Three Forest Management Regimes in Gunungkidul: Which Benefits Locals Most?

Image: article cover, from Madjid et al. (2022), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

A research team from the Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, investigated how residents of Bunder, Banaran, Ngleri, and Gading villages in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta, access the Bunder forest area managed under three different regimes. These regimes are the production forest of KPH Yogyakarta, the conservation forest of Tahura (Grand Forest Park), and the education forest of KHDTK Wanagama I. This study is important because differences in management are thought to influence the actual patterns of interaction between residents and the surrounding forest.

The results, published in Jurnal Wasian in 2022, show that forest management regimes do affect how residents access the forest. Overall, the rights received by residents in the KPH Yogyakarta production forest are higher than in the KHDTK Wanagama I education forest. The lowest value is found in the Tahura conservation forest regime. However, when viewed from the perspective of access mechanisms that empower residents, the KHDTK Wanagama I education forest scores higher than both the KPH Yogyakarta production forest and the Tahura conservation forest.

These findings indicate that residents' rights and access do not always align with the magnitude of benefits they perceive. The research team recommends formulating clearer rights and access to enhance certainty of forest resource benefits for communities around the forest. For residents around the Gunungkidul forest, clarity of these rules determines the extent to which they can utilise the forest without violating the manager's regulations.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Locals’ Claims of Rights and Access to Forest Resources in Three Forest Management Regimes in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta by Muhammad Iqbal Nur Madjid Madjid, Dwiko Budi Permadi Dwiko, Wahyu Wardhana Wahyu and Ratih Madya Septiana Ratih, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 9 No. 1 (2022). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Madjid, M. I. N. M., Dwiko, D. B. P., Wahyu, W. W., & Ratih, R. M. S. (2022). Locals’ Claims of Rights and Access to Forest Resources in Three Forest Management Regimes in Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta. Jurnal Wasian, 9(1), 01–12. https://doi.org/10.62142/njvbws14

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.