Ecological Sustainability and Farmer Welfare: Mapping of Management Areas and Agroforestry by Gapoktan Argapura

Argapura Farmers Group Association (Gapoktan) is a farmer community located in Karang Bayan Village, Lingsar District, West Lombok. Gapoktan Argapura consists of several farmer groups that focus on managing forest areas based on social forestry. Most community members rely on non-timber forest products as their main source of livelihood, such as durian, coffee, avocado, and chocolate.

Gapoktan Argapura, which has been assisted by Walhi NTB since 2021, has been increasingly active in fighting for forest land management rights through the Community Forestry scheme in recent years. In September 2023, as many as 430 heads of families (including members of Gapoktan Argapura) in Karang Bayan Village (NTB), had applied for a forest area management permit in the Jangkok Resort area of ​​the West Rinjani Forest Management Unit (KPH).

As part of the effort to encourage the submission, Gapoktan Argapura with the support of the Nusantara Fund Direct Funding initiated a program for mapping community-managed areas, recording subjects and objects of forest management permits, and conducting audiences with policy makers. The series of activities not only encourage efforts for legal management rights that have been submitted but also to strengthen Gapoktan Argapura in efforts to manage forests sustainably. In the process, Gapoktan Argapura was assisted by WALHI NTB and the local government, such as the Department of Environment and Forestry (DLHK) and the West Rinjani Forest Management Unit (KPH).

The activity began with mapping an area of ​​174 hectares managed collectively by 274 heads of families. Each cultivated land was mapped in detail to document the existing economic potential, such as durian, coffee, avocado, and chocolate. Plot maps and data on potential Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) were submitted to fulfill the requirements for the issuance of the IUP HKm permit submitted since September 2023 and became the basis for preparing the management plan and collective production model of the Argapura Gapoktan. As a result, Gapoktan succeeded in obtaining approval for the management of community forests covering an area of ​​187 hectares of IUP HKm permits, 13 hectares larger than the initial plan.

Not stopping, Gapoktan Argapura continued with ecological rehabilitation and restoration efforts by planting an additional 1.740 avocado seedlings. The seedlings were planted using the agroforestry method, combining woody plants and other agricultural crops in one area. Agroforestry-based management not only improves the economic welfare of the community but also functions as a long-term forest conservation effort.

With detailed mapping and data on potential and legal management permits, Gapoktan Argapura now has a stronger foundation to continue collective management in the agroforestry sector. Through mapping, Gapoktan Argapura can also understand land distribution, resource potential, and ecosystem conditions more clearly, making it possible to implement appropriate and sustainable collective management strategies. This program not only has a direct impact on 274 heads of families who are members of Gapoktan Argapura who manage the land, but also provides benefits for 1.124 of their family members.