Questions/Answers
Question 1
Please briefly describe the initiative, what issue or challenge it aims to address and specify its objectives. (300 words maximum)
Around 48.8 million people in Indonesia live in forest areas and 10.2 million of them are classified as poor, mainly due to limited access in managing forests. In Java, 35 million people depend on forest areas and in Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY), there are around 49,476 household residents who live around the forest area and 13,819 households are included in the classification of poor population.
The forest and land rehabilitation program implemented by the Regional Government of DIY aims to restore, maintain and improve forest functions to create a microclimate in the forest ecosystem. The success of this rehabilitation program is inversely proportional to the economic conditions of communities around the forest. Limited access and opportunities for the community to use forest resources is one of the factors causing poverty. This can trigger the community to use wood products illegally, which greatly affects the sustainability of the forest ecosystem. The need for quick and appropriate solutions to reduce poverty in the community is one of the keys to success in preserving forest resources.
Changing the paradigm of forestry development from timber-based management to social forestry also influenced forestry development in DIY. The community empowerment activities were then revitalized so that collaboration between the local government and the community around the forest could be better established. In order to preserve forest resources and alleviate community poverty, since 2015, DIY initiated the use of natural tourism environmental services in protected forests in RPH Mangunan, Kab. Bantul, where the community is the main actor. This initiation is in line with Yogyakarta's vision as a city of education, culture and tourism. Nature tourism, developed in protected and production forests, is expected to be able to raise the value of tourism as well as education and culture, which are closely related to Yogyakarta’s history.
Question 2
Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category. (100 words maximum)
Forests have a very important role in meeting the economic needs of the community. The category chosen is “Promoting Integrated Mechanism for Sustainable Development”, chosen because of the integrated collaboration in the form of cooperation of government, public and private sector in utilizing the natural tourism environment service, initiated since 2015. As mentioned above, this initiative can encourage the creation of effective integrated mechanisms in government institutional governance systems both horizontally and vertically as well as a harmonious relationship with the community and private sector marked by assistance related to the development of initiatives in the form of CSR.
Question 3
a. Please specify which SDGs and target(s) the initiative supports and describe concretely how the initiative has contributed to their implementation. (200 words maximum)
The SDGs that are fulfilled are SDG 8, SDG 15 and SDG 17. The contribution of this initiative to SDG 8, namely decent work and economic growth, can be proven: the immediate impact felt was an increase in the absorption of the workforce of natural tourism managers in all operators by 656 people accompanied by an increase in income of Rp 1,500,000-Rp 3,500,000 / month. Total revenue from levies on the utilization of natural tourism for 2018 reached Rp 9,042,413,000. The distribution of proceeds from the total income is 75% goes to the community rights and 25% to the state. Increasing the welfare of the community also contributed to supporting SDG 15, which is to preserve the forest, evidenced by the reduction in cases of forest destruction in the form of wood theft due to utilizing natural tourism., Ongoing collaboration and also contribution to SDG 17, has been facilitated by a number of key regulations e.g. Regional Regulation of Yogyakarta Special Territory: No. 7 of 2015, No.84 of 2016 and No.5 of 2018 as well as Cooperation and Licensing on the Utilization of Grand Forest Parks so that a cooperation agreement is issued.
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms. (100 words maximum)
This initiative ensures environmental sustainability through the existence of regional and central level regulations. It is strongly supported by the presence of Nine Priorities Agenda (Nawacita) of the President Jokowi for 2014-2019, Regional Long-Term Management Plan of Yogyakarta Special Territory for 2005-2025, Medium-Term Management Plan of Yogyakarta Special Territory for 2017-2022 and Strategic Plan of Environment and Forest Service of Yogyakarta Special Territory for 2017-2022. Sustainability support from the budget side is also obtained from the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD), State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), community self-funding funds and private Coorporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
Question 4
a. Please explain how the initiative has addressed a significant shortfall in governance, public administration or public service within the context of a given country or region. (200 words maximum)
This initiative supports the improvement of quality of public services, efficiency of government, implementation of public administration and condition of the people around the forest. This is a collaborative initiative utilizing natural tourism between the Government of DIY and the community, which has reduced wood theft to zero in 2017 and 2018. This initiative is also able to increase public awareness to collaborate through forest utilization with the government and private sector while maintaining forest sustainability. Providing access and opportunities for community economic development improves the quality of public services carried out by the government in the context of poverty alleviation for communities around the forest.. Poverty is not the only problem faced by people around the forest. Another problem is the limited amount of availability and quality of infrastructure. The existence of this initiative was also able to provide a significant increase, especially in the provision of life support facilities and infrastructure of 450 business units around the RPH Mangunan forest area such as an increase in the number of warung business units, workshops, transportation facilities, pharmacies etc.
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
One focus of the 2019 Yogyakarta Regional Action Plan is to end all forms of discrimination against women. The existence of a Gender Responsive program from the Agency of Women's Empowerment, Child Protection and Population Control also supports the existence of gender equality in every activity planned by the Government. This has been aligned with opening equal employment opportunities for people living around forests in tourist sites with no restrictions on the type of work with gender workers: as many as 15.85% of natural tourism managers are women.
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
The target groups of this initiative are those groups of people around the forest that are classified as poor and have a strong commitment to conserving forests such as agroforestry farmer, Forest Farmer Groups (KTH), Village Cooperative groups and Village-Owned Enterprises. The initial target of the initiative was the KTH of pinesap tapping, which numbered around 87 people, and then the initiative developed this into 656 people. This initiative can accelerate the achievement of the target group's goals of preserving forests and increasing the income of target groups which ranged from Rp. 400,000 - Rp. 800,000 per month. After the existence of environmental tourism services this increased to Rp. 1,500,000 - Rp. 3,500,000 per month. In addition to 2.7 million visitors in 2018, this nature tour has also been visited by former the President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama in 2017 and the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo.
Question 5
a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
Dialogue and coordination between government and public
This was carried out between the government routinely in 2014-2016, aiming to prepare the community as the main actors in tourism in order to carry out cooperation in the utilization of natural tourism.
Initiation on cooperation regulation
Cooperation requires strengthening from legal aspects, especially related to bureaucracy and technical procedures. Therefore in 2015, Regional Regulation of Yogyakarta Special Territory No. 7 was issued, aiming to give authority to the Head of Service in charge of Forestry to enter into a cooperation agreement on forest utilization. Furthermore, in 2016, Regulation of Governor of Yogyakarta No. 84 aimed at regulating the system and mechanism of cooperation in forest utilization.
Verification of the cooperation request file and the agreement revocation
The file of cooperation submitted by the cooperative or BUMDes is then verified by the technical considerations team. If it meets the requirements, it will proceed to the preparation of the manuscript and verbalization of the manuscript by the parties. Verbalization of the Cooperation Agreement between the LHK Service and the Noto Wono Cooperative was conducted on 31 January 2017.
Construction of facilities and infrastructures (sarpras)
Development of tourism supporting infrastructure was carried out from the beginning of 2017 until now. There are several facilities such as toilets, prayer rooms, warongs, etc. The facilities and infrastructures being constructed cover glamcamp, canopytrail as well as standardized toilet support by PT.Angkasapura.
Public training
Public training for various skills such as Waste Management Training for Communities (2018) and Foreign Language Training (2018).
Replication in several areas
This was replicated in three BUMDes in Yogyakarta Special Territory.
Monitoring is carried out by observing field conditions and annual reports from partners. Internal evaluation is carried out through the Community Satisfaction Survey (SKM) and externally, through the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Yogyakarta Special Territory and Statistic Center of Yogyakarta.
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
The obstacle faced from the government point of view is limited regulation regarding cooperation in forest utilization. Therefore, the issuance of regulations at regional level were initiated and also strengthened by Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry No. 49 of 2017 concerning Collaboration on Forest Utilization in FMU Areas. Obstacles from the community remain low awareness related to forest maintenance because the community's economic resources are still very dependent on the forest. The solution to this is to open access for communities to collaborate in the sustainable use of forest products.
Question 6
a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
This initiative encourages collaboration between the government and community regarding forest preservation and increased opportunities and economic conditions for the community the utilization of environmental tourism services. This initiative also drives the issuance of regional regulations on cooperation in the use of forests in Indonesia, providing tangible benefits to improve the welfare of the community while maintaining the preservation of the ecological, economic and social functions of the forest. This initiative is also a pioneer in the implementation of natural tourism management cooperation with the community as the main actors and becomes a reference for other regions.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiative in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
This initiative arose because the efforts taken by local governments to conserve forests and improve the welfare of the community through tapping pine resin have not yet yielded optimal results. The condition of pine stands that are no longer productive and conditions of community poverty mean Yogyakarta FMU Hall must look for alternative solutions by utilizing opportunities,, such as photos in ‘instagramable’ natural attractions. This then developed into the activities of utilizing environmental tourism services with a variety of environmentally friendly tourism attractions and providing a promising income prospect for local governments and communities without ignoring aspects of forest sustainability.
Question 7
a. Has the initiative been transferred and/or adapted to other contexts (e.g. other cities, countries or regions) to your organization’s knowledge? If yes, please explain where and how. (200 words maximum)
Comparative study activities at the site of this initiative have been carried out by various parties, including from local Dinas and FMU (KPH) agencies, Ministry of scope agencies, and in other regions and countries: e.g. Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua and Germany and Asia-Pacific countries. This initiative has also received appreciation from the LHK Ministry and KPH Office for successfully initiating and implementing good forest management and received an award from the Regent of Bantul as an Achievement Cooperative in developing businesses, creating objects of good tourist attraction and efforts to empower communities around the forest. It has also received a letter of support from GIZ and CIFOR as this initiative is one of the recommended solutions related to issue of forest sustainability and efforts in poverty alleviation of communities around the forest. This cooperation in utilizing environmental services for ecotourism has also been implemented in three other Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) in the FMU Yogyakarta area in early 2019:
1. BUMDes Murakabi : water sports tourism, photo spots and megalithic historical sites.
2. BUMDes Bangun Kencana : cave tours, flying fox and Malingan flower garden.
3. BUMDes Jati Lestari : forest area - “Sekargama” rest area.
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
This initiative has been transferred and adapted. The potential for replication was strengthened by a letter from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2019 that appealed to other regions throughout Indonesia to implement this initiative. The process of transferability of initiatives is easy, namely through comparative studies, socialization of regulations and terms of cooperation as well as taking into account the needs of the community and commitment in carrying out natural tourism cooperation.
Question 8
a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
1. Human resources: regional government organizations within the Yogyakarta Regional Government, e.g. Environment and Forestry Agency, Legal Bureau and Tourism Office, and the local community and training for community capacity building from the R&D Agency and the Directorate General of PHPL.
2. Finance: Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) of Yogyakarta Regional Government, State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), Research and Development of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Directorate General of PHPL and financial support from the private sector (CSR funds).
3. Support of natural resources such as pine trees as a potential for the development of natural tourism.
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
The sustainability of this initiative is supported by Regional Regulation Yogyakarta Special Territory No. 7 (2015) and Regulation of Governor Yogyakarta Special Territory No. 84 (2016) in conjunction with Regulation of Governor Yogyakarta Special Territory No. 5 (2018). This has also been included in the strategic program of the Regional Government Yogyakarta Special Territory as set out in the planning documents such as the Medium Term Management Plan Yogyakarta Special Territory for 2017-2020 as well as budget support from the Regional Budget of Yogyakarta Special Territory, State Budget through BPHP VII Denpasar, community funds and CSR funds from private parties.
Question 9
a. Was the initiative formally evaluated either internally or externally?
Yes
b. Please describe how it was evaluated and by whom? (100 words maximum)
This initiative has been evaluated internally by the Yogyakarta KPH in 2019 in terms of its public services and has been evaluated externally by Bappeda of Yogyakarta Special Territory and BPS in the context of reducing community poverty, especially in Bantul Regency. The impact of initiatives to increase community businesses also contributed to the reduction of poverty rates in Bantul Regency.
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used. (100 words maximum)
Internal evaluation consisted of the Community Satisfaction Survey (SKM) based on the Regulation Governor of Yogyakarta Special Territory Number 32 (2019) concerning Guidelines for Conducting a Community Satisfaction Survey with 11 respondents by assessing several indicators of service elements (e.g. requirements, procedures, service time, costs). External evaluations, carried out by Bappeda of Yogyakarta Special Territory and BPS, is shown by the data table for the decreasing poverty rate presentation in Bantul Regency in the years 2015-2018 with indicators for calculating the poverty line and the percentage of the number of people below the poverty line compared to the total population.
d. What were the main findings of the evaluation (e.g. adequacy of resources mobilized for the initiative, quality of implementation and challenges faced, main outcomes, sustainability of the initiative, impacts) and how this information is being used to inform the initiative’s implementation. (200 words maximum)
The findings of this evaluation state that public satisfaction for the Yogyakarta KPH Office public services is high, as indicated by the results of the SKM evaluation of 88.8%. Another finding is the decrease in the percentage of community poverty in Bantul Regency, by 2.9% between 2015-2018. There are also findings in decreasing wood theft trends in 2017 and 2018: zero cases of theft and efforts to enrich tree species by 13,810 seedlings. There is a significant increase in community business from 65 business units to 450 business units. This initiative also encourages the absorption of labor in the period 2017-2018 as evidenced by the reduction in the Open Unemployment Rate (UR) in Bantul Regency by 0.4% and increased Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Bantul Regency of 1.66%. Other findings related to the quality of the implementation of the initiative have been classified as good by the suitability of the tourism development plan (the Grand Design Document of Mataram Cultural Tourism and Detailed Engineering Design of Mataram Cultural Tourism) with the implementation in the field.
Question 10
Please describe how the initiative strives to work in an integrated manner within its institutional landscape – for example, how does the initiative work horizontally and/or vertically across different levels of government? (200 words maximum)
The main strength of this initiative is to be able to build continuous collaboration on all sides of the institutional landscape both horizontally and vertically in the governance system. Horizontally, by the support and coordination of relevant SKPDs such as the Department of Tourism and Culture of Yogyakarta Special Territory in the construction of sarpras (glamor camp and canopy bike trail) and the implementation of tourist attractions and cultural performances, the Financial and Asset Management Agency (BPKA) of Yogyakarta Special Territory related to coordination retribution and income tickets as well as BPHP Region VII Denpasar in financing sarpras construction and training. Vertically, there is support from the Governor, DIY Regional Secretariat officials and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in the central development of tourism initiatives. It also can increase the integration and involvement of various layers and communities in managing forests. The existence of contributions from the private sector also strengthens the initiative in the form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding assistance such as assistance with garbage transport vehicles and coffee shops from the Bank Pembangunan Daerah of Yogyakarta Special Territory and international standardized toilet construction assistance from PT. Angkasapura.
Question 11
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts emphasis on collaboration, engagement, partnerships, and inclusion. Please describe which stakeholders were engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating the initiative and how this engagement took place. (200 words maximum)
1. Legal bureau, organization bureau, BKPMD, Bappeda, BPKA, academics, NGOs and DPRD of Yogyakarta Special Territory - contribution to preparing Regional Regulation of Yogyakarta Special Territory Number 7 (2015) concerning Management of Production Forests and Protected Forests.
2. Legal bureau, organization bureau, BKPMD, Bappeda, BPKA, Tourism Agency - preparing Regulation of Governor of Yogyakarta Special Territory Number 84 (2016) which in 2018 was revised to Regulation of Governor of Yogyakarta Special Territory Number 5 (2018). Internal stakeholders of the Department of Environment and Forestry of Yogyakarta Special Territory - supporting verification, operationalization, preparation of cooperation agreements and monitoring of evaluation activities.
3. Village, Sub-Regency and Regency governments - supporting the existence of tourist activities in the managed area.
4. Community around the forest – carrying out the cooperation especially the rights and obligations in the natural tourism cooperation agreement.
5. Non-Government Organizations - supports the smooth operation of the use of natural tourism including BPD of Yogyakarta Special Territory, PT. Angkasapura and Cross Communities.
6. Balai KPH Yogyakarta, Bappeda and the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) – Balai KPH carries out the internal evaluation of the cooperation, while Bappeda and BPS carry out external evaluation particularly the community’s economic condition.
Question 12
Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
Lessons learned:
1. The involvement of the community around the forest is key to forest preservation, by providing optimal space and solutions for improving the community's economy.
2. This initiative is able to build integrated collaboration between the government, community and private sector so that it is ideal in encouraging program attainment, namely that forests continue to increase community welfare by providing decent jobs and creating an ideal partnership for mutually beneficial parties.
3. This program is able to change the perception of the community around the forest, initially that the forest is only an economic source to be exploited in the form of wood forest products and non-wood forest products, into the use of environmental services in the form of natural tourism that is able to lift the local community's economy.
The existence of policies in favor of the initiative’s implementation also supports the effectiveness of cooperation implementation, both in terms of the effectiveness of the bureaucracy and arrangement of schemes and procedures for cooperation.