Contribution of Forest Restoration to Rural Livelihoods and Household Income in Indonesia

Abstract

Forest resources remain vital to the survival of many rural communities, though the level of forest reliance varies across a range of sites and socio-economic settings. This article investigates variation in forest utilization across households in three ethnic groups living near a forest restoration area in Sumatra, Indonesia. Survey data were collected on 268 households, with a four-month recall period and three repeat visits to each selected household within a year. Random sampling was applied to select households in five villages and five Batin Sembilan (indigenous) semi-nomadic groups. Sampled households belonged to three ethnic groups: 15% were Batin Sembilan, 40% Local Malayan, and 45% Immigrant households. Indigenous households displayed the highest reliance on forests: 36% of their annual total income came from this source, as compared with 10% and 8% for Local and Immigrant households, respectively. Our findings showed that the livelihoods of indigenous groups were still intricately linked with forest resources, despite a rapid landscape-wide transition from natural forest to oil palm and timber plantations.

Sustainable Tourism Development: the Adaptation and Resilience of the Rural Communities in (the Tourist Villages of) Karimunjawa, Central Java

“…The people in (tourist) villages are most vulnerable to economic turbulence and environmental damage, which can disrupt the people's livelihood and welfare. Livelihood adaptation and the strategies of rural people have been studied (see Dewi et al, 2005;Euler et al, 2017;Harini et al, 2017;Mahdi et al, 2008;Ritohardoyo, 2004;Widianingsih et al, 2016;Wijayanti et al, 2016forest dependence, and welfare in 73 villages. Village economic options, forest cover, and land suitability for agriculture and forestry are determining factors of people's well-being.…”

Rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus) as a de facto forest common for local communities in Ghana

“…Particularly, scholars have shown keen interest in the relevance of forests to the livelihoods of multitudes of rural residents across the world (Agrawal, 2007). Forests serve as important livelihood resources for local communities in agrarian and developing areas where much of subsistence still come from the natural environment (Widianingsih et al, 2016). Institutional arrangements for governance and management of forests are becoming more complex in contemporary times due to its multiple roles for global conservation and local livelihoods (Thompson, 2018), which often introduce more competing interests.…”

Operationalizing integrated landscape approaches in the tropics

“…For instance, income generated from wild harvest in terms of fuelwood, bushmeat and wild foods was the second biggest contributor to local communities' total annual income in Ghana (Hansen et al 2015). In Indonesia, 36% of the total income in indigenous households came from forest resources (Widianingsih et al 2016). In southern Africa, some poor households derive close to 30% of their income from forests (Fisher 2004;Jumbe et al 2008;Mulenga et al 2012).…”