The Story of the Durian Rambun Community: Restoring the Forest, Building New Hope

For the people of Durian Rambun Village, the forest is far more than a landscape of trees. It is their source of life a place where they obtain water, forest products, and a living environment that has been passed down through generations. The health of the forest is inseparable from the well-being and future of the community.

Like many forest areas, however, Rio Kemunyang Village Forest has faced significant challenges. Land clearing in several locations reduced vegetation cover and disrupted the area's ecological functions. In response, the community, together with the Rio Kemunyang Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD Rio Kemunyang), took concrete action by launching a forest rehabilitation program to help restore and protect the forest.

This rehabilitation initiative forms part of the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program implemented under Indonesia's Social Forestry scheme. Beyond restoring ecological functions, the program strengthens the role of local communities as forest stewards while creating opportunities to improve livelihoods through the development of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs).

Restoring Degraded Forest Areas

The rehabilitation efforts in Rio Kemunyang Village Forest were guided by systematic monitoring of forest conditions. In 2022, LPHD Rio Kemunyang and its partners conducted satellite imagery analysis, followed by field verification (ground checks). The assessment revealed that approximately 6 hectares of land within the village forest had been cleared.

These findings served as the basis for identifying priority rehabilitation sites, focusing on the protected zone. This area plays a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance, safeguarding water catchment functions, conserving biodiversity, and supporting the integrity of the surrounding forest landscape. By restoring degraded areas within the protected zone, the community aims to recover the forest's ecological functions while preventing further environmental degradation.

Planting Hope Back into the Forest

Durian Rambun Village Forest covers approximately 4,484 hectares, consisting of 2,516 hectares of protected forest and 1,968 hectares of rehabilitation areas. These two zones serve complementary purposes. The protected zone is dedicated to preserving forest integrity and ecosystem functions, while the rehabilitation zone provides space for communities to develop agroforestry systems that generate livelihoods while maintaining forest cover.

Working together, community members and LPHD Rio Kemunyang began replanting a diverse range of tree species selected for both their ecological benefits and economic value. Native forest trees such as meranti were planted to restore forest structure, while sugar palm (aren) helps regulate water systems and reduce erosion. At the same time, economically valuable species—including cinnamon, durian, duku, langsat, jengkol, and other NTFPs were introduced to provide sustainable sources of income in the future.

This approach reflects the principles of agroforestry, where forest trees are integrated with productive crops. Through this system, communities do not have to choose between conserving forests and earning a livelihood both objectives can be achieved together.

The Nursery: Where Forest Restoration Begins

Forest rehabilitation does not begin with planting trees in the field. One of LPHD Rio Kemunyang's first priorities was establishing a plant nursery, which serves as the center for producing and managing NTFP seedlings.

Community members participate in every stage of the process from collecting seeds and germinating them to raising seedlings and preparing young plants for transplantation into rehabilitation sites and community-managed lands.

Beyond ensuring a reliable supply of high-quality seedlings, the nursery has become an important learning center. Community members gain practical knowledge about nursery management, plant care, and selecting species suited to local conditions. Gradually, they are becoming not only beneficiaries of the forest but also knowledgeable managers with the skills and responsibility to ensure its long-term sustainability.

Phased Rehabilitation Across Two Sites

Rehabilitation activities have been carried out in two locations with distinct management objectives.

Site 1 is located within the protected zone, where restoration focuses on recovering degraded forest areas. In 2024, the community planted 2,614 seedlings, including cinnamon, jengkol, sugar palm, duku, bidaro, rubber, meranti, jernang, durian, and langsat. This increased to 2,864 seedlings in 2025, with maintenance continuing through 2026.

Site 2, located in the rehabilitation zone, focuses on developing agroforestry systems through the cultivation of cinnamon and coffee. Plantings increased from 1,500 trees in 2024 to 1,850 trees in 2025, reaching 2,650 trees in 2026.

The two sites demonstrate complementary rehabilitation strategies. In the protected zone, the priority is restoring forest vegetation to recover ecological functions. In the rehabilitation zone, communities are encouraged to cultivate productive species that improve household incomes while maintaining forest functions.

When Restoration Becomes a Community Movement

The success of rehabilitation depends not only on the number of trees planted but also on the commitment to care for them. In Durian Rambun Village, the NTFP Community Group has become the driving force behind restoration activities. Members are actively involved in seedling production, planting, maintenance, and managing forest products.

Their participation has transformed rehabilitation from a tree-planting project into a community movement that strengthens local ownership and responsibility for the forest.

The benefits of the PES program have also reached individual households. In 2025, 117 households each received four seedlings to plant on their own land. This initiative marks the beginning of household-level NTFP development, creating new economic opportunities while strengthening vegetation cover around the forest.

For the people of Durian Rambun, planting trees is only the beginning. Ensuring that the trees survive and thrive is equally important. To achieve this, LPHD and community members conduct regular monitoring of all rehabilitation plantings.

Whenever dead or poorly performing trees are identified, they are replaced through replanting (gap filling). In 2025, 220 cinnamon trees were replanted at Site 1, along with 30 additional trees planted along riverbanks. Approximately 350 cinnamon trees were also replanted at Site 2.

Simple but consistent activities, replacing dead seedlings, removing weeds, and monitoring tree growth are essential to the long-term success of rehabilitation. Through this ongoing process, the community has come to understand that restoring forests requires sustained commitment, not just one-time planting campaigns.

Protecting Forests, Building the Future

The rehabilitation story of Durian Rambun Village Forest demonstrates that restoring forests involves far more than planting thousands of trees. It is a long-term process that begins with understanding the causes of degradation, identifying priority areas through careful monitoring, establishing nurseries, planting appropriate species, and ensuring every tree has the opportunity to grow through continuous maintenance.

Through the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme, the community has been able to align conservation objectives with improved livelihoods. The development of non-timber forest products provides alternative sources of income while allowing the forest to continue performing its vital ecological functions as a carbon sink, a protector of water resources, and a habitat for diverse flora and fauna.

The experience of Durian Rambun shows that the true success of forest rehabilitation is measured not only by the number of trees planted but also by the growth of community awareness and long-term commitment to protecting the forests they manage. When communities become the leading actors in conservation, every tree that takes root does more than restore forest cover, it nurtures hope for a more sustainable future, where forests continue to thrive, and the people who depend on them flourish alongside them.