PERHUTANAN SOSIAL : PROYEK ATAU GERAKAN ?
OLEH : ENTANG SASTRAATMADJA
Many say, the Social Forestry Program has now emerged as an issue that is often discussed by various parties, due to the full support of President Jokowi to develop it. Without the partisanship of the number 1 person in this country, perhaps Social Forestry will not be in the forefront as it is now.
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry, especially the Directorate General of PSKL, will not necessarily look serious in handling it. Social Forestry looks sexy because the implementation of the program is monitored directly by President Jokowi. The critical note is whether a new program will be seriously worked on and must be monitored directly by a Head of State?
The answer is firm: no. Whatever policies are born and programs are rolled out, they should be implemented with full sincerity and responsibility. We never want to mess with programs or activities that have been hammered into the APBN or APBD.
Therefore, it is a big mistake if there are still certain elements in the Government who do not really implement the programs that have been determined through the existing laws and regulations. Directly or indirectly monitored by the President, whose name the program should be carried out with honor and not be made as a mere lapse of obligation.
Usually a government policy, a program that is rolled out, will generally be packaged in the form of a project. Projects are limited by a certain period of time. The budget is pegged as stated in the APBN or APBD. Then the Project Leader will be appointed. The activity will end when the project time is over.
The question is whether the Social Forestry Program is packaged in a project? The answer: yes. Because, if we look at the experience that has taken place so far, the Social Forestry Program, the budgeting is in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The budget ceiling has been determined, so that in its implementation it is necessary to follow the project principles.
Actually, there is nothing wrong with programs packaged in the form of projects. It’s legal to do that. The problem is, in its implementation, it turns out that there is deviant behavior carried out by project implementers. Not infrequently we hear that there are project implementers who ask for a percentage of the value of the existing project. Or there is also something to ask the winner of the project.
Those are the tweets that we often hear from the experience of implementing development programs packaged in the form of projects. Now, will the Social Forestry Program be maintained in the form of a project or will it be directed to a hybrid pattern? This means, apart from being prepared through a quality project pattern, it is also necessary to develop a movement package.
The pattern of important Projects and Movements is knitted in such a way so that it becomes a technocratic and participatory-based blend. The pattern of movement definitely demands the involvement of stakeholders intensely. The involvement of the government, the business world, academia, the community, and the media is the main requirement to realize a quality Social Forestry program.
The name of the movement is not limited by a certain period of time as in the case of a project. Movement can run around the clock as long as society needs it. The movement cannot be stopped as long as society needs it. That is the reason why many parties think that the Social Forestry program will be more relevant to its objectives if it is packaged in the form of a movement.
Social Forestry should still be used as a policy choice when this nation wants to immediately eliminate the misery that plagues most of the people around forest villages. We must have faith, the Social Forestry program is an activity that can accelerate the creation of prosperity. Social Forestry is an effective medicine to heal people who have been trapped in a disease of endless poverty.
President Jokowi’s administration will end in 2024. We still have about three years left before a new President is elected. The question is whether if President Jokowi steps down, the Social Forestry program will also disband by itself? It shouldn’t. Because the Social Forestry program is not determined only by the figure of Pa Jokowi. Whoever becomes the President of this country, should still support the Social Forestry program.
For this reason, the Social Forestry program is not sufficiently covered by the 5-year Medium-Term Development Plan but will be even more effective if it is covered by the 25-year Long-Term Development Plan. If the Social Forestry program has been embedded in the RPJP, then every President who is mandated by the people to lead his beloved nation and country is asked with common sense to implement the Social Forestry program consciously and without coercion.
The guarantee of the Social Forestry program will not stop after President Jokowi steps down, of course this needs to be strengthened by the regulations that have been used to determine the RPJP. This guarantee is really needed, considering that there has been an impression that every time the President changes, the policies change. What was produced by the previous government needs to be replaced. The new government must always look different from the previous one.
The question of whether the Social Forestry program is better packaged in a project or a movement seems to have been answered with what has been described above. These two patterns, in fact, can be used as long as the underlying methods can be implemented properly. In fact, what we often hear is that there are developments in the Social Forestry program that are not in line with the agreed principles of Social Forestry. Hopefully we will fix it soon. (AUTHOR, DAILY CHAIRMAN DPD HKTI WEST JAVA).