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Optimising Community Forestry: Learning from the Farmers and Forests

of Indonesia

Setiasih Irawanti, Digby Race, Aneka Prawesti Suka, Achmad Rizal Bisjoe, Elske van de Fliert, Rowan Reid, Dede Rohadi,

and Silvi Nur Oktalina

On behalf of the project – ‘Overcoming constraints to community-based commercial forestry in Indonesia’, supported by ACIAR during 2011-2015.

Community forestry in Indonesia

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• Indonesia is under pressure to reduce deforestation, build plantation estate and reduce rural poverty where many people dependent of forests.

• The Indonesian government has introduced policy and administrative mechanisms to promote community based commercial forestry (CBCF) .

• There are many types of community forestry systems, where its concept is being developed in an attempt to create a viable CBCF.

• However, there are some deficiencies in timber management, smallholders are yet have knowledge and skills to optimize the financial returns from growing trees.

Overview of research project

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Pati distrct:Albizia

Gunung kidul district:Teak, mahagoni, acasia

Sumbawa district:Teak

Bulukumba district:Teak,mahagoni, bitti

Konawe Selatan district:Teak,albizia, jabon

Method & datafor research on

CBCF

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• We wanted to understand how people grew, harvested and traded their timber species (e.g. albizia in Pati).

• Quantitative & qualitative data collected via semi-structured interviews & FGDs using a common interview guide/survey.

• Qualitative data analysed with themes connected via a thematic hierarchy.

High demandfor albizia timber

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• Albizia is an important species , contribute to household needs, being harvested at 4–5 years from planting, has strong market appeal.

• The processing industry in Central Java expanded rapidly over the past 20 years, with 374 sawmills capacity < 2,000 m3/year, 173 sawmills capacity of 2,000–6,000 m3/year, 44 sawmills with greater capacity that also produce veneer and plywood.

• The high demand of timber has encouraged the development of community forests, however smallholders still persuaded to sell timber as soon as possible, 70% is as ‘reject’ logs, its production is not the largest contributor to the household income.

Agroforestry and income from NTFPs

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• Albizia trees allow a range of crops to be grown in the various vertical layers. • Smallholders manage a wide range of species that yield short-, medium- and

long-term products.• Community forestry yield food crops, medicinal plants, forage grass crops,

estate crops, and a range of fruit trees. • NTFPs contribute an average of 64% and timber contributes 36% of the total

revenue from farm-based forests.• Fruit trees are the most valuable group of NTFPs, 92% of the timber revenue

is derived from the sale of albizia, smallholders are able to independently sustain of their livelihoods.

Challenges for CBCF

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• The different of silvicultural options influence the growth rates, timber grades, the product specifications in commercial markets.

• There are limiting factors: using poor genetic material, poor silivicultural practices, and having a weak grasp of commercial markets, leads most smallholders into an under-investment in forestry.

• Smallholders often adopt silvicultural practices from their neighbours, and their silviculture does not always relate to market demand.

Challenges #2:

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• Smallholders are yet to optimize the financial returns: grow without any active management (thinning and pruning), tend to view CBCF as a ‘savings account’, deciding to sell trees irrespective of the market demand, accepting whatever price is offered by the local broker.

• The extension support is often too focused on just the technical aspects of silviculture, although local farmer groups have a limited organizational capacity.

Enhancing CBCF: advisory &support required

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• Men have a greater role in the selection of species, times of planting and harvesting, the overall silvicultural practices, and involved in community-based activities and meetings.

• The government and NGO support for CBCF is directed to the FFGs dominated by men.

• Women have a greater role in harvesting, utilisation of NTFPs, in financial aspects (negotiation of prices with timber traders), often miss out on receiving commercial information and support that might enhance their ability to negotiate better prices.

Improve forest extension

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• Indonesia has an established institutional structure to provide technical forestry advice and support to smallholders

• However the forestry extension staff have a shortage of current extension material, lack of experience and training opportunities, and face tight funding constraints on their activities.

• CBCF that encourage Training the Trainer for extension staff to provide training for the field forestry extension broader in national scope.

Implications of results

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• Many rural communities remain disadvantaged & marginalised from the country’s growing wealth, including poor smallholders. The lack of clarity about the varying wealth status of smallholders makes it difficult to target policies & programs to enhance the livelihoods of ‘poor’ smallholders.

• The contribution of timber and NTFPs to the household income is relatively small but it plays an important role as a ‘savings account’ for meeting household needs. However, needs-based harvesting may not correspond with the optimum timing for commercial timber production, so smallholders are often missing out on achieving better financial returns from CBCF.

• Improve smallholders knowledge and skills to optimize the financial returns from growing trees;NTFPs play an important role in CBCF before timber is ready for harvesting by smallholders.

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