Group (Pokdarwis) in East Lombok covering around 278 hectares for 21 households.
In addition, there is the Segul Nature Tourism Group in East Lombok covering around 1.87 hectares for 16 households, and two Gunung Anak Dara nature tourism groups, each of around 26 hectares for 15 households and 24.7 hectares for 22 households.
The six community groups receiving the decrees are developing various forest-based ventures, such as trigona honey-keeping, agroforestry of food crops and fruit, and the development of nature tourism.
The government is committed to providing legal certainty as well as space for communities living inside and around forest areas to utilise forest resources legally and sustainably.
Juli said social forestry is one of the national strategic projects linked to food security.
He hoped that the communities that have received this access could maximise the utilisation of the forest areas granted with management rights.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry is currently seeking to overlay poverty data from the Ministry of Social Affairs with the potential of social forestry to ensure the programme better addresses community needs.
That step aims for social forestry to act as an economic lever for communities around forest areas.
As of 7 March 2026, national access to manage forest areas through social forestry had reached about 8.33 million hectares, with more than 11,190 decrees granted to around 1.42 million beneficiaries nationwide.
‘This achievement demonstrates the growing role of communities as strategic partners of the government in managing forests sustainably while also improving the welfare of people living around the forests,’ he said.