Rehabilitation of Forest Areas and Development of Collective Production Models in Mantikole Village Forest

The Mantikole Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD) is located in Mantikole Village, Dolo Barat District, Sigi Regency, Central Sulawesi. This community was established with the aim of managing village forests sustainably, while improving the economic welfare of village communities. Although the management rights for 531 hectares of village forest in Mantikole Village have been granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in 2021, the Mantikole LPHD still faces various limitations in maximizing area management.

With the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding, LPHD Mantikole, assisted by the Central Sulawesi Red and White Foundation (YMP), began to focus its efforts on rehabilitating forest areas and building a collective economic model based on ecotourism and agroforestry. The forest area rehabilitation process began with participatory mapping of forest resources involving LPHD members and local communities. Mapping not only identifies forest potential, but also helps long-term planning for sustainable forest area management.

Forest area rehabilitation was carried out by LPHD Mantikole by planting 633 tree seedlings in the Ompo River sub-watershed (DAS) of the Mantikole Village Forest area, including important tree species such as nantu, petai, jengkol, and jackfruit. This activity aims to restore the degraded forest ecosystem, while creating economic potential through Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).

Rehabilitation of forest areas by planting tree seedlings can improve and maintain the sustainability of water and soil because; it strengthens the structure & increases soil fertility, increases soil organic content, controls erosion, increases water absorption, and enriches nutrients such as nitrogen. In addition, tree planting is also expected to maintain the sustainability of the water system in Mantikole village.

In addition to forest area rehabilitation, LPHD Mantikole also focuses on the development of collective production models. on KUPS Agroforestry and KUPS Environmental Services. KUPS Agroforestry focuses on the development of productive plants under forest tree stands, such as processing fruit plants and non-timber forest products. While KUPS Environmental Services aims to develop ecotourism in village forest areas, by utilizing the natural beauty and potential of natural tourism such as waterfalls and natural forests. These two business groups are expected to become pillars of community-based village economic development.

With the agreement of the community, the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding is also used for organizational management training for LPHD members. The training aims to increase the capacity of members in managing organizations and collective businesses, so that forest management and business activities can run well and efficiently. In addition, funds are also used for regular forest patrols to protect the area from illegal encroachment activities that have the potential to damage the forest.

This program not only benefits LPHD Mantikole members, but also all 1.278 people of Mantikole Village. With the development of agroforestry and ecotourism, it is hoped that it will open up new job opportunities for villagers. Better forest management will have a long-term impact in preserving nature and reducing the risk of environmental disasters such as floods and landslides.

LPHD Mantikole shows that forest management can not only preserve nature, but also create sustainable livelihoods for local communities. The development of a collective production model that is applied provides new economic opportunities while strengthening community independence in managing livelihoods. Through forest area rehabilitation and forest conservation efforts, LPHD Mantikole also contributes to maintaining forest cover as a carbon sink and ecosystem buffer. The agroforestry practices they develop also support a more environmentally friendly agricultural system, reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers, and help maintain biodiversity in forest areas.