Shade-grown coffee under fruit trees in highland forests as part of an environmental village restoration

Abstract

Highland forest areas upstream of the Ciliwung watershed are part of the Bogor Regency. Land use change is a serious issue which needs to be addressed. Community Based Forest Management was initiated by the Forestry State Enterprise to benefit highland agroforestry. The program aims to reduce forest degradation and provide economic opportunities for communities around the forest to be involved in the management system. The program was implemented in Kampung Cibulao, Tugu Utara Village, Bogor Regency. It has involved the management of village forests by forest farmer groups since 2009. This study aims to determine the impacts of the program on improvement of the local economy and land productivity. Field observations and interviews with forest farmer groups were conducted to collect primary data. The aspects analysed were : 1) the economic impact ; and 2) the positive impact of the shade-grown coffee in supporting forest restoration and land conservation. The study indicates that there has been a significant revenue increase of between 63.0% from cherry production (IDR630,000/hectare/month) to 127.5% from green bean production (IDR 1,275,000/hectare/month) through shade-grown coffee management. Furthermore, the direct benefits of forest management can aid community understanding and encourage collective action in forest restoration and land conservation.