Development communication for community empowerment and social change
Lessons learned from the implementation of the social forestry program in Indonesia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8134233 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wiyono Wiyono (0000-0002-8472-8917, Universitas Gadjah Mada, corresponding author), Subejo Subejo (0000-0003-3991-6596, Universitas Gadjah Mada), Endang Sulastri (0000-0003-3101-3034, Doctoral Program of Extension and Development Communication, Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-6 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-24 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Asian Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1683-478X • E-ISSN: 2168-4227 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1683478x.2026.2630121 |
| OpenAlex | W7133835423 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
This article draws on key findings from my doctoral dissertation, which investigates development communication strategies in relation to community empowerment and social change within the implementation of the social forestry program in Gunungkidul Regency, the special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The research involved 69 key informants and two focus-group discussions involving forest farmer groups. Data were analyzed using a descriptive qualitative approach. The findings demonstrated that the social forestry program is an inherently multistakeholder initiative involving local communities, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, academics, donor institutions, financial institutions, and private-sector actors. The program employs dialogic communication strategies to foster collective action. Community empowerment is implemented at two distinct levels: group level and community level. At the group level, empowerment activities are focused on strengthening institutional capacity, forest area management, and the forest-based businesses of Forest Farmer Group. At the community level, empowerment activities concentrate on the development of partnership-based collaboration in timber marketing and certification. The findings indicate that social forestry has contributed to significant social change across individual farmers, farmer organizations, and forest-based communities. The effectiveness of the social forestry program depends on the role of change agents in facilitating community engagement throughout all stages of the program.
Community development · Community forestry · Community organization · Empowerment · Social change · Social engagement · Community and Sustainable Development · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Public Administration in Developing Nations
| Highly cited | No |
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