West Kalimantan industrial plantation scheme: twenty years on

Successful company-community partnerships are important for Indonesia’s aspirations to contribute to improving rural livelihoods through forestry. This study aimed to assess the livelihood impacts of a company-community forestry partnership that has now been operating for 20 years in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Using the sustainable livelihoods framework, we asked smallholder farmers about their perceptions of changes in employment opportunities, poverty reduction, community well-being, resilience, and environmental quality, since the establishment of the timber plantation scheme. Over 2 phases of face-to-face interviews, about 40% of respondents indicated that they had to live without essentials such as food, housing, or clothing in the 12 months preceding the study, due to lack of money. Being in a partnership with the company did not reduce the likelihood of respondents having to live without basic essentials. All respondents (including those not in partnerships) perceived small but statistically significant improvements to their household income, ability to access food, and overall household vulnerability since the beginning of the company plantation scheme. However, there was a high level of dissatisfaction amongst smallholder farmers who were in the partnership. The partnership arrangements need urgent revision to increase community satisfaction to ensure the partnership remains viable into the future.