With the purpose of improving Decree of the Minister No. 9/2021 on social forestry management, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, led by Policy Principal Expert, Dr. Bambang Supriyanto, held a recent workshop as a part of efforts to identify content in the Decree which requires revision in order to reflect the dynamics of social forestry management at the site level, as well as various policy developments. The workshop, supported by FORCLIME, was held on 29 July 2024 in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta and was attended by representatives from the Directorates General of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnerships (PSKL), Sustainable Forest Management (PHL), Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE), Forestry Planning and Environmental Management (PKTL) and the Legal Bureau of the Ministry, as well as various NGOs that work with Social Forestry-related issues.

The revision for the Decree will aim to create a more robust, adaptive and effective framework for social forestry management that aligns with current legislative directives, such as Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 28 of 2023 on Integrated Planning for the Acceleration of Social Forestry Management, and will also hopefully meet the dynamic needs of local communities.

Among the adjustments and revisions to the Decree are proposed changes that relate to the following areas:

1. Social Forestry management approvals.
2. The mechanism for changes to and the termination of Social Forestry management approvals.
3. Forest utilization and forest utilization business cooperation mechanisms.
4. Criteria for determining the membership of the Platinum Social Forestry Business Group.
5. Evaluations of Social Forestry management approvals.
6. The formats of Social Forestry Management Plan and Annual Work Plan Documents that have not currently incorporated any local wisdom relating to Customary Forests and that have not addressed any is-sues relating to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Two official Ministerial Decrees will result from this revision. One of these will be a Minister’s Discretionary Decree on Social Forestry and Revised Social Forestry Management.

For more information, please contact:
Fadhilatunnisa Nurhadiza, Junior Adviser for Sustainable Forest Management
Mohammad Rayan, Technical Adviser for Cross-Cutting Issues and Conflict Management
Wandojo Siswanto, Strategic Area Manager for Forest Policy and Climate Change