Community Participation in Forest Conservation at West Kawangkoan District, Minahasa Regency

Abstract

The environmental damage is only a result or a symptom, due to the response should be done more fundamentally, in the sense of handling the causes and damage to the environment. Environmental damage due to pressure on natural resources should be addressed. Therefore, related to environmental issues, especially about the forest, this study tries to find out how community participation in the District of West Kawangkoan in the preservation of this forest. This study uses descriptive qualitative methods with quantitative and qualitative data analysis by collecting, managing, presenting, and describing the results of research as they are. The data obtained will be analyzed using diagrams and tables for data can be read easily to find out the answer to the problems. The results showed the forms of community participation of forest protection at West Kawangkoan district included, among others: (1) Community participation at West Kawangkoan district was actively planting replacement trees, such as planting nantu trees, cempaka trees are part of the form of community participation in forest protection. Other participation, the local community is obliged to provide information to the district or village government, if there are people who try to damage the forest carelessly. Besides, government regulations on forest conservation are still obligated by local communities, (2) Several factors become obstacles faced by communities participating in forest protection include: (1) Lack of community intervention in forests at West Kawangkoan especially forest types heterogeneous. Heterogeneous forest in the West Kawangkoan sub-district is overgrown by various kinds of trees. While the tendency of the community is more to maintain homogeneous forests, due to this forest area is reforestation, greening, or the need for wood for the manufacture of Minahasa typical houses, (2) Lack of assistance provided by the government. Assistance is expected by the community by presenting forestry policy as a form to oversee the forests at West Kawangkoan. Besides, other forms of assistance expected by the community are assistance in the form of seeds as well as facilities and infrastructure assistance in preserving forests at West Kawangkoan.