Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND EXOGENOUS VARIABLES
AFFECTING THE OUTCOME OF SOCIAL FORESTRY POLICIES IN
CENTRAL SULAWESI, INDONESIA
Sudirman Daeng Massiri*, Adam Malik, Akhbar, Golar, Naharuddin, Hendra Pribadi,
Abdul Rahman, and Arman Maiwa
Forestry Faculty, Tadulako University, Jl. Soekarno Hatta No. KM. 9, Tondo, District. Mantikulore,
Palu City, Central Sulawesi 94148, Indonesia
Received: 31 October 2023, Revised: 8 November 2023,, Accepted: 14 October 2024
THE ROLE OF STAKEHOLDERS AND EXOGENOUS VARIABLES AFFECTING THE OUTCOME
OF SOCIAL FORESTRY POLICIES IN CENTRAL SULAWESI, INDONESIA. Social forestry (SF) is
Indonesian policy that aims to provide legal access to the community in utilizing forest resources and
seek sustainable forest management, contributing to the community's economic improvement. This study
examines the action situation of implementing SF policies in Central Sulawesi Province and analyses
the roles of stakeholders and exogenous variables determining SF policies' outcomes. The Institutional
Analysis Development (IAD) framework was applied in the study by identifying and analyzing the action
situation and its relation to the implementation of SF in Central Sulawesi. The research revealed that the
implementation of social forestry in Central Sulawesi Province is not optimal. This is indicated by the fact
that local institutions have not achieved self-governance, the sustainability of forest function has not been
realized, and the social forestry programs have not significantly increased the income of the local community.
Implementing the SF policy depends on the facilitator's capacity at the site level and stakeholders' support.
The action for strengthening social forestry at site levels requires strong collaboration among stakeholders
by considering their interests and capacities. These findings suggested the urgency of future research to
examine strategies for governing the role of stakeholders in boosting local institutional capacity and the
outcomes of SF policies.
Keywords: Community empowerment, local community, stakeholders’ capacity, local institution
PERAN PEMANGKU KEPENTINGAN DAN VARIABEL EKSOGEN YANG MEMPENGARUHI
HASIL KEBIJAKAN PERHUTANAN SOSIAL DI SULAWESI TENGAH, INDONESIA. Perhurtanan
sosial (PS) merupakan kebijakan nasional yang bertujuan memberikan akses legal kepada masyarakat dalam memanfaatkan
sumber daya hutan dan mewujudkan pengelolaan hutan lestari yang berkontribusi pada peningkatan ekonomi masyarakat.
Studi ini mengkaji situasi aksi implementasi kebijakan PS di Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah dan menganalisis peran pemangku
kepentingan dan variabel eksogen dalam menentukan kinerja kebijakan PS. Kerangka Institutional Analysis Development
(IAD) digunakan dalam penelitian ini dengan mengidentifikasi dan menganalisis situasi aksi dan kaitannya dengan
implementasi PS di Sulawesi Tengah. Hasil penelitian mengungkapkan bahwa situasi aksi pelaksanaan perhutanan sosial
di Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah belum optimal yang ditunjukkan oleh kelembagaan lokal yang belum self-governing, kelestarian
fungsi hutan belum terwujud, dan program perhutanan sosial belum memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan bagi peningkatan
pendapatan masyarakat lokal. Implementasi kebijakan perhutanan sosial tergantung pada kapasitas fasilitator di tingkat
lokasi dan dukungan pemangku kepentingan. Aksi penguatan perhutanan sosial pada tingkat lokal memerlukan strategi
kolaboratif melalui penataan peran para pemangku kepentingan dengan mempertimbangkan kepentingan dan kapasitasnya.
Penelitian ini menguatkan pentingnya penelitian lanjutan untuk mengkaji strategi penataan peran stakeholder dalam
meningkatkan kapasitas kelembagaan lokal dan kinerja PS.
Kata kunci: Pemberdayaan masyarakat, masyarakat local, kapasitas para pihak, kelembagaan lokal

*

Corresponding author: sudi_untad@yahoo.co.id

©2024 IJFR. Open access under CC BY-NC-SA license. doi:10.59465/ijfr.2024.11.2.211-227

211

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

I. INTRODUCTION
One of the priority programs of the
Government of the Republic of Indonesia is
to achieve economic independence by driving
strategic sectors of the domestic economy,
including the forestry sector. In this regard, the
Government of the Republic of Indonesia is
committed to allocating at least 12,7 million ha
of forest area for the development of sharing
schemes for Social Forestry (SF), including
schemes for Community Plantation Forests
(Hutan Tanaman Rakyat/HTR), Community
Forests (Hutan Kemasyarakatan/HK), Village
Forests (Hutan Desa/HD), Customary Forest
(Hutan Adat/HA), and Forestry Partnership
(Kemitraan Kehutanan/KK). Three pillars of
social forestry policy objectives are 1) economic
objectives, alleviating poverty of forest use by
strengthening the community's livelihoods, 2)
social objectives, conferring rights and authority
and empowering the community to manage
and control forest resources, 3) ecological
objectives, improving ecological conditions and
forest conservation (Charnley & Poe, 2007;
Fisher et al., 2018; Maryudi et al., 2012).
The Republic of Indonesia's Government
has issued many regulations to support the
acceleration of social forestry in Indonesia.
Recently, the government has just issued a
regulation of the Minister of Environment
and Forestry No. 9 of 2021, which explicitly
regulates the management of social forestry. At
the regional level, the Central Sulawesi provincial
government has responded to the accelerating
SF program's policy in the regional mediumterm development plan, establishing a Working
Group for SF acceleration, and facilitating
activities for the institutional formation and
licensing of forestry schemes.
In addition to the formal legal aspects of SF
management approval, the SF policies require
aspects of institutional capacity building that
enable community groups around forests to
enforce their rights and to gain benefit from
forest resources for economic improvement
while conserving forest resources (Suharjito &

212

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Purwawangsa, 2014). Without being supported
by capacity building, providing access for the
community to manage forests would threaten
forest resource sustainability (Massiri et al.,
2015). On the other side, local communities
have no benefit from permit-based social
forestry if their capacity is low (Ragandhi et al.,
2021).
The SF policy is also a form of community
empowerment in forest management (Asmin
et al., 2019). The empowerment program's
objective is to bring out a self-sufficient
community having the capability to solve
their problems and obtainbenefits from the
forest resources. The effort to achieve local
institutions' independence, particularly in the
SF scheme is a challenge for the government
(Massiri et al., 2020). Some government are
challenging to transform local institutions into
empowered entities (Anugrahsari et al., 2020).
Implementation of the SF policy involves
multi-stakeholders (Fisher et al., 2018). The
outcome of the SF policy is determined by
many interrelated factors and is complex
(Sahide, Fisher, Erbaugh, et al., 2020; Singh et
al., 2011). Therefore it requires an approach to
assessing its outcome. The role of stakeholders
and their approach applied in the facilitation
process affect the awareness, capacity, and
responsibilities of forest farmers and individual
targets in SF management (Sahide, Fisher,
Supratman, et al., 2020). The boost of the local
communities' capacity is highly dependent on
the role of ground facilitators (Hastanti &
Raharjo, 2021).
Studies on the implementation of SF policies
have been conducted by many researchers,
mainly in the western area of Indonesia.
Research conducted by Rakatama & Pandit
(2020) revealed that the implementation of SF
policies varied but still has barriers on social and
environmental aspects. Sahide, Fisher, Verheijen
et al. (2020) emphasized that the actor's power
is the central factor determining SF's outcome.
Studies on the implementation of SF policies
in Central Sulawesi Province have been less
published, while the Local Government of

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Central Sulawesi Province has programmed a
target of achieving SF of 100,000 ha in five
years.
The SF program is also one of the main
concerns of the Regional Government
of Central Sulawesi Province because it
corresponds with the Governor of Central
Sulawesi's vision and mission, namely the
mission of realizing increased community
welfare through empowering the people's
economy and strengthening institutions, and
the mission of maintaining harmony between
humans and nature, as a form of sustainable
development. This study examines the action
situation of implementing SF policies in
Central Sulawesi Province and analyzes the
roles of stakeholders and exogenous variables
determining SF policies' outcome, using the
Institutional Analysis Development (IAD)
framework (Ostrom, 2011).
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Many interrelated factors determine SF's
policy outcomes. In this study, complex factors
are simplified by a systematic grouping approach
in a framework to facilitate analysis, determine
the relationship and influence, and find the
key factors determining SF policy outcomes.

The Institutional Analysis Development (IAD)
Framework, formulated by Ostrom (2011),
could be applied to examine the outcome of
the policy. This framework provides a multilevel analysis and organizes the components
that influence outcomes (McGinnis, 2011).
This framework can also be applied to analyze
institutions and policies in sustainable forest
resource management (Araral & Amri, 2016;
Carter et al., 2016).
The IAD framework components include
a) exogenous variables, b) action situations, c)
outcomes and evaluation criteria. Based on the
IAD framework, two components determine
the outcome: 1) the action situations and 2)
exogenous variables. Ostrom (2011) emphasizes
that the critical part of the IAD Framework
is in action situations resulting in interaction
and outcomes. The internal structure of an
action situation consists of actors, positions,
and actions. In this study, we use the term
the roles of stakeholders to describe the
internal structure of the action situations.
The stakeholder approach focuses on the
dimensions of power and interest, in contrast
to actor analysis which explores in-depth,
including examining networks, actor views,
and interdependencies among actors (Enserink

Figure 1. Theoretical Framework, Adapted from (Ostrom, 2011)

213

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

et al., 2010). Interests, in this context, include
involvement in the program, the benefits of the
program, how the program is organized, the
readiness of stakeholders, and the suitability
of the main tasks/rules. Meanwhile, power/
capacity refers to the influence of authority,
type of stakeholder policy, strategic resource
power, expertise/specialization, and program
sustainability.
The exogenous variables are inputs that
form the action situations including biophysical
conditions, community attributes, and rules
(McGinnis, 2011). Biophysical conditions refer
to resource characteristics. While characteristics
of resources are related to market aspects,
including the nature of excludable, subtractable,
and transferable goods, which affect individual
choices and actions (Ostrom, 2005).
The actions of individuals in society
cannot be separated from the attributes of
the community or systems in which they
live. The attributes of community include a)
values, norms, and interests of the community,
b) level of community understanding of
SF, and c) preference and motivation of
community. Values, norms, and interests in
society can become informal institutions
that order community interactions, including
their interactions with forest resources. These
informal institutions can support but also
hinder the performance of formal institutions
(Claver & Knocking, 2015). Furthermore, rules
in use include policies and regulations related
to social forestry, both at the government and
at the local level (community level), which
also simultaneously affect the interaction and
performance of SF.
The outcome of the SF acceleration policy
is assessed through three criteria, namely; 1)
self-governing of local institutions, 2) forest
resources sustainability, and 3) SF's contribution
to the community's income. This outcome
reflected the role of stakeholders in action
situations in facilitating or empowering the
local community of SF. The sustainability of
forest resources is an ecological objective of SF

214

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

that can be evaluated using land cover change
analysis. Meanwhile, the economic aim of the
SF is to contribute to the community's income,
which can be assessed through business units
established by community groups that promote
community income. Subsequently, the selfgovernance institution is one of SF's social goals
that can be evaluated using the design principle
of long-enduring institutions (Ostrom, 1990).
However, it needs to be adapted to the research
context. In this study, the self-governance
institution of SF was assessed through several
indicators; a) active community participation, b)
fairness in resource use, c) community attitudes
to the forest, d) the role of local institutions in
planning and regulating forest resource use, e)
role of local institutions in monitoring forest,
f) the role of local institutions in applying
local sanctions, g) the role of local institutions
in conflict resolution, and h) increasing
institutional capacity.
III. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Study Site
This study examines 20 SF permits of
Central Sulawesi Province, covering ten village
forests (Hutan Desa/HD) and ten community
forestry
(Hutan
Kemasyarakatan/HKM)
distributed across 6 Regencies of Central
Sulawesi Province. Determination of the
locations of this study reflects the attribute
of community and distribution of biophysical
conditions as part of exogenous variables. The
research location is presented in Figure 2.
B. Methods
Data for this study were collected in 2018.
The method of data collection included
field observation, structured interviews with
respondents, in-depth interviews, Focus
Group Discussion (FGD) with SF group
members, and study documentation. Structured
interviews were conducted with 30 respondents
from each of the 20 SF groups to collect data
on the impact of SF on community economic
improvement and communities' dependence

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Figure 2. The research Location

on forest resources. These Respondents were
randomly selected from SF group members.
In-depth interviews with key informants were
conducted to collect the action situation data of
the implementation of the SF acceleration policy
and the self-governing of local institutions.
Informants in this study were stakeholders
involved in implementing SF policies in
Central Sulawesi Province, including the SF
acceleration working group, field facilitators,
and group managers of village forest and
community forestry. Field observations were
carried out to study forest cover, encroachment
activity, and forest resources condition of SF.
This research also conducted document studies

on regulations, activity reports, and supporting
data on related government agencies, village
governments, and other supporting data related
to SF.
C. Analysis
This study applied the IAD framework
to classify and identify relationships among
components, and data analysis was carried out at
each component level that affects the outcome
of SF policy. This study applied qualitative and
quantitative data analysis based on each study's
components. The requirements data and
analysis methods are presented in Table 1.

215

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Table 1. Data requirements and analysis methods
Variables
The impact
of SF on
community
economic
improvement

Data Requirements
▪ The existence of the SF business unit
▪ Performance of the SF business
▪ Increase in community income
▪ Income comparability
▪ Contribution of SF utilization
business income to household income

Data collection techniques
Interview with respondents

Analysis Methods
Descriptive analysis
▪
▪

▪

The impact of
SF on forest
sustainability

▪ Forest cover change

The impact of
SF on the selfgoverning of
local institutions

▪ Local community participation
▪ Equity in the use of forest resources
▪ attitudes in supporting forest
sustainability
▪ the role of local institutions in
planning and regulating the use of
forest resources.
▪ the role of a local institution in
forest monitoring
▪ the role of a local institution in
graduated sanction
▪ the role of a local institution in
conflict resolution
▪ institutional capacity

action situation

▪
▪

Exogenous
Variable

▪ Encroachment intensity

Support of the stakeholder
Facilitation for institutional
precondition process
▪ The planning process
▪ Forest resources condition
▪ Communities’ dependence on forest
resources
▪ Policy and regulation related to SF

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. The Action Situation of SF in Central
Sulawesi
The SF policy was set as one of the priority
programs of the Central Sulawesi provincial
government in the forestry sector since 2017.
The Regional Government of Central Sulawesi
Province has planned the SF Program into the
Regional Medium-Term Development Plan of

216

Income analysis
π = TR – TC
Income comparability

Contribution to
household income

Imagery analysis and field
observation
Imagery analysis, field
observation, and interviews
with respondents
Focused group discussion,
in-depth interview with
respondents

▪ Land cover analysis

in-depth interview

▪ Qualitative descriptive
analysis

Interview with respondents,
and observation
Interview using a questionnaire

▪ Descriptive analysis

Secondary data

▪ Content Analysis

▪ Descriptive analysis of
encroachment
▪ Institutional analysis
▪ Likert scale; 1= low, 2 =
moderate, 3 = high.
▪ Category self-governing
of local institutions is
figured from the mode
value.

▪ Descriptive analysis

Central Sulawesi. The SF target of the Central
Sulawesi provincial is to issue SF permits
covering an area of 100.000 hectares within five
years, as presented in Table 2.
Based on this target, most SF submissions
have received approval from the Minister of
Environment and Forestry. As of December
2023, a total of 188 locations, covering an
area of 113.769,81 hectares, already received

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Table 2. Forest area allocation target for SF in Central Sulawesi
Description
Forest area allocation target for SF

2017
20.000 Ha

2018
40.000 Ha

Years
2019
60.000 Ha

2020
80.000 Ha

2021
100.000 Ha

Source: Regional planning of Central Sulawesi, 2017

Table 3. The progress of the SF permit in Central Sulawesi Province until 2023
Schemes
Customary Forest (Hutan Adat/HA)
Village Forest (Hutan Desa/HD)
Community Forest (Hutan Kemasyarakatan/HKm)
Community Plantation Forest (Hutan Tanaman Rakyat /HTR)
Forestry Partnership (Kemitraan Kehutanan)
Total

formal approval. These schemes involved the
participation of 35.923 households belonging
to forest community/farmer groups. The most
widely developed SF schemes were village
forests and community forestry. The progress
of the SF permit in Central Sulawesi Province
until 2023 is presented in Table 3.
Strategies and policies related to SF that were
set in the Regional Medium-Term Development
Plan of Central Sulawesi were intended to
empower communities around forest areas
and their capacity to manage SF by developing
appropriate technology in forest management
through various SF schemes. To achieve
this target, the local government of Central
Sulawesi has formed the Working Group for
the Acceleration of Social Forestry (Kelompok
Kerja Percepatan Perhutanan Sosial/Pokja
PPS). Stakeholders involved in the working
group include local apparatus organizations, the
Forest Management Unit (FMU), the Technical
organization of the Ministry of Environment
and Forestry, non-governmental organizations,
environmentalists, and academics.
The central government has a dominant
authority and administrative control in deciding
social forestry permits (Rakatama & Pandit,

Number of
Permits
6,00
78,00
68,00
27,00
9
188,00

Area (ha)
17.501,00
62.560,32
29.898,82
3.195,00
614,67
113.769,81

2020; Tajuddin et al., 2019). In the Ministry
of Environment and Forestry Regulation
Number 9/2021, it was stated that the Central
Government could delegate the approval for SF
permits to the Governor, as long as the provincial
government has included social forestry in the
regional medium-term development plan, has
a regional SF regulations, and has a regional
revenue and expenditure budget of at least 35%
of the total forestry budget for SF. The previous
rule (P.83/2016) did not specify the minimum
quantity required. The Regional Government
of Central Sulawesi Province, consequently, was
not granted a delegation with the authority to
issue licenses. Local governments' sole authority
is to participate in the technical verification of
SF proposals.
The SF program development action in
Central Sulawesi province involved stakeholders
in the Working Group for the Acceleration of
Social Forestry. Stakeholders who have a high
role in facilitating FS development in Central
Sulawesi province were Forest Services, FMU,
and NGO. The roles of the stakeholders in the
SF development actions in Central Sulawesi are
described in Table 4.

217

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Table 4. Stakeholders role in the development of SF in Central Sulawesi
Stakeholder
Forestry Services of Central Sulawesi
FMUs of Central Sulawesi
Technical implementation Unit of MoEF
University
NGO

Roles in the development of
SF
a, c, h
a, b, d, e, f, g, h
a, c
h
b, e, f, g

Level of roles
High
High
Moderate
Moderate
High

Description: a = site preparation, b = group preconditions for SF licensing, c= verification of licensing proposals, d = facilitation
of planning preparation both business management plans and annual management plans, e = facilitation and strengthening of
the capacity of SF management groups, f = utilization and forest resource management, g = SF business development, h =
monitoring and evaluation

The high interest of Forestry Services
and FMUs in SF is due to the suitability to
their main tasks. In addition, the head of the
Forestry Service is the Chair of the working
group for the Acceleration of SF in Central
Sulawesi. The Forestry Service has the power
to influence and sustain the program of SF and
it has the role in site preparation, verification
of licensing proposals, and monitoring and
evaluation activities. Meanwhile, FMUs have
a critical role in promoting community-based
forest management (Massiri et al., 2020).
The role of FMUs at the site level is also
dominant in preparing the site for SF, group
preconditions for SF licensing, facilitation
of planning preparation for both business
management plans and annual management
plans, facilitating and strengthening the
capacity of SF management groups, utilization
and forest resource management, SF business
development, and monitoring and evaluation.
The role of NGOs is also high in the action
situation of preconditions for SF licensing,
facilitation, and strengthening of the capacity
of SF management groups, utilization, and
forest resource management, and in SF
business development. Some local NGOs had
group strengthening programs, but many were
not sustainable. Budi et al. (2021) also revealed
that NGOs' dominant role could strengthen
the capacity of SF local institutions.
B. The Outcome of The SF Program
Conceptually, the SF policy is expected
to achieve three goals (Bong et al., 2019); 1)

218

sustainability of forest resources with indicators
of increasing forest land cover and decreasing
deforestation and degradation, 2) equity,
namely justice for rights and responsibilities,
and benefits obtained from forest resources,
3) efficiency by supporting local needs and
overcoming problems high enforcement
cost of forest resources. It is in line with the
concepts and indicators that we use in assessing
the outcomes of the SF program, namely forest
land cover, which is the ecological pillar of SF's
goals, contribution to the local communities
income, which is the economic pillar of SF's
goals and self-governing of the local institution
which is the social pillar of SF's goals.
1. Self-governing of the local institution
SF policy is a form of devolution in forest
management (De Royer et al., 2018; Meijaard
et al., 2021). The SF development policy's
target is not only at the stage of completing
community legal access to forest resources but
also encouraging local communities to manage
and utilize forest resources independently. That
way, the SF development action is a series of
community empowerment activities in forest
management to realize the local institutions'
autonomy (Erbaugh, 2019; Massiri, 2022).
This study revealed that the action situation
of SF development generated varying
outcomes for the SF management's institutional
independence. The Village Forest Management
Institution (LPHD) tended to be better than
the HKm farmer groups. HKm farmer groups'
institutional independence was in the low to

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Self-governance instituion

Figure 3. Institutional independence of SF
Table 5. Performance of Self-governance of HKm Groups

HKm in Peana
Village

HKm in Kantewu
Village

HKm in Kantewu
Dua Village

HKm in Mapahi
Village

HKm in Banasu
Village

HKm in Mamu
Village

HKm in
Kalamanta Village

Fairness in resource use
Community attitudes to the forest
Role of local institutions in planning
and regulating forest resource use
Role of local institutions in monitoring
forest
Role of local institutions in applying
local sanctions
Role of local institutions in conflict
resolution
Local institutional capacity
Score

HKm in
Bakubakulu

Active community participation

HKm in Koyoan
Village

Indicator

HKm in Nambo
Lempek Village

HKm Group

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Moderate

1
1

1
1

1
1

2
2

2
2

2
2

2
2

2
2

2
2

2
2

Moderate
Moderate

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Moderate

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Moderate

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Low

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Low

1
1

1
1

1
1

1
2

1
2

1
2

1
2

1
2

1
2

1
2

Low
Moderate

Category

Notes: 1= low, 2 = moderate, 3 = high category self-governing of local institutions is figured from the mode value.

medium category, while the LPHD institutional
independence was generally in the medium to
high category, except for HKm Nupabomba
which hads not received any guidance or
institutional strengthening programs.
This research revealed that the HKm group
institution's roles were low in implementing
sanctions, conflict resolution, and funding

networks. The HKm group management's
existence did not resolve conflicts, violations of
regulations, and unable to provide funding to
support forest management. It was found that
several group managements did not understand
their duties and functions in supporting forest
management.

219

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

The HKm group management's weak role
in carrying out forest management activities
was related to resource characteristics as an
exogenous variable that will determine the
outcome. The characteristic of forest resources
in the HKm area was quasi-private property,
although de jure it is a state-owned forest
area. The community's position in the forest
area is as proprietor. In de facto, most of the
forest areas that were granted the HKm permit
have previously been controlled by the local
community. The community had cultivated
forest land to support their daily needs, even
before it was granted a legal permit through
HKm. In these resource characteristics,
decisions on resource use were based on
personal decisions.
The market aspect was the primary
consideration for the community in
determining land uses. The collective choice
decision in groups did not work. Forest and
land-use decisions were not determined by
group decisions but were dominantly based on
market-oriented personal decisions Therefore,
forest management planning in HKm areas in

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Central Sulawesi should consider more market
aspects that support the community's income
and forest area sustainability.
In the context of Forest Village
management, this study revealed that LPHD
institutions in Central Sulawesi province could
increase the community’s participation in
forest management, reinforce the communities'
attitudes toward forest sustainability, and
increase forest monitoring. However, this study
also found that several LPHDs were not optimal
in planning and regulating forest resource use,
implementing sanctions for any violation,
resolving conflicts, and providing funding.
Based on the institutional point of view,
the characteristic of resources in HDs is a
communal property managed by the village
government. The local community has equal
opportunities to utilize forest resources as
arranged by the village forest management
institution. The characteristics of this resource
affect the outcome of institutional performance.
The weakness that needs attention for common
property is building internal agreements with
community administrators and members,

Table 6. Performance of self-governance of HD Institution
HD Air Terang

HD Boilan

HD Nandu

HD Lampo

HD
Nupabomba

HD Lonca

HD Namo

HD
Tongkulowi

HD
Kajulangko

Active community
participation
Fairness in resource use
Community attitudes to the
forest
Role of local institutions in
planning and regulating forest
resource use
Role of local institutions in
monitoring forest
Role of local institutions in
applying local sanctions
Role of local institutions in
conflict resolution
Local institutional capacity
Score

1

3

3

1

3

1

3

3

2

2

3

High

2
3

2
3

2
3

2
3

2
2

1
1

2
2

2
2

2
3

2
2

2
3

Moderate
High

2

3

3

2

3

1

2

3

2

2

3

Moderate

2

3

3

2

2

1

3

3

1

1

3

High

1

2

2

1

2

1

2

2

2

2

2

Moderate

3

2

2

3

2

1

2

2

2

2

2

Moderate

2
2

3
3

3
3

2
2

2
2

1
1

2
2

3
3

2
2

1
2

2
3

Moderate
Moderate

Notes: 1= low, 2 = moderate, 3 = high. Category self-governing of local institutions is figured from the mode value.

220

HD Balean

Indicators

HD Lakuan
Boul

HD Scheme
Category

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

especially if the number of village communities
grows large. Therefore, it is necessary to
strengthen local institutions. Strengthening the
HD institutions that should be optimized is
applying sanctions for violations and resolving
conflicts at the local level independently. The
capacity to apply local sanctions and resolve
conflicts are prerequisites for realizing a selfgoverning institution (Massiri et al., 2019;
Paudyal et al., 2017).
2. Land Cover Change in the SF Area
Deforestation and forest degradation
are major problems encountered by forest
managers in Indonesia. One of the SF program
goals is to increase forest land cover or reduce
deforestation and forest degradation through
local communities' support However, this study
found that deforestation and forest degradation
still occurred in both HKm and FV areas. The
deforestation and forest degradation in the
HKm area is higher than in HD, as presented
in Figure 4.
The forest degradation rate from 2016 to
2018 in HKm reached 6,12%, while HD was
only 1,12%. Forest degradation in SF areas
was higher than deforestation. The level of
deforestation in the HKm area was 1,46%, while
in the HD area it was 0,75%. Even though the
deforestation and degradation levels tend to be
different between HKm and HD, statistically,
it was not significant. The local community
was dependent on forest and land resources,

while the institutional capacity of SF was weak,
particularly in forest monitoring and graduating
sanctions to violators. The action situation for
strengthening the local institution's capacity
of SF in the province of Central Sulawesi was
still focused on the facilitation of permits but
not yet on post-permit actions. The Dynamics
of land cover in the SF areas are presented in
Table 7 and Table 8.
Deforestation and forest degradation
reflected the performance of institutions
at the local level. This finding confirms
that community-based forest management
positively affects community subsistence,
equity, and security, resulting in forest cover loss
due to changing land functions (Harbi et al.,
2020). This situation confirms that providing
access without strengthening the institutional
capacity at the local level has not significantly
impacted forest sustainability. Providing access
should be supported by strengthening the
community’s capacity both in terms of utilizing
forest resources and in terms of regulating and
protecting forests (Massiri et al., 2015).
In addition to deforestation and forest
degradation which reduce forest areas' function,
there was also an increase in land cover from
alloy cropping and shrubs to the secondary
forest in the HKm and HD areas. This situation
occurred because some SF permit areas were
not managed intensively and some areas were
fallowed by the local community.

Land Cover Change in SF Area

Figure 4. Land Cover Change in SF Area (Imagery analysis and field observation)

221

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Table 7. Land cover dynamics in the HKm Area
Community Forestry
HKm in villege of Nambo
Lempek and Koyoan
HKm Lestari Permai in the
Bakubakulu village

HKm in Banasu Village
HKm in Mamu Village
HKm in Kalamanta Village

Land cover change
Land use types in Land use types in Land Changes
2016
2018
(Ha)
Alloy cropping
Secondary forest
51,04
Primary forest
Primary forest
Secondary forest
Secondary Forest
Primary forest
Primary Forest
Shrubs
Shrubs

Secondary forest
Alloy cropping
Alloy cropping
Shrubs
Secondary forest
Secondary forest
Secondary forest
Secondary forest

86,61
7,53
9,35
37,72
55,63
16,75
52,53
12,49

Situations
Reforestation
Degradation
Deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation
Degradation
Degradation
Fallowed to secondary forest
Fallowed to secondary forest

Table 8. Land use dynamics in the HD Area
Village Forest

Land Use Dynamics
Land use types in 2016

HD Lampo
Secondary forest
HD Namo
Primary forest
HD Lonca
Primary forest
HD Nupabomba Primary forest
Secondary forest
HD Balean
Alloy cropping

Land use types in 2018
Dryland agriculture
Bare land
Secondary forest
Secondary forest
alloy cropping
Secondary forest

3. SF Contribution to Local Community
Income
The purpose of providing legal access for
the community to manage and utilize forest
resources is to increase the community's income
around the forest area. However, this research
revealed that the SF program through the HD
scheme has not contributed significantly to the
income of local communities around forest
areas. In contrast to the HKm scheme, land use
in the HKm area has contributed significantly
to HKm group members' income.
The average HD contribution in increasing
the community income was only 9,43%. This
low contribution had a close relation to the
capacity of LPHD. Some HDs have not been
managed and utilized, and most HD managers
have no productive business units. The ability to
benefit from resources is mediated by the bundle
of powers that includes: access to technology,
access to capital, access to the market, access
to knowledge, and access to authority (Peluso
& Ribot, 2020; Ribot & Peluso, 2003). Income

222

Situations
Land Changes
(Ha)
24,34
Deforestation
12,86
Deforestation
55,13
Degradation
13,36
Degradation
25,83
Deforestation
25,79
Fallow to Secondary forest

contribution of the HD in Central Sulawesi
Province which has carried out non-timber
forest product utilization activities was 19,03%..
The average income of HD’s areas from
forest resource utilization was IDR 379.543 to
IDR 753.531 per month. (US$1 ≈ 15.410 IDR).
This finding confirms that forest resource
utilization activities in the HD area have not
been implemented optimally. Most of the HD
licenses in Central Sulawesi were issued in 2017,
except for HD Namo and HD Lonca, which
had licenses in 2013 and 2014.
The average contribution of the HKm area
in increasing the local community's income
was 56,38%. However, this contribution did
not originate from the HKm group, but it was
obtained from individual community land-use
activities based on the market's demand. The
forest resource utilization has not yet been
implemented based on the management plan.
This research reveals that land-use decisions in
the HKm area were not a collective decision of
the group but rather a personal decision. The

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Figure 5. Income contribution of HD

Figure 6. Income contribution of HKm

community uses land in the forest area to meet
their daily needs.
Farmers' income from forest utilization
activities in HKm areas was generally higher
than income from agricultural activities outside
HKm areas. This condition confirms that, in
general, the communities strongly depend on
land resources in the HKm area to support their
daily needs. The income level of farmers from
land use in the HKm area was IDR. 831.323
to IDR. 2.169.000 per month. The average
farmer’s income from land use in the Hkm area
was IDR. 1.326.750 per month (US$1 ≈ 15.410
IDR).

C. The role of stakeholders and exogenous
variables in the SF policy
SF's policy outcomes of Central Sulawesi
have not been optimal based on several of the
criteria i.e; self-governing of local institutions
was still in the moderate category, forest
resources sustainability has not been achieved,
and SF's contribution to the community's
income was in a low category. These outcomes
were attributed to the weakness in the action
situation for the acceleration of SF policy. The
SF development action in Central Sulawesi
Province was more concentrated on licensing
facilitation, even though several stakeholders
have assisted in strengthening the capacity of

223

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

groups in the utilization of forest resources.
However, strengthening these groups' capacity
was still concentrated in a limited number of
locations, and some were also not implemented
in a sustainable and integrated manner. The SF
program development's action situation has not
significantly impacted the community income
and preserving forest resources.
Based on the IAD framework (Ostrom,
2011), the internal structure of an action
situation consists of actors, positions, and
actions. This study adopts the terms the roles
of stakeholders, including their interests and
capacities. Stakeholders that have played a high
role in SF development in Central Sulawesi
were the Forestry Service, FMUs, and NGOs.
The forestry office's role focuses on the
administrative aspect, while FMUs and NGOs'
role focuses on mentoring and outreach
activities to the community. Unfortunately,
FMUs and NGOs have limited funding
capacities and personnel to carry out assistance
activities to community groups.
The Central Sulawesi provincial government's
target of allocating SF of 100.000 ha to improve
the community's economy around the forest
has the potential to backfire. It could even
threaten the sustainability of forest resources if
the role of stakeholders in the action situation
is not regulated and strengthened. The local
government should organize multi-stakeholder
roles to strengthen the capacity of the SF
group by considering the interests and power
of the stakeholders, including the involvement
of district local governments. Apart from
a structural approach through structuring
roles, local government should also expand
network governance through a communication
approach in multistakeholder dialogue among all
stakeholders concerned with SF Development.
The role of local government in network
governance is to have an equal position with
other stakeholders (Meuleman, 2008).
At the site level, facilitators are needed to
assist community groups in arranging forest
resources planning and capacity building.
Strengthening facilitators' capacity should

224

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

be focused on the program to increase their
knowledge and skills in assisting farmer groups
to formulate forest utilization activities that
support forest sustainability while assuring the
improvement of the community's economy.
Access to capital and information is also crucial
for local communities to benefit from the SF
program (Ragandhi et al., 2021). In addition
to providing legal access to forest resources,
stakeholders also play a role in empowerment
actions to facilitate increasing community
access to capital, knowledge, and information.
In addition, factors that should be
considered in strengthening group capacity are
exogenous variables. The potential of forest
resources, community dependence on forest
resources, and policies or regulations related to
SF are exogenous variables that simultaneously
determine farmer behavior and SF outcomes.
Characteristics of forest resources and
community dependence on forest resources are
different in each location. In the HKm area, the
characteristics of forest resources are quasiprivate property, even though it is a state forest
area; while in the HD area, it is a communal
property managed by the village government.
These characteristics have implications for SF
outcomes. Therefore, stakeholders who are
involved in implementing the SF policy should
understand well the exogenous variables that
will determine the performance of the SF
establishment.
V. CONCLUSION
The outcome of SF policy was affected by
the role of stakeholders in the action situation
implementing SF policy and exogenous
variables. The core of the implementation of
the SF policy is community empowerment
activities. It requires multi-stakeholder roles
from the regional level to the site level. The
role of the SF Working Group at the Provincial
level only focuses on achieving the broad target.
Still, the role of the SF Working Group in the
empowerment process has yet to be optimal
after the SF approval was issued, which is
indicated by the three pillars of the SF goal not

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

having been achieved optimally. The extensive
target of the government for the SF acceleration
program can be a threat to forest resource
sustainability. Furthermore, the SF program will
not be able to provide economic benefits for
local communities if appropriate community
empowerment activities do not support it. The
strategy to improve the SF outcomes should
begin with arranging the roles of stakeholders
and increasing their capacity to support the SF
group's empowerment. Stakeholders involved
in community empowerment activities at
the site level should conceive the exogenous
variables. The exogenous variables encompass
community dependence on forest resources,
market aspects, and forest resource potential
are the dominant factors that specify the
interaction of forest resource use in the SF
area. The problem that needs to be resolved in
the HKm scheme is to secure the preservation
of forest area functions as a common interest,
whereas the HD scheme is strengthening the
LPHD capacity to intensify forest management
to increase the village's income.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors are thankful to The Center for
Social Forestry and Environmental Partnerships
for the Sulawesi Region (Balai Perhutanan Sosial
dan Kemitraan Lingkungan/ BPSKL Wilayah
Sulawesi) for funding this study.
REFERENCES
Anugrahsari, I., Sardjono, M. A., Fitriyah, N., &
Golar, G. (2020). Social Contracts: Pillars
of Community Conservation Partnerships
in Lore Lindu National Park, Indonesia.
Forest and Society, 115–126. doi://10.24259/
fs.v4i1.8682.
Araral, E., & Amri, M. (2016). Institutions and the
policy process 2.0: Implications of the IAD
Framework. In Contemporary approaches to
public policy (pp. 73–93). Springer.
Asmin, F., Darusman, D., Ichwandi, I., & Suharjito,
D. (2019). Mainstreaming communitybased forest management in West Sumatra:

Social forestry arguments, support, and
implementation. Forest and Society, 3(1), 77–
96. doi://10.24259/fs.v3i1.4047.
Bong, I. W., Moeliono, M., Wong, G. Y., Brockhaus,
M., & others. (2019). What is success?
Gaps and trade-offs in assessing the
performance of traditional social forestry
systems in Indonesia. Forest and Society, 3(1)
doi://10.24259/fs.v3i1.5184.
Budi, Kartodihardjo, H., Nugroho, B., & Mardiana,
R. (2021). Implementation Gap of Social
Forestry Policy: The Case of HKm Beringin
Jaya and HTR Hajran. Jurnal Manajemen
Hutan Tropika, 27(1), 1–14. doi://10.24259/
fs.v3i1.518410.7226/jtfm.27.1.1.
Carter, D. P., Weible, C. M., Siddiki, S. N., & Basurto,
X. (2016). Integrating core concepts from
the institutional analysis and development
framework for the systematic analysis of
policy designs: An illustration from the
US National Organic Program regulation.
Journal of Theoretical Politics, 28(1), 159–185.
doi://10.1177/0951629815603494.
Charnley, S., & Poe, M. R. (2007). Community
forestry in theory and practice: Where
are we now? Annu. Rev. Anthropol.,
36,
301–336.
doi://10.1146/annurev.
anthro.35.081705.123143.
De Royer, S., Van Noordwijk, M., & Roshetko, J.
M. (2018). Does community-based forest
management in Indonesia devolve social
justice or social costs? International Forestry
Review, 20(2), 167–180.
Enserink, B., Hermans, L. M., Kwakkel, J. H.,
Thissen, W. A. H., Koppenjan, J. F. M., &
Bots, P. W. G. (2010). Policy analysis of multiactor systems. Lemma.
Erbaugh, J. T. (2019). Responsibilization and
social forestry in Indonesia. Forest Policy and
Economics, 109, 102019. doi://10.1016/j.
forpol.2019.102019.
Fisher, M. R., Moeliono, M., Mulyana, A., Yuliani,
E. L., Adriadi, A., Judda, J., & Sahide, M. A.
K. (2018). Assessing the new social forestry
project in Indonesia: recognition, livelihood
and conservation? International Forestry Review,
20(3), 346–361.
Hastanti, B. W., & Raharjo, S. A. S. (2021).
Stakeholder Analysis of Implementation of
Social Forestry Program at KPH Telawa,
Central Java. Jurnal Wasian, 8(1), 11–23.
Maryudi, A., Devkota, R. R., Schusser, C.,
Yufanyi, C., Salla, M., Aurenhammer, H.,
Rotchanaphatharawit, R., & Krott, M.

225

Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research Vol. 11 No. 2, October 2024, 211-227

(2012). Back to basics: Considerations in
evaluating the outcomes of community
forestry. Forest Policy and Economics, 14(1), 1–5.
doi://10.1016/j.forpol.2011.07.017.
Massiri, S. D. (2022). Strategi Pemberdayaan Masyarakat
pada Kawasan Konservasi. Smart Media
Publishing.
Massiri, S. D., Malik, A., Golar, Hamzari, & Nugroho,
B. (2020). Institutional capacity of forest
management unit in promoting sustainable
community-based forest management.
Case study of forest management unit
in central sulawesi province, Indonesia.
Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika, 26(2).
doi://10.7226/JTFM.26.2.169.
Massiri, S. D., Nugroho, B., Kartodihardjo, H.,
& Soekmadi, R. (2015). Institutional
Sustainability Barriers of Community
Conservation Agreement as a Collaboration
Management in Lore Lindu National Park.
Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika, 21(3), 147–
154. doi://10.7226/jtfm.21.3.14.
Massiri, S. D., Nugroho, B., Kartodihardjo, H.,
& Soekmadi, R. (2019). Institutional
sustainability of a community conservation
agreement in lore lindu national park. Forest
and Society, 3(1), 64–76. doi://10.24259/
fs.v3i1.5204.
McGinnis, M. D. (2011). An introduction to IAD
and the language of the Ostrom workshop: a
simple guide to a complex framework. Policy
Studies Journal, 39(1), 169–183.
Meijaard, E., Santika, T., Wilson, K. A., Budiharta,
S., Kusworo, A., Law, E. A., Friedman, R.,
Hutabarat, J. A., Indrawan, T. P., Sherman, J.,
& others. (2021). Toward improved impact
evaluation of community forest management
in Indonesia. Conservation Science and Practice,
3(1), e189.
Meuleman, L. (2008). Public management and the
metagovernance of hierarchies, networks and
markets: The feasibility of designing and managing
governance style combinations. Springer Science
& Business Media.
Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution
of institutions for collective action. Cambridge
university press.
Ostrom, E. (2011). Background on the Institutional
Analysis and. Policy Studies Journal, 39(1), 7–27.
doi://10.1111/j.1541-0072.2010.00394.x.
Paudyal, K., Baral, H., Lowell, K., & Keenan, R. J.
(2017). Ecosystem services from communitybased forestry in Nepal: Realising local and
global benefits. Land Use Policy, 63, 342–355.

226

ISSN: 2355-7079/E-ISSN: 2406-8195

Peluso, N. L., & Ribot, J. (2020). Postscript: A theory
of access revisited. In Society & Natural
Resources, 33 (2), 300–306. Taylor & Francis.
Ragandhi, A., Hadna, A. H., Setiadi, S., & Maryudi,
A. (2021). Why do greater forest tenure
rights not enthuse local communities? An
early observation on the new community
forestry scheme in state forests in Indonesia.
Forest and Society, 159–166.
Rakatama, A., & Pandit, R. (2020). Reviewing social
forestry schemes in Indonesia: Opportunities
and challenges. Forest Policy and Economics,
111, 102052.
Ribot, J. C., & Peluso, N. L. (2003). A Theory of
Access. Rural Sociology, 68(2), 153–181.
doi://10.1111/j.1549-0831.2003.tb00133.x.
Sahide, M. A. K., Fisher, M. R., Erbaugh, J. T.,
Intarini, D., Dharmiasih, W., Makmur, M.,
Faturachmat, F., Verheijen, B., & Maryudi, A.
(2020). The boom of social forestry policy
and the bust of social forests in Indonesia:
Developing and applying an access-exclusion
framework to assess policy outcomes. Forest
Policy and Economics, 120, 102290.
Sahide, M. A. K., Fisher, M. R., Supratman, S.,
Yusran, Y., Pratama, A. A., Maryudi, A.,
Runtubei, Y., Sabar, A., Verheijen, B., Wong,
G. Y., & others. (2020). Prophets and profits
in Indonesia’s social forestry partnership
schemes: Introducing a sequential power
analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 115,
102160.
Sahide, M. A. K., Fisher, M. R., Verheijen, B.,
Maryudi, A., Kim, Y.-S., & Wong, G. Y.
(2020). Sequential power analysis framework
in assessing social forestry outcomes.
MethodsX, 7.
Singh, V. S., Pandey, D. N., & Prakash, N. P. (2011).
What determines the success of joint forest
management? Science-based lessons on
sustainable governance of forests in India.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 56(1), 126–
133. doi://10.1016/j.resconrec.2011.09.015.
Suharjito, D., & Purwawangsa, H. (2014). Percepatan
devolusi pengelolaan hutan. Risalah
Kebijakan Pertanian dan Lingkungan.
Rumusan Kajian Strategis Bidang Pertanian dan
Lingkungan, 1(1), 12–17.
Tajuddin, T., Supratman, S., Salman, D., & Yusran,
Y. (2019). Bridging social forestry and forest
management units: Juxtaposing policy
imaginaries with implementation practices in
a case from Sulawesi. Forest and Society, 3(1),
97–113. doi://10.24259/fs.v3i1.6049.

The Role of Stakeholders and Exogenous Variables Affecting the Outcome of Social Forestry ......(Sudirman Daeng Massiri et al.)

Appendix
Criteria for assessing self-governing of the local institution in managing SF
Criteria
Active community
participation

Score
3
2
1
3

Fairness in resource use

2
1

Community attitudes to
the forest
Role of local institutions
in planning and regulating
forest resource use
Role of local institutions
in monitoring forest
Role of local institutions
in applying local sanctions

Role of local institutions
in conflict resolution

3
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
3
2
1
3

Local institutional
capacity

2
1

Description
members of the SF group meet regularly and participate by offering
comments and feedback.
SF members conducting meetings, but only sometimes
SF members have never met in the last year
More than 50% have the same opportunity to utilize forest resources and
earn income from HD businesses
Less than 50% of respondents stated that there is fairness in using forest
resources because they have equal opportunities
More than 50% of respondents stated that it is unfair to use forest
resources.
No communities are encroaching on forest areas
There are still communities that encroach on forest areas
There are still many communities that encroach on forests
The SF management has arranged an SF management plan and annual
work plan and has received approval
The SF management has arranged an SF management plan and annual
work plan but has yet to attain approval.
The SF management has not yet arranged a plan.
Monitoring is conducted by SF management a minimum of twice per
year.
Monitoring is conducted by SF management less than twice per year.
The SF administration has never performed monitoring.
Local institutions of SF can apply sanctions to those who violate them
Local institutions of SF can only give warnings, but those who violate
are handed over to the authorities
Local institutions of SF do not apply sanctions to violators.
There is a conflict resolution mechanism, and local institutions can
resolve conflicts.
There is a conflict resolution mechanism in SF, but local institutions
cannot resolve it.
Local institutions do not handle conflicts within the SF.
Local institutions have competence in forest management planning and
access to funding and business capital.
Local institutions have competence in forest management planning but
do not have access to funding and business capital.
Local institutions do not have competence in forest management
planning and access to funding and business capital.

227