TRADITIONS OF FOREST CONTROL IN JAVA - IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL FORESTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Ideally, social forestry programs and philosophies are intended to inv olve local people in the management and distribution of forest resourc es. In practice, the structures of social forestry programs are influe nced by political, economic, and cultural factors at national and loca l levels. When social forestry programs entail the reallocation of acc ess to forest resources on state lands, power relations are particular ly influential. As the case of the Java Social Forestry Program illust rates, powerful social forces that have historically shaped the nation al forest management agency and the social structures of forest-based villages have distorted social forestry ideals. When their traditional management tools are unable to curb deforestation and the social proc esses causing deforestation, forestry agencies may be persuaded to imp lement social forestry policies. The natures of changes in forestry pr ograms and the orientation of social forestry are inevitably subject t o local negotiation and renegotiation. The outcomes of negotiation, ho wever, are dependent on the structures of power relations both before and after implementation of new policies.