Spatial Modeling of Community Forestry (HKm) Management Options in Malang Regency

Abstract

Community Forestry (HKm) is one of the Social Forestry scheme that prioritizes community welfare by providing direct legal access for local communities to manage forest areas. Effective Community Forestry management must be designed to simultaneously achieve conservation objectives and enhance community livelihoods. This study aims to formulate and map HKm management options in Malang Regency by integrating spatial modeling with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The research was conducted among seven farmer groups across three sub-districts, namely Ngantang, Singosari, and Sumbermanjing Wetan. The assessment of HKm management suitability employed both environmental and social criteria. The environmental indicators consisted of slope, elevation, rainfall, geology, and land use, while the social indicators included distance from roads, distance from rivers, distance from settlements, population density, and deforestation vulnerability. Community Forestry management options were analyzed within two management zones: the protection zone and the utilization zone. Scoring and weighting of the criteria and indicators were carried out using expert judgment. A spatial model was developed through a mathematical formulation using the Weighted Overlay method, combining the scores and weights of each criterion and indicator through the Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) approach. The results indicate that within the protection zone of both protected and production forests, Community Forestry management is predominantly represented by Option 2A, forest-based MPTS combined with understorey agricultural MPTS, with total areas of 814.92 ha and 116.93 ha, respectively. In the utilization zone of protected forests, the dominant management option is Option 2B, forest-based MPTS combined with understorey agricultural MPTS, with a total area of 1,576.10 ha. Meanwhile, in the utilization zone of production forests, the dominant option is Option 4A, forest timber species combined with understorey agricultural MPTS, with a total area of 358.85 ha.