Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, with 17,000 islands of varying sizes and elevations, from lowlands to very high mountains, stretching more than 5000 km eastward from Sabang in Aceh to Merauke in Papua. Although occupying only 1.3% of the world’s land area, Indonesia possesses the third-largest rainforest and the second-highest level of biodiversity, with very high species diversity and endemism. However, during the last two decades, Indonesia has been known as a country with a high level of deforestation, a producer of smoke from burning forests and land, and a producer of carbon emissions. The aim of this paper is to review the environmental history and the long process of Indonesian forest management towards achieving environmental sustainability and community welfare. To do this, we analyze the milestones of Indonesian forest management history, present and future challenges, and provide strategic recommendations toward a viable Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) system. Our review showed that the history of forestry management in Indonesia has evolved through a long process, especially related to contestation over the control of natural resources and supporting policies and regulations. During the process, many efforts have been applied to reduce the deforestation rate, such as a moratorium on permitting primary natural forest and peat land, land rehabilitation and soil conservation, environmental protection, and other significant regulations. Therefore, these efforts should be maintained and improved continuously in the future due to their significant positive impacts on a variety of forest areas toward the achievement of viable SFM. Finally, we conclude that the Indonesian government has struggled to formulate sustainable forest management policies that balance economic, ecological, and social needs, among others, through developing and implementing social forestry instruments, developing and implementing human resource capacity, increasing community literacy, strengthening forest governance by eliminating ambiguity and overlapping regulations, simplification of bureaucracy, revitalization of traditional wisdom, and fair law enforcement.

The Climate Village Program (CVP) is one of the national flagship programs of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia to support emission reduction and climate resilience. This paper examines the challenges and strategies for implementing the climate village program in the national and sub-national contexts. Data and information derived from discussions, seminars, focus group discussions, and interviews with local government officials in East Kalimantan were used to analyze the social learning of the CVP plus, including those on the policy process and its concept, integration program, and implementation. Sustainable strategies need to be addressed by integrating the CVP plus into the medium-term development plan of the region. The challenges and way forward of the CVP plus could be an excellent lesson for implementation in all provinces of Indonesia to support FOLU (Forest Other Land Use) Net Sinker 2030 and LTS-LCCR (Long-Term Strategy on Low Carbon and Climate Resilience) 2050. Key challenges and strategies for the CVP plus are highlighted in the planning and implementation phases, especially in improving climate resilience. This study also points out the steps of implementation of the CVP, development partners and their roles in relation to climate change and other socio-economic facts that make it difficult to engage real stakeholders in the implementation of the CVP plus.

Dipterocarpus tempehes, also known as keruing, is one of the groups within the Dipterocarpaceae family and is classified as an endangered species. Massive exploitation of keruing has led to a drastic decline in the population of this species. This study aims to analyze the effect of cleaning planting paths and spacing on the growth of keruing (D. tempehes) at the age of three years after planting. The research was conducted in the Semoi research plot, within the Special Purpose Forest Area of Samboja, Penajam Paser Utara Regency. Planting of D. tempehes involved land preparation and planting distance treatments. Land preparation techniques included cleaning 2 m and 4 m planting lines while planting distance treatments included planting at 10 m x 2.5 m and 10 m x 5 m. The results showed that treatment cleaning of 4 m planting lines with 10 m x 2.5 m planting distance) provided the best response, with an 84% survival rate. Treatment cleaning of 2 m planting lines with a planting distance of 10 m x 5 m and cleaning of 4 m planting lines with a planting distance of 10 m x 2.5 m gave the best response to increasing tree diameter. The best height growth response was in the treatment cleaning of 2 m planting lines with a planting distance of 10 m x 5 m. Both treatments can be applied when planting keruing in logged-over natural forests. Keywords: Silviculture, rehabilitation, unproductive natural forests, logged over areas, Dipterocarpus tempehes Abstrak Keruing (Dipterocarpus tempehes) merupakan salah satu kelompok dari famili Dipterocarpaceae yang termasuk dalam spesies yang terancam punah. Eksploitasi keruing yang masif membuat populasi jenis ini menurun drastis. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh perlakuan pembersihan jalur tanam dan jarak tanam terhadap pertumbuhan keruing (D. tempehes) pada umur tiga tahun setelah tanam. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada plot penelitian Semoi, di Kawasan Hutan Dengan Tujuan Khusus (KHDTK) Samboja, Kabupaten Penajam Paser Utara. Uji coba penanamannya dengan mengaplikasikan penyiapan lahan dan jarak tanam. Teknik penyiapan lahan terdiri atas pembersihan jalur tanam lebar 2 m dan 4 m, sedangkan perlakuan jarak tanam terdiri atas 10 m x 2,5 m dan 10 m x 5 m. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perlakuan pembersihan jalur 4 m dengan jarak tanam 10 m x 2,5 m memberikan respon paling terbaik dengan persentase hidup sebesar 84%. Perlakuan pembersihan jalur tanam 2 m dengan jarak tanam 10 m x 5 m dan perlakuan pembersihan jalur tanam 4 m dengan jarak tanam 10 m x 2,5 m memberikan respon terbaik terhadap pertambahan diameter pohon. Respon pertumbuhan tinggi yang terbaik adalah perlakuan pembersihan jalur tanam 2 m dengan jarak tanam 10 m x 5 m. Kedua perlakuan tersebut dapat diterapkan dalam penanaman keruing di hutan alam bekas tebangan. Kata kunci: Silvikultur, rehabilitasi, hutan alam tidak produktif, bekas tebangan, Dipterocarpus tempehes