s:2618:"%T Are Village Forest licences for rural development or conservation? A case study from Jambi Province, Indonesia 
%A de Royer S 
%A Juita R 
%A Galudra, G. 
%A Pradhan U 
%X The Government of Indonesia has initiated a forest and agrarian reform process aiming to bring at least 30% of state forests under Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) schemes (10 million ha in 2015, 40 million ha to 2019). Additional elements of this reform process include the restitution of use rights in indigenous territories and resolution of conflict over forest land.Jambi has been seen as a successful province in terms of CBFM development. One of the schemes promoted is called Village Forest (Hutan Desa). A local conservation and development NGO based in Jambi, has supported local governments to extend the Village Forest scheme. It has been recognized as a mechanism to resolve land disputes and for communities to be ready for REDD+. It has also been expected to help increase forest sustainability and improve community welfare.Governmental Regulation PP.49/Menhut-II/2008 sets the legal foundation for the establishment of a Village Forest. The objective is the welfare and development of village communities. The official body supervising the application process is the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which receives formal proposals from the head of a district that have been drafted by an applicant village.Village Forest areas are state forests managed by a village institution through a management licence for a period of 35 years. The licence is allocated based on the administrative area of the village and can be granted over areas categorized as either ‘protection’ or ‘production’ state forests. In protection forest areas, permitted activities are limited to reforestation, harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), eco-tourism and protection efforts through REDD+ and rewards for environmental services’ schemes. Inproduction forests, the village community, besides collecting NTFPs, can harvest 50 m3 of timber per year for village use. A village that is granted the licence (Surat Keputusan) is required to establish a committee (Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa/LPHD) to manage it. The committee is also responsible for submitting detailed annual (RTHD) and long-term (RKHD) work plans.At the time of writing, more than 30 villages have been granted Village Forest licenses in Jambi Province. However, little research has been done into how villages manage after receiving a licence. This brief analyses the challenges and threats posed by the licence in three villages in Jambi. 
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