Only a Noise? The Role of Non-governmental Organizations in the Policy Processes of a New Social Forestry Model in Indonesia

Social forestry has been widely promoted as a policy strategy to improve the livelihoods of rural communities by granting them rights or permits to manage forests. How it is mainstreamed and how the related policy options are exercised and implemented have become vibrant areas of scientific inquiries. This study analyzes the formal policy formulation processes of a new social forestry scheme in Indonesia called Izin Pemanfaatan Hutan Perhutanan Sosial (IPHPS) (Permits for Social Forestry Concession). Granted to local farmers, IPHPS is a long-term utilization permit for forestland that is currently managed by the state-owned Perhutani enterprise. It is unique in Indonesia, as no permit-based social forestry has been implemented in forests under another right (overlapping permits). This research analyzes why and how IPHPS was formulated and explains why the permit-based social forestry was preferred to land distribution. Through interviews with diverse policy actors combined with literature, policy document, and regulation reviews, the degree to which nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were involved in the policymaking is specifically assessed. Two major findings are obtained. First, although NGOs sustained a decade-long policy advocacy and played a substantial part in promoting forest tenure reforms, their direct involvement in designing the IPHPS model was limited. Former NGO activists who worked within government circles did not push substantive policy outputs, whereas others were prevented from coming to negotiation tables. Second, the new social forestry model was instead shaped by the strong interest of maintaining forest control by the state enterprise held by few individuals within and with connections to government institutions. The policy outcome itself, i.e., IPHPS social forestry, appears to represent a compromise between two extremes, i.e., the status quo of joint forest management and land distribution to local communities.