By: Dwi Anindya *)
Downstreaming of community forest products is now a crucial milestone in strengthening the village economy while maintaining environmental balance. The government, through the Ministry of Forestry, with the support of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), has positioned this agenda as a key strategy in optimizing the potential of social forestry, ensuring that it does not stop at the mere utilization of raw materials. By strengthening the forest product value chain, village communities become not only protectors of forest areas but also competitive, productive economic actors.
The Head of the Ministry of Forestry’s Extension and Human Resource Development Agency, Indra Explotasia, believes that one of the main obstacles to the development of forest farmer groups (KTH) is the lack of downstream activities. Many groups still sell forest products, such as rattan, in their raw form because they lack processing facilities. He believes that shifting from selling raw materials to finished products is a concrete step to increase added value and create new business opportunities at the local level. He also highlighted the gap between the number of 27,000 forestry extension workers (KTH) and the number of only around 10,000 forestry extension workers. This has led to increased field support, along with the addition of new extension workers by the government.
The government recognizes that forestry extension workers play a vital role, not only in conservation but also in encouraging the conversion of these activities into economically productive ones. When encouraging communities to cease illegal practices in forest areas, extension workers must be able to offer alternative businesses that generate real income. This approach transforms conservation into more than just a preservation activity, but also a sustainable socio-economic investment.
Ellen Esther Pelealu, a member of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), cited Central Sulawesi as an example of the successful implementation of downstream social forestry. The economic transaction value of forest farmer groups in the province reached IDR 20.07 billion, exceeding the target of IDR 18.5 billion by approximately 110 percent. This achievement demonstrates that when local governments, communities, and extension workers work in synergy, the economic potential of community forests can grow rapidly. The government even plans to increase the forestry sector budget to IDR 6.39 trillion by 2026, a 21.4 percent increase from the previous year. This increase is aimed at strengthening the operational costs of forestry extension workers, including the need for facilities, infrastructure, and pilot units, which are the backbone of the success of the downstream program.
The synergy between the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the Ministry of Forestry continues to be strengthened through various working visits to regions, one of which was to South Kalimantan Province. During the visit, themed “Downstreaming Social Forestry Products,” the Head of the Visiting Team, Major General (Ret.) Sturman Panjaitan, emphasized that providing access to forest management to communities would be meaningless without strengthening downstream processes. He described downstream processes as the “golden bridge” connecting upstream conservation with downstream community welfare. This principle aligns with the direction of national development, which prioritizes a green economy as the basis for sustainable growth.
Meanwhile, Novia Widyaningtyas, Expert Staff to the Minister of Forestry for Forestry Industry Revitalization, revealed that by 2025, the Social Forestry program had granted communities access to manage 8.3 million hectares of land through more than 11,000 decrees, directly benefiting 1.4 million families across Indonesia. In South Kalimantan, for example, 192 social forestry permits have been issued for a total area of approximately 98,000 hectares, as well as recognition of nine customary communities with customary territories totaling 44,000 hectares.
The success of downstreaming in this region is also evident in the diversity of products developed, ranging from forest honey and palm sugar, essential oils from agarwood and cinnamon, processed rattan, and ecotourism services. Based on goKUPS data, the economic transaction value of social forestry in South Kalimantan from 2013 to 2025 reached IDR 5.03 billion across 102 business groups. In fact, several groups have already penetrated the export market, including shipments of agroforestry commodities to Japan worth IDR 989 million in 2024, robusta coffee to Dubai worth IDR 526.6 million in 2025, and exports of 30 tons of damar resin to India and 15 tons of nutmeg to China for a total value of IDR 2.07 billion.
The Ministry of Forestry continues to strengthen concrete steps to ensure the sustainability of this downstreaming movement. The government is focusing on increasing community capacity through training and mentoring for KUPS institutions, facilitating access to financing through banks and state-owned enterprises, and expanding infrastructure and technology to ensure products meet global standards. Equally important, regulationsand trade systems are continuously updated to favor social forestry products and provide space for the growth of local industries in forest areas.
Downstreaming efforts not only grow the village economy but also strengthen conservation functions. Communities that directly benefit from forests will have a strong incentive to maintain their sustainability. In other words, the higher the economic value generated from sustainable forests, the stronger the community’s commitment to protecting them. This concept emphasizes that prosperity and conservation are not conflicting goals, but rather mutually supportive. With a spirit of sustainable collaboration, community forests are no longer viewed as sources of raw materials, but rather as centers of village economic growth and a bulwark of Indonesian nature conservation.
*) Observer of Public Policy and Regional Development
