Community Voices on the Future of Forests at the Gerbang Barito REDD+ Project in Indonesia

“What are your hopes from protecting this forest?”

This simple question can open up profound conversations.

In many villages, meetings about protecting forests with other project developers can feel like the business of outsiders, leaving community voices barely heard. There is an agenda, there are materials, and people are asked to agree by signing a document.

The workshop organized by Wildlife Works together with communities from Batilap and Batampang Villages told a different story. Held at Madrasah Diniyah Takmiliyah (MDT) Ibnul Amin in Batampang on 16–17 December 2025, the Social and Biodiversity Impact Assessment (SBIA) was carried out through a participatory workshop process. Rather than taking place behind closed doors, the process involved more than 70 participants, including 33 women and 45 men.

Participants came from a wide range of backgrounds, including Village Forest Management (LPHD), representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, village authorities, women’s groups, youth, and other community leaders.

The purpose of SBIA is simple, yet important. Through open discussions, communities are invited to identify the most pressing social and environmental issues, imagine the risks that might arise if the project were not implemented, and develop a Theory of Change, or a pathway for change, grounded in their own perspectives. In this way, the direction of the Gerbang Barito REDD+ project grows out of a shared understanding of everyday life in the village.

During the workshop, facilitators began with a single question rooted in the community’s lived experience.

“What are your hopes from protecting this forest?”

That simple question opened a long conversation.

To help explore these hopes, the Wildlife Works team used a method known as the problem-solution tree. Through a simple tree-shaped visual, participants were invited to see the connections between their hopes, the challenges they face, and the impacts they experience in daily life. This approach helped structure the discussion without making it feel complicated.

Once the hopes were written down, the discussion did not stop there. Using the tree visual, participants were guided to the next step: identifying the problems that could prevent those hopes from being realized. The conversation moved toward tracing the underlying causes people experience on the ground, before beginning to think together about possible actions.

“This way, it really feels like our opinions are heard. What we say is written down and included in the discussion,” said Ibu Rista, who was joining a Wildlife Works activity for the first time.

For Jainudin from Batilap Village, the process opened up a different kind of discussion space. “This is my first time joining a discussion like this. We are invited to look for the root of the problems, not just listen to presentations,” he said.

SBIA does more than collect data. It helps communities revisit the relationship between forests, livelihoods, and well-being. People are no longer just observers, they are active participants shaping the direction of their futures.

On the first day, some participants still looked uncertain. A few whispered quietly to one another while looking at walls gradually filling with colorful notes and papers.

Baca artikel ini jika ingin tahu lebih lengkap mengenai lokakarya SBIA yang pernah dilakukan oleh Wildlife Works.

For some participants, the discussion method felt very different from previous meetings. It took time to understand the process, but gradually people began to follow the flow.

This experience was also shared by those who were joining a participatory discussion for the first time.

“This is my first time attending an activity like this. But after asking others, I started to understand,” said Ibu Sihan, a participant from Batampang Village.

The next session created space for participants to raise the issues they felt were most important. The discussion flowed openly, with participants responding to one another. Facilitators wrote down every input without filtering or removing any. Every voice was recorded, then discussed together.

On the second day, the discussion process continued in a more structured way. All participants were divided into five groups to discuss different themes: forest fires, logging, health and education, institutions, and economy.

Accompanied by facilitators and co-facilitators from Wildlife Works, participants engaged in deeper discussions within their respective groups. They mapped out problems while also identifying supporting factors related to each issue. From this process, each group developed a list of priority activities considered capable of addressing the challenges they face.

At the end of the day, each group presented its discussion results through a group representative. Participants from other groups were given space to ask questions, offer feedback, and respond to the ideas presented.

This is where the importance of SBIA for Wildlife Works becomes clear. For village communities, the process also serves as a shared learning space. “Activities like this are important so people better understand village forests,” said Jainudin. “Many still have misconceptions. They think we are not allowed to enter the forest, or that the forest is being sold, which is not true.”

This process ensures that communities help determine the direction of the project, and is one of many ways the project works to ensure community members know their rights. Decisions about forests do not stop at signatures. They emerge from conversations, from small debates, and from the courage to speak up.

The SBIA workshop in Batampang Village has not resolved all issues. Further discussions and decisions are still needed. Yet one change is already visible. Slowly, the future of the forest is being discussed by the people who live closest to it. And perhaps, that is the most important first step of all. As Jainudin put it, “It’s tiring, but at least we are doing it together.”

Photos taken by: Dewi Ningsih (Batampang Village) and Wildlife Works Indonesia Team