Private forest management in narrow land

Abstract

Palmolina M. 2015. Private forest management in narrow land. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 1: 732-737. The phenomenon of the increase in the forest area in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta need to be considered because had an impact on farmer’s lives. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of the conversion of agricultural land into private/community forest from the ethnographic point of view. The research was carried out in Menoreh Hills area, Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta, precisely at Hargorejo’s Village. The underlying reason for choosing Hargorejo Village are: (i) the phenomenon of change of land use patterns by farmers in this village, and (ii) Hargorejo Village was in the highest position in the line of poverty. Data was collected from January to June 2013 through interviews with 50 members of a farmer group. The majority of respondents gender were male (98%) with an advanced age over 50 years (68%), and an elementary education/equivalent (62%). People in Hargorejo Village started doing a land management with the timber plants in 1980s with an economic motivation to get the advantage from the sale of timber and an ecological motivation to obtain the cool climate and the groundwater supplies more. The dominant type of timber plants developed were wood plants (teak, mahogany, acacia), fruit crops (banana, jackfruit), food crops (cassava, corn, soybean, peanut) and herbs (ginger, turmeric, java turmeric). The results of this research was the tendency of farmers who continuously changed the original narrow area of agricultural land into private forests (50-100% of the owned land area) without being followed by a knowledge of private forest management causing the product of private forest was not different with the results of the farming, even threatening their food security. In addition, the intervention on the land was on the wane, therefore encouraged young people to work outside the village. The subsequent impact feared the private forest are not sustainable.