KPHP Poigar is one of the Model Forest Management Units established based on a Decree of the Minister of Forestry in 2009. The majority of its area is a production forest, with a small part being conservation forest and nature reserves. KPHP Poigar spans across two Regencies, Bolaang Mongondow and South Minahasa. As it crosses regencies, it falls under the administrative structure of the North Sulawesi Provincial Forestry Office. The KPH office is located in South Minahasa, near the coast.

According to the staff of KPHP Poigar, they have been working closely with several community groups living around the forest area. One of the staff members, named Mr. Berti, mentioned that they are currently focusing on development in two village groups, namely Torout Village and Tiniawangko Village, both located in South Minahasa. These two villages have become partners of KPHP Poigar in land rehabilitation activities within the production forest area. Yesterday, we only visited Tiniawangko. The field visit was brief, so we couldn’t reach the other village.

According to the residents of Tiniawangko, the origin of their village used to be part of the PTPN HGU area with rubber, cocoa, and coconut plantations. The village has around 348 households. It is situated near the forest, and the local community has long been practicing agroforestry in the area. This village is predominantly Christian. Various Easter decorations can be found in the village’s alleys. A church stands tall in the middle of the village.

In Tiniawangko, land use planning seems to be well implemented. Many clove gardens, rice fields, coconut, and corn fields owned by the community grow on the hillsides leading to the village. There are also several rice paddies on flat land. According to the local stories, cocoa cultivation in the village seems to be declining, while coconut trees are still abundant in the community’s land. Mr. Berti mentioned that with the community’s familiarity with agroforestry practices, the KPHP Poigar team believes that the local community will not engage in logging or other destructive activities. This is why the partnership approach has become a collaborative method between the community and KPHP Poigar.

Mr. Ferly, the Head of KPHP Poigar, hopes that these two villages will become locations for strengthening the community’s capacity, especially in efforts to support the legal status of these community groups, whether through the HKm scheme, partnership, or HTR. These two villages are frequently mentioned in recent presentations or informal meetings. According to Mr. Berti, there are 20-30 villages outside the state forest area, including these two villages. Mr. Berti added that the status of all villages has been issued based on the latest Decree of the Minister of Forestry.

However, according to the North Sulawesi Provincial BPKH, there are two villages that still have boundary issues with the state forest area, causing the outer boundaries of the area to be unresolved. These two villages with boundary conflicts are located in South Minahasa. In my opinion, we can consider these conflicted villages as another location to identify tenure conflicts in KPHP Poigar, in addition to Tiniawangko and Torout Villages where the partnership is being promoted. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to visit these conflicted villages yesterday.

Data regarding villages around the KPHP Poigar area can be accessed at the North Sulawesi Provincial Forestry Office. According to Mr. Berti, the office has complete data on all villages. KPHP Poigar has already mapped out the functional boundaries in its area. The KPHP Poigar staff mentioned that there are still active logging concessions within the KPHP area. The exact number needs to be verified due to conflicting information regarding permits in Bolaang Mongondow and South Minahasa.

During yesterday’s presentation, the Head of KPHP mentioned that 13,041 hectares are allocated for HK