Village forests (hutan desa): empowerment, business or burden?

Abstract

Legalizing local community governance through Hutan Desa (Village Forest) permits can secure communal rights and protect the resource against outsiders. However, administrative procedures often take precedence over verification of conditions. Thus not all Hutan Desa permits that are formally approved are, in fact, clear and clean in terms of land status and rights’ holders. • Granting Hutan Desa status without proper verification of village boundaries or considering local rights and traditions can lead to conflict between customary and administrative institutions. • Assigning village enterprises to manage village forests assumes that the village forests are to be managed as an enterprise for profit. This might be a conflict of interest between government doing business and overseeing good governance of forests. • Designating a village enterprise to manage a forest does not automatically make a Hutan Desa permit a profitable enterprise as not all village forests can, or should, be managed for economic purposes only