Community Based Forest Management (PHBM): improving welfare and income equity for poor farmers on the forest margins

Abstract

The area of Java is only 6% of the total area of Indonesia but it is inhabited by 70% of the 230 million Indonesians. More than 60% of the rural communities in Java depend on agricultural activities as their main source of income. Most of these communities are poor and live on the margins of forests, with an average landholding of less than 0.5 ha per household, hampering socio-economic development. The 1997 economic crisis almost doubled the percentage of people living in poverty in Indonesia, from 11% in 1990 to 20% in August – September 1998. During the crisis, many migrants living in the city became unemployed owing to the collapses of many industries, forcing them to return to their original villages. Available land for agriculture in Java is limited. More than 50% of its forest is managed by Perum Perhutani (state forest company) and farmers have limited access to this land. Nevertheless, owing to economic pressure and lack of governance during the crisis period, farmers' communities around state forest land cleared the forests. This led to conflict between Perum Perhutani and farmers in many parts of Java