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Certification of a Community-based Forest Enterprise for Improving Institutional Management and Household Income: A Case from Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Abstract

Forest certification for community-based forest management was designed to strengthen an area’s forestry functions while simultaneously alleviating poverty by developing the existing community forest. It is fundamental for forest certification to maintain the economic benefits for certified local sellers and balance conservation goals with increasing local incomes. This study explores how FSC certification of a community-based forest enterprise in Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia could improve effectively field situations of community forest management and strengthen local peoples’ financial benefits and social perceptions towards conserving forests. FSC group certification was introduced in the area of teak community forest of several villages in 2005. Because of local strong interest in group certification, the size of certified forests, the number of group certification members and the amount of certified wood harvested gradually increased. The support of a local NGO and an international NGO contributed towards successful establishment of group certification and establishment of a small-scale forestry enterprise producing certified wood in a sustainable manner. These NGOs played important roles in establishing strong relationships between producers and consumers, strengthening local forest management institutions, and promising social and economic benefits to the local people.

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Notes

  1. As of April 2011, 103 community-owned forests covering 5.1 M ha (<4 % of total certified forests in the world) were certified (FSC (2011). The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) also targeted small forest owners. Hundreds of thousands of small forest owners including owners of family and community-owned forests have acquired PEFC certification (PEFC 2012).

  2. Details of SLIMF are provided by Nussbaum and Simula (2005).

  3. LEI was established in 1998 as an independent forest certification system, which has eight criteria and 32 indicators associated with timber production and ecological and social functions.

  4. In 1969, the local government in Southeast Sulawesi intensively designed and implemented a policy to plant teak trees. Forest rehabilitation programs were implemented until 1982, at which time teak forests covered 8,796 ha. In 1989, the Ministry of Forestry implemented the Industrial Plantation Forest Program (Hutan Tanaman Industri, HTI) for planting teak trees in state forests, and by 2002 teak forests covered 24,538 ha (Dinas Kehutanan Propinsi Sulawesi Tenggara 2005a; JAUH 2006).

  5. The program covered three management aspects: area, institutional management and business management (Dinas Kehutanan Propinsi Sulawesi Tenggara 2005a). Area management refers to the efforts by groups of forest growers to plan, implement changes, and monitor and evaluate specific forest areas. Institutional management refers to efforts by these groups to establish and abide by internal rules and manage institutional programs. Business management consists of efforts by the groups to enhance the welfare and financial stability of village residents.

  6. This FSC group certification is the first granted to community forestry in Indonesia. Recently, FSC group certification has been developed in Java. For example, in FSC group certification in Gunung Kidul district in Java, a forest enterprise has been making efforts to develop sustainable teak community forest management (Djamhuri 2008; Fujiwara et al. 2011; Maryudi et al. 2012).

  7. KHJL comprises a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, vice secretary, treasurer, and managers of business units.

  8. The reason for changing the regulation is KHJL’s desire to increase the production of certified wood.

  9. The marketing unit of KHJL plays a major role in facilitating the sale of certified wood, obtaining prices higher than those received in public markets. It also encourages the creation of land maps, inventories of planned harvests, harvesting of certified trees, marketing of certified wood, and replanting of seedlings after harvest.

  10. Although local people cover the cost of transporting certified wood, they nevertheless choose to sell their own wood as certified because the cost of this transportation is lower due to the short distance, and the price of selling wood as certified is much higher.

  11. KHJL has to pay the cost of every year’s assessment at an amount of Rp. 17,000,000–20,000,000. In the event of a lack of funding, KHJL borrows money from TFT.

  12. In addition to harvesting and selling certified wood, KHJL established a credit union with a microfinance system to help KHJL members. The members can borrow money for personal necessities using their trees as security. The union’s first capital consisted of Rp. 87.4 M derived from members, TFT and the local government.

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Acknowledgments

This research is the result of field surveys conducted by Forest Conservation Project, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan. The research was also funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in 2011 and 2012 [(A) 22255012, (C) 23510316] and in 2012 [(A) 24248026], by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Human Science and Environment, University of Hyogo, 1-1-12, Shinzaike-honcho, Himeji, Hyogo, 670-0092, Japan

    Kazuhiro Harada

  2. Vocational School, Gadjah Mada University, Jl. Agro No. 1 Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

    Wiyono

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  1. Kazuhiro Harada
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Correspondence to Kazuhiro Harada.

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Harada, K., Wiyono Certification of a Community-based Forest Enterprise for Improving Institutional Management and Household Income: A Case from Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Small-scale Forestry 13, 47–64 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-013-9240-8

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