Although social forestry in Indonesia is envisioned as a policy for recognizing local practices to forest management, research is still limited. This research describes conditions of social forestry policy in West Sumatra Province as a form of mainstreaming community-based forest management. This paper provides the context of social forestry arguments, its support, and subsequent implementation. The research approach is qualitative, using a case study method. Data collection was conducted through unstructured interviews, field observations, and document studies. The analysis used categorization and coding, historical analysis, document analysis, and descriptive policy analysis. The findings revealed that the arguments for social forestry schemes were based on the persistence of state forest conflicts, forest degradation and deforestation threats, as well as human resource limitations of forestry officers. The Provincial government then initiated stakeholder support, mainly from non-governmental organizations. Social forestry implementation at the site in West Sumatra thus focused on providing development assistance programs after granting management rights to local people, as well as initiating similar schemes in other villages. Our discussions considered challenges that should be addressed, including the approach to granting management rights to secure a management area, the process of developing participatory institutions, synchronizing provincial government policies to overcome forest degradation and deforestation, and initiating activities for strengthening community solidarity and agency.

The research of the cultural effect on economic development is always interesting for many researchers. An article of Chavoshbashi et al. has provided an understanding to study the cultural effect by using a dynamics system approach. This paper reviewed the article by focusing on their system thinking. This review strengthened an argument that it is important to consider the cultural values in the economic development.

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Local communities are frequently judged as the main driver of forest degradation and deforestation because of the weak recognition to local ecological knowledge (LEK) or traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). We assessed that it is important to elaborate the attributes of LEK and TEK as a way to describe why and how the local community clears the forest, as well as its relation to local practices, named parak and rimbo. Our research uses case study method to describe the local practices in Simancuang community, Alam Pauh Duo Village, South Solok District, West Sumatra Province. We conducted unstructured interviews, observations, and documents selection which were analyzed through categorization and codification as well as complemented with history analysis, spatial analysis, and related document analysis. The results showed that Simancuang community knowledge can describe the attributes of LEK and TEK as a unified whole of local knowledge for sustaining their livelihoods. Therefore, the forest clearing by Simancuang people is one of the livelihoods strategies, but they were not the main driver of forest degradation and deforestation in South Solok District.

The topic of has been gaining many concerns from social researchers throughout the world, especially social capital in perspective the organizational activities of collective action . This study aimed to describe the local forest management practices parak and rimbo . The research method is () as a social capital in collective action perspective a case study of Koto Malintang and Simancuang people in West Sumat ra. Collecting data was conducted by e unstructured interviews, field observations, and document studies. Data analysis uses categorization and coding, document analysis, and historical analysis. Our findings were described in the context of decision making, resources management and mobilization, communication, and conflict resolution. Collective action for decision making involved the acquisition, allocation, and distribution mechanisms to divide land and forest product among local people. In the context of resources management and mobilization, they applied kinship relations among families, sub-clans, and clans to manage their resources. They then communicated their needs in any formal and informal meetings. When a conflict occurred in related to forest utilization, they applied an adat court to make a win-win solution. Nevertheless, the challenges of collective action are still about the resources availability, benefit equity, and external supports.

ABSTRAKProgram Desa Maju Inhil Jaya (DMIJ) adalah program unggulan Pemerintah Daerah periode 2013-2018. Untuk mendukung dan mensukseskan program ini, maka pelaksanaan dilapangan haruslah sesuai dengan ketentuan dan peraturan yang telah ditetapkan, sehingga kemungkinan penyalahgunaan anggaran tidak terjadi. Penggunaan dana DMIJ harus disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan dan prioritas di setiap desa, sehingga pembangunan dapat diselaraskan dan menghindari ketimpangan, baik ekonomi maupun keberadaan infrastrukturnya. Diperlukan sebuah Sistem Pendukung Keputusan (SPK) yang dapat membantu dalam pengolahan data hasil survey. Pada kesempatan ini, metode Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) merupakan sebuah metode yang dianggap baik untuk melalukan proses pengolahan data hasil survey. Metode tersebut dianggap baik karena dapat membandingkan antar kriteria dan juga antar alternatif lokasi/desa yang telah dipilih. Penerapan metode AHP dalam pembangunan sistem pendukung keputusan penilaian desa terbaik dalam program pemerintah daerah DMIJ ditetapkan dengan 8 kriteria yaitu: Pendidikan, Kesehatan, Ekonomi Masyarakat, Keamanan dan Ketertiban, Partisipasi Masyarakat, Pemerintahan, Lembaga Kemasyarakatan, dan Pemberdayaan dan kesejahteraan keluarga. Hasil akhir dari penelitian ini yaitu Desa Pulau Palas memiliki prioritas tertinggi dengan nilai eigen sebesar 0.245 atau 24,5% sehingga Desa Pulau Palas dapat direkomendasikan sebagai desa terbaik. Dan kriteria yang paling berpengaruh adalah kesehatan dengan nilai eigen 0.284 atau 28,4%.

Sustaining community learning center (CLC) as a community activity centerby increasing the community capacity and skill to deal with socio-economics challenges is an important focus to ensure the success of CLC. This study was aimed to describe the sustainability elements of CLC development and analyze the policy elements that influence the sustainability of CLC program, particularly in related to CSR program. This study approach was combining a qualitative approach and quantitative approach with analytic decision method which is never conducted in the previous studies on CLC. Data and information were collected through document studies, observations and structured interviews through questionnaires, then they were analyzed using descriptive analysis and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) analysis. From ten elements of CLC sustainability were analyzed, the result of study emphasized to the importance of CLC management capacity enhancement in PKBM Assolahiyah. The result was synthesized into a policy model of CLC development through CSR program. The policy model should involve the roles of government, scientist, and non-governmental organization (NGO) to strengthen the CLC development

The cognitive elements of social capital need to be elaborated to understand the community-based forest management, such as the practice of parak and rimbo in the Koto Malintang and Simancuang communities. This study aims to identify and describe these cognitive elements. The research method used was case study method with constructivism paradigm. The data was collected using interview, observation, and document review techniques. Cognitive social capital can be developed through local ecological knowledge that has become part of Minangkabau customs and culture. The results showed that cognitive elements in the form of norms, values, beliefs and attitudes can describe how the community plans, utilizes, and controls the forest resource management. The identification of these cognitive elements shows that people pay attention to the principles of sustainability, justice, ability, security, profit, opportunity, and well-being.