Success story of agroforestry system for RHL: case study in Register 38 of Gunung Balak-Protected Forest, Lampung Province

Undoubtedly, the agroforestry system is the best land use strategy. Still, if it is linked to the success of land rehabilitation, it needs to be re-examined, especially in cases of rapid deforestation. The agroforestry in rehabilitation activities will contribute to the FOLU carbon net sink as one of the climate crisis mitigation programs to support government goals. This research was conducted at Register 38 of Gunung Balak using a qualitative approach through case studies. In-depth interviews were conducted with key informants to obtain data and information. The long struggle for restoring the protected forest area registers 38 of Gunung Balak through various policies ranging from coercion to persuasion, but facing various obstacles has made success very difficult. BPDAS Way Sekampung Way Seputih, in collaboration with the Forestry Service, has recently made breakthroughs in rehabilitating land. In recent years, new ideas on productive and sustainable agro-forestry patterns, with local communities as key stakeholders, are bringing economic, social, and environmental benefits to local communities. This success is expected to help pioneer forest restoration elsewhere.


Introduction
Forest usage by people living around forests has occurred throughout human evolution.There are around 1.6 billion forest-dependent rural communities [1].According to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 420 million hectares of global forest cover were destroyed in just three decades between 1990 and 2020 [2] due to state economic policies that required changing the forest allocation landscape.An estimated 80 percent of land-use changes are for the agricultural sector [3].
In Indonesia, damage to forest areas occurs not only in production forests but also in conservation forests and protected forests.The local community needs land to meet their family's food needs.This has occurred in almost all regions, including the protected forest area of Register 38 Gunung Balak in Lampung Province.
Efforts to restore the function of the Gunung Balak Register 38 protected forest have been going on for a long Time, with various policies ranging from coercive to persuasive.Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) activities have been carried out several times, but various obstacles have been encountered, so success is difficult.This condition is to the evaluation results of three decades of rehabilitation activities conducted by Nawir [4] that RHL projects had not had a significant positive

General Condition Register 38 Gunung Balak Protected Forest.
Protected Forest Area of Register 38 Gunung Balak based on the Decree of the Minister of Forestry No. SK.72/Menhut-II/2000 has an area of ± 22,292.5 Ha.Administratively it is located in East Lampung Regency, Lampung Province, with the Forest Managemen Unit (FMU) of Gunung Balak as the area stakeholder under the Lampung Provincial Forestry Service.The entire area of Register 38 functions as a catchment area for the Way Jepara dam to irrigate rice fields (irrigation) in several districts around the dam [13].
Register 38 area of Gunung Balak, most of its area has been occupied by the community into open land and utilized by the community for food crops to meet their daily needs.The types of plants cultivated are cassava, corn, bananas, and papayas.Access to Gunung Balak is generally easy because of the relatively sloping topography.In addition, it is supported by the availability of electricity and telecommunications networks that have reached rural areas so that a positive impact on economic activities becomes more accessible and smoother so that access to this area is open.
Register 38 of Gunung Balak has long experienced forest encroachment and large-scale occupation by the community, reaching its peak in 1998-1999.At that Time, most of the people who had been transmigrated returned to occupy their land, making it prone to conflict.With the conditions described above, it has been illustrated that the area of Register 38 is dominated by community use for agriculture, plantations, settlements, and other social facilities.Human actions change land use outside its functions and capabilities, increasing erosion rates, especially on open land without an environmentally sound land management system [14].
Communities acquire arable land in forest areas by direct clearing by their ancestors and have been passed down from generation to generation.Apart from the people living around the forest area, there are also people from outside.The outside community gets their cultivated land through compensation transactions for cultivated land with the local community.The average community controls 1-2 hectares of arable land in forest areas.
Economic facilities in the village consist of traditional markets, shops, and kiosks scattered in each village.Marketing of agricultural products is easy and smooth because, among the residents who work as middlemen, many itinerant traders transact buying agricultural products and food to be sold in regency cities or provincial cities.

Innovation RHL Register 38 Gunung Balak
Forest rehabilitation policies for forest restoration still need to be continuously pursued in the Register 38 area, considering its function as a protected forest area.In addition, many people rely on cultivating forest land due to many residents losing their livelihoods [15].Therefore, policies in the forestry sector need to be adapted to existing policies.Forests need to be revived as a source of livelihood for forest village communities [16].Agroforestry is an opportunity to overcome the barriers between agriculture and forestry as separate policy domains.The synergy of the two policies can develop from sectoral ego sacrifices that are recognized and accepted through the implementation framework of both into joint innovation spaces in land use [17].
Since 2019, the government has tried restoring the Gunung Balak Register 38 forest area with RHL and social forestry programs.This effort is expected to solve the local community's ecological and economic problems so that the hope for the forest to remain sustainable and for the community to prosper can be realized.However, the FMU as an organization at the site level faces several obstacles, including the limited availability of budget, human resources, and infrastructure.So that BPDAS Way Seputih Way Sekampung executor RHL activities.
In the context of the forestry and land sectors, the success of achieving FOLU net sinks indirectly requires synergy with the agricultural sector.Increasing the efficiency of land use accompanied by high productivity is the key to reducing pressure on opening new land from forest areas.In the future, land use must be optimal through technology transfer, such as developing high-yielding varieties and lowcarbon cultivation technologies that are adaptive to climate change.In addition, efforts to diversify crops, especially from non-timber forest product commodities (NTFPs), can positively reduce the need for land extensification and suppress the conversion of forest areas [9].
RHL program policies generally tend to be state-based (top-down) and community-based (bottomup)..This has caused the RHL program implemented so far to fail to address the natural causes of forest degradation [4].An alternative approach to environmental management is a participatory approach (Collaborative Management) that will allow for the exchange of ideas (sharing ideas), intertwining interests (knitting interest), and integration of work (synergy of action) and provide equal opportunities to local communities in implementing activities [18].Likewise, co-management is a pluralist approach to managing natural resources in a multi-stakeholder manner in various roles to achieve environmental conservation goals, sustainable use of natural resources, and fair distribution of benefits and responsibilities [19].[20] in RHL program through social development strategies to drive community/societybased social transformation processes [21].The implementation phase includes (1) preparing preconditions by opening a discussion room with stakeholders to find joint solutions in dealing with prolonged conflicts in the Gunung Balak 38 register area (2) Building commitment (Inclusivity) together where each party is responsible for their roles and responsibilities; (3) Field technical implementation related to location certainty, choice of plant species recommended by the community, namely local fruit types with superior seeds, provision of seedlings, maintenance, and assistance, etc. as stated in the regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry Number P.23 of 2021 concerning Implementation of RHL.Next, carry out technical, non-technical, and pre-condition preparations for conflict resolution over land, social engineering, strengthening social capital, institutions, etc. Preparing these pre-conditions is important in determining the successful implementation of forest rehabilitation policies [22].

Technical innovation
The technical innovation in the RHL program that is implemented is the selection of plant species and cropping patterns.So far, tree species for RHL are generally less profitable and less attractive to the public.A new approach using local tree species, and superior seed variants, namely the siger avocado, is the result of an innovation found by local community members, which follows community preferences and has been proven to produce quickly.The demand for the fruit market is quite high in Lampung, considering the relatively close distance to the capital city.The choice of plant species is very important because the community needs evidence and confidence that it will produce.Economic considerations are central to managing natural resources [23].Therefore, the most strategic choice in terms of conservation is to involve and benefit the community economically.There is no doubt about the choice of local species for the RHL program because they suit local climatic conditions [24].
In addition to choosing superior local seed types, paying attention to providing quality seeds is necessary.Training is carried out to ensure the supply of quality seeds with a maintained quantity.The process of providing seeds is handed over to the local community while still assisting.With the principle from the community for the community, the quality of the seed supply becomes more controlled.Another important thing is the availability of seeds at the right time during the rainy season.
The next innovation for the success of activities to restore degraded forests and land to be productive and restore environmental quality is the choice of cropping pattern.The agroforestry system was chosen because it has been recognized as a land management option that can contribute to people's incomes and food security, help improve the quality of environmental services and conserve biodiversity [25][26][27].The agroforestry system emphasizes the choice of multi-purpose tree species with more than one product or service use related to economic, social, and ecological aspects.It can be associated with other planted vegetation [28,29].The agroforestry system is focused on improving or developing the sustainability of socio-economic returns and also a sustainable form of fulfilling the landscape by the plantation of native tree species [8,29].
The community is highly interested in planting siger Avocado on their land because the siger avocado fruit has a high price.The high demand for siger avocados does not make it difficult for the community to make sales.The Avocado that will be harvested on average is already owned by collectors because collectors do not want to have trouble finding fruit during the main harvest season.
Communities already have arable land in the Register 38 area to plant avocados with an agroforestry cropping pattern.The avocado trees planted 400 per hectare consisting of 200 superior vegetative varieties of siger avocado seeds and 200 generative local avocado seedlings, as well as filler plants, namely the plants he has been used to cultivating so far, namely corn, cassava, papaya, and bananas. in Indonesia, agroforestry continues to grow based on local community needs, market access, social and cultural influences, and an understanding of forest management that has been passed down from generation to generation [30].

Social innovation
Social innovation is needed to support the success of RHL programs.Social innovation is a community empowerment activity to increase community capacity in order to be able to solve social problems/needs and encourage better utilization of resource assets, make improvements, and develop new products and services through management collaboration and entrepreneurship in order to improve people's welfare [10,31].
BPDAS WSS collaborated with the Forestry Service, Agriculture Service, village government, and communities interested in the RHL program, then facilitated the formation of forest farmer groups.They were building social interaction to create togetherness in society.Opening space for open discussion, mentoring, and training and making pilot demonstration plots for the community.The community had not accepted the RHL program due to the trauma of the conflict, but after seeing the trial demonstration plots, farmers were interested in joining the RHL program.This can be seen from the development of forest farmer groups from two forest farmer groups to ten groups.The area of RHL land expanded from 15 hectares in 2020 to 344.5 hectares in 2022.
Supply for superior seeds for the RHL program is carried out on a self-managed basis by the community, and the seeds are purchased by BPDAS WSS and then planted on arable land through Forest Farmer Group (KTH).The superior seeds used are findings from community leaders, namely Anto Abdul Muthalib that have been proven to produce super-quality avocados.In 2021 for the development of entrepreneurship, a cooperative is formed Mulyo Lestari Cooperative to market seeds and avocado harvests.The existence of cooperatives is expected to keep the prices of seeds and fruit stable.Currently, the number of members of the Mulyo Lestari Cooperative has reached 56 participants.
Social innovation The RHL program from BPDAS has resulted in social change in the community and has awakened the community's social capital.It is hoped that it can slowly erode the conflicts so far.Social change in the community has met the criteria of social innovation where social innovation that is formed in the community can overcome social problems that have occurred so far, create new relationships between the community and the government, increase community capacity in producing quality superior seeds and improve community welfare create sustainability both in economic and ecological aspects.Register 38 Gunung Balak 3.5.1.Economy.Prolonged tenurial disputes have affected community socioeconomic life.The people near the forest simply seek land to survive due to uncertainty about their homes and livelihood.After almost three years, the RHL program with superior native tree species is improving.Traditional agricultural communities learned about agroforestry systems for the RHL program and how to make better seeds, especially siger avocado seeds.Farmers are interested in RHL because they can choose plants based on community preferences and market potential.They can breed seeds to match market need.

Implications for the success of RHL in
The community started taking better care of arable land and plants to see improved returns.The community began to meet intensely and debate sharing knowledge that would improve farmer household income and the village economy.RHL has created new jobs by breeding avocado plant nurseries and providing field study facilities for students, farmer organizations, agencies, and the public [21].
The composition of arable land ownership is quite varied; from this research, it is known that, on average, each farmer cultivates 1.4 hectares, which is generally obtained from inheritance and buying other people's cultivated land.This shows that the buying and selling of land in Register 38 has been going on since then, even though there is no proof of ownership.The transfer price of arable land is determined based on an agreement between the two parties (seller and buyer).The management of arable land from the past until now also often changes depending on market demand, which is currently in great demand.
The farmers divide their crop patterns into a gradation model in which some plants produce longterm, medium-term, and short-term (daily).Implementing this pattern is hoped that the household's economic needs can be fulfilled daily, monthly, and seasonal.The selected combination of plants is avocado as a long-term staple crop, combined with corn as a medium-term crop.Meanwhile, daily or weekly producing plants are papaya or banana.Farmers also choose to plant coconut, cassava, areca nut as the outer boundary of the land marker and also produce daily/weekly produce.Tenant farmers sometimes add to their agroforestry combination with understorey crops such as chilies or ginger, or grass forage.Anyway, avocado plants are suitable for mixing with other types of plants.
Siger avocado nursery business in Forest Group Farmer (KTH) Giri Mulyo and Gunung Mas produced ± 700 thousand seedlings in 2022.Siger avocado seeds will be sold at IDR 25000 per stem.Meanwhile, the selling price of Siger avocados is between Rp. 27000-32000 per kg.In terms of particular financial feasibility only for avocado plants which can be seen from the commonly used investment criteria, namely net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and payback period [12].The calculation per hectare, After five years, assuming the avocado has fruit and is producing regularly, it is expected that the cash flow that occurs during the first five years is as shown in the table 1.

Table 1. Cash flow within 5 years for avocado farming (1 Ha).
a Source: Primary data (processed) Considering the initial investment costs in labor costs and avocado seeds.Assuming there is no land rent because of the state forest, the fixed costs incurred per year are maintenance for 12 working days, purchasing fertilizer, and three tools for hoes, machetes, and sickles.Considering inflation of 5% per year and an increase in avocado production of 10% starting from the initial production in the third year, then in the fifth year, an income from selling avocados of Rp. 266,319,900, -and expenses in the fifth year of Rp. 25270375, -so the expected net profit in the fifth year is Rp.241,049,525,- The project is feasible if the B/C ratio is more than one ( > 1) [32].Within three years of harvest (3rd, 4th, and 5th year), a gross profit of Rp. 532,332,026,-per hectare.The net profit earned was Rp.241,049,525,-per hectare, with an NPV value of Rp. 218,586,965,-which means it has a positive value, then this RHL activity is feasible to carry out.This is supported by the BCR value > 1, which is 11.6.

Cah Flow
Year Another potential that can be developed from the RHL program in the Gunung Balak area to improve the livelihoods of the local community is the development of ecotourism, and this contributes to forest conservation efforts because the community is more concerned about the existence of tree stands which are the main object of ecotourism [33].Based on information obtained through interviews with RHL land cultivators, there are several discourses regarding the development of agro-ecotourism in Gunung Balak with the development of various culinary products from local fruit production and environmental education programs such as planting strategies on damaged land, avocado cultivation, making superior seeds, etc.
3.5.2.Social.Many people have followed planting in their gardens, starting with a community leader, Mr. Anto, who succeeded in developing a local avocado tree into a superior tree.However, not all have land and can afford to buy the seeds.BPDAS WSS used this moment to introduce the agroforestry cropping pattern with the main avocado plant as a demonstration plot of the RHL program.Initially, there was little response from cultivators due to the trauma of repeated conflicts.In addition, changing the habit of planting food crops such as rice, corn, and cassava for years into an agroforestry cropping pattern is not easy.This requires a social approach with intense communication with the cultivators [34].
The prolonged conflict caused the community to perceive the government as an enemy, so the RHL program repeatedly failed.The results of interviews with key informants revealed that there had been a change in perception, so many communities participated in RHL activities.The community's perception of land rehabilitation using superior seeds is generally good.The community feels that it is very helpful in obtaining the seeds and is satisfied with the quality of avocado seeds because the RHL tree species are in accordance with the community's wishes.In addition, the community has the expertise to make quality seeds and become members of the cooperative for marketing.
The RHL program has brought about changes not only in farming systems and perceptions but also changes in social relations.Relationships with government agencies, especially the forestry institution, have become harmonious where previously they were enemies.It was expressed by respondents that the increasing public interest in participating in the RHL program.The KTH institution has created social capita [35], increasing togetherness, cooperation, knowledge/information, and more diligence in coming to the garden to look after plants.RHL program has attracted the younger generation's interest in getting involved in the agricultural sector.
Community participation dramatically determines the success of the RHL program.The community must be the main component driving forest conservation because they feel the most and have the most interest, especially in the long term.The success of the high-yielding seed-based RHL program is related to crop techniques in the field and how to manage the surrounding community [10,11] With good public perception, knowledge, and acceptance of the RHL program based on superior seeds, it is hoped that RHL can contribute more broadly, including protecting natural water sources, increasing land productivity, empowering communities, supporting food security, and improving the national economy.

Ecology.
The primary foundation of the RHL scheme must accommodate the ecological, social, and economic sectors.Agroforestry is the model of choice for land management, which can simultaneously fulfill RHL efforts [36,37].Trees protect and improve soil conditions in agroforestry systems and contribute to long-term land productivity [17,28].Trees increase water infiltration, reduce erosion, improve soil structure and fertility, and absorb carbon [38].
Selecting tree species and cropping patterns is essential before starting an agroforestry system.Some tree species can be easily characterized as multi-functional trees through their various roles and environmental products.Tree stands in agroforestry systems are believed to make abandoned and degraded land productive and restore environmental quality However, the RHL program with woody tree species has experienced many failures because the community does not like the selected types of trees.For this reason, it is essential to compromise with farmers who are RHL actors.RHL program based on local superior local tree species, namely siger avocados with an agroforestry system, is the right choice.Based on the results of interviews, the percentage of plant growth was more than 80 percent, and the death of seedlings during planting was only around 10%.Its shows that the plants have been well cared for.On marginal lands, planting tree species, when integrated with crops, will increase land productivity and sustainability [7,39].In theory, using tree and shrub species will increase organic matter production, maintain soil fertility, reduce erosion, and form a better microclimate [39].
Avocado trees provide the same ecological function as woody plants in greening activities.Based on the results of observations in the field, it can be seen that most of the RHL land has combined three or more plants, the more various types of plants there are, the greater the chance for the location to have a diversity of species of flora and fauna [40,41].Agroforestry systems by planting several trees have been recognized as a land management option that can contribute to people's incomes, food security, and conservation of biodiversity and environmental service [26,37,42].
In climate regulation, trees play an essential role through the capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) [28,43], oxygen production, and providing a cooling effect (microclimate) on the local environment [37,44].There are even some farmers who often use the land for refreshing facilities.This ecological process is one of the reasons that agroforestry systems are a sustainable and environmentally friendly land use option that can help conserve and restore degraded landscapes while providing people with food and other resources, promising options for efficient and sustainable land and water.The presence of woody trees in a landscape is a crucial component in carrying out the function of carbon sequestration.The agroforestry pattern is the meeting point between the function of the existence of timber plants and agriculture, compared to monoculture crops or agricultural land [7].The most famous agroforestry system is traditional/mixed gardening practices of various multipurpose plants that provide more benefits for local communities, and crop diversification provides economic and environmental benefits [45].
The RHL program with an agroforestry system can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).In addition, agroforestry systems can encourage more sustainable land management practices, contributing to reducing GHG emissions [7].The success of efforts to increase carbon stocks will directly impact reducing emissions and is a significant action to support the FOLU net sink target in the global climate action agenda.Efforts to increase carbon stocks through RHL with agroforestry in protected areas register 38, apart from restoring the production function, are also restoring the function of water management and environmental services to support economic activities in other sectors.
Based on The Lampung Provincial Government Regulation through the local Forestry Service, the protected forest Register 38 of Gunung Balak is state land and protected forest whose function is to prevent erosion, absorb groundwater and balance the surrounding ecosystem.Under its function, the community's utilization and management must follow the scheme and rules for forest utilization regulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.Forest utilization is regulated under the Social Forestry program scheme, the government will permit the community to manage the Register 38 area, and it is hoped that the community will be coordinated and avoid prolonged conflicts in the future.

Closing
The community interest in the RHL program is due to the technical and social innovation approach carried out by BPDAS WSS.Acceptance of the RHL program by the community promises to provide economic benefits in the form of increasing community income and welfare.In addition, the successful planting of tree species will have a positive impact on improving environmental services, including contributing to land productivity, climate regulation, and carbon sequestration in the long term.
The future challenge to support the success of the RHL program lies in the extent to which the Government, in this case, the relevant agencies, can accommodate the aspirations of the community with a persuasive approach that seeks to build a conducive strategic environment so that RHL activities have a positive social, economic and ecological impact.
BPDAS WSS uses this collaborative management approach to implement the RHL program in Register 38 Gunung Balak.The principle of collaborative management is to carry out partnerships and participation