Socio-ecological perspective on forest encroachment and community adaptation in Mount Silanu, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Mahmud M, Maulany RI, Paembonan SA, Millang S, Asja MA, Muchtar A. 2026. Socio-ecological perspective on forest encroachment and community adaptation in Mount Silanu, Indonesia. Asian J For 10 (1): r100117. https://doi.org/10.13057/asianjfor/r100117. Forest encroachment poses a serious threat to ecological integrity and social stability in Indonesia's forest-edge landscapes, where livelihood dependence, tenure ambiguity, and weak governance intersect. This study examines forest encroachment dynamics and community adaptation strategies in Mount Silanu, South Sulawesi, a forest-edge area characterized by the overlap of community-managed forests (HKm), protected forest zones, and agricultural frontiers. This study draws on 32 semi-structured interviews and the focus group discussions conducted across three forest-edge villages, analyzed using NVivo-assisted thematic coding integrated with the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impacts-Responses (DPSIR) framework. The coded qualitative findings indicate that socio-economic inequality, insecure or contested tenure, limited livelihood alternatives, and long-standing dependence on forest resources function as key drivers that translate into pressures such as agricultural plot clearing, informal forest product extraction, and small-scale infrastructure expansion. Participants consistently reported ecological state changes, including declining tree cover, forest fragmentation, and perceived declines in locally valued species, alongside impacts on disaster vulnerability and boundary-related conflicts. Community responses clustered into three empirically derived adaptation typologies: Collective stewardship (e.g., mixed cropping and controlled grazing), mixed reactive–survival strategies (short-term coping combined with livelihood diversification), and individual exploitative strategies (monoculture intensification and unilateral land expansion). Overall, the findings highlight forest-edge communities as active agents responding to structural constraints, rather than isolated rule violators. The study underscores the importance of tenure-sensitive and participatory co-management approaches to mitigate encroachment while supporting ecological resilience and locally viable livelihoods.

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