Land uses that cause deforestation, fires and peatland degradation are the primary cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Indonesia. Historically, large-scale commercial land uses, such as logging, plantations for pulp and paper, and plantation crops, such as oil palm, have been responsible for the majority of emissions and degradation. Increasingly, however, smallholders have both the rights and opportunities for cultivating more land. For the Indonesian government to meet its emission reduction targets, it needs to ensure the sustainability of smallholder farming through carefully targeted policies, including regulations and incentives.

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The Village Fund, which is an annual national intergovernmental fiscal transfer to villages with the aim of fostering locally driven development, could also be used to support sustainable practices among smallholders. In this study, we explore how the Village Fund could be used for financing tree planting. We do this by analyzing the experience of a previous program focused on providing funding to villages that also had a component focused on supporting environmental activities between 2008 and 2012. The focus of the funding in the case study villages (in Southeast Sulawesi Province) was on small-scale community activities, including tree planting. We surveyed respondents from 38 villages and three administrative villages in seven districts. about their recollections and perceptions of the program.

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We also interviewed village heads about the Village Fund, and their perceptions and understanding of the fund. The results indicate that communities prefer environmentally sustainable activities that provide direct economic benefits. When communities are allowed to choose amongst a broader range of activities, including infrastructure, they are most likely to choose activities that provide the clearest benefits to the entire community. In the context of the Village Fund, communities are unlikely to prefer conservation and reforestation as the benefits to the community are either unclear or undervalued. We argue that although the Village Fund could be used for promoting conservation and reforestation, several improvements to the operation of the Fund would be needed to support and incentivize these activities

Penggunaan lahan yang menyebabkan deforestasi, kebakaran, dan degradasi lahan gambut merupakan penyebab utama emisi gas rumah kaca di Indonesia. Secara historis, penggunaan lahan komersial berskala besar seperti pembukaan hutan, industri kertas (pulp and paper) dan tanaman perkebunan, seperti kelapa sawit, telah bertanggung jawab atas sebagian besar emisi dan degradasi. Akan tetapi, dalam perkembangannya, petani kecil mempunyai kesempatan dan mendapatkan hak untuk mengolah lebih banyak lahan. Agar pemerintah Indonesia dapat memenuhi target pengurangan emisinya, perlu memastikan keberlanjutan pertanian petani kecil melalui kebijakan yang menentukan sasarannya secara cermat, termasuk pengembangan bentuk peraturan dan insentif yang teliti.

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Dana Desa, yang merupakan transfer fiskal tahunan pemerintah pusat ke pemerintah desa dengan tujuan mendorong agar pembangunan digerakkan secara lokal, juga dapat digunakan untuk mendukung praktik-praktik berkelanjutan di kalangan petani kecil. Dalam studi ini, kami mengeksplorasi bagaimana Dana Desa dapat digunakan untuk membiayai penanaman pohon. Kami menganalisis pengalaman program sebelumnya yang berkonsentrasi pada penyediaan dana untuk desa-desa dengan komponen yang mendukung kegiatan lingkungan antara 2008-2012. Fokus pendanaan di desa-desa studi kasus (di Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara) adalah kegiatan masyarakat skala kecil, termasuk penanaman pohon.

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Kami mensurvei responden dari 38 desa dan tiga kelurahan di tujuh kabupaten tentang kesan dan persepsi mereka berkenaan dengan program. Kami juga mewawancarai Kepala Desa tentang Dana Desa dan menelusuri persepsi serta pemahaman mereka tentang dana tersebut. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa masyarakat lebih menyukai kegiatan ramah lingkungan yang memberikan manfaat ekonomi langsung. Ketika masyarakat diizinkan memilih di antara berbagai kegiatan yang lebih luas, termasuk infrastruktur, kemungkinan besar mereka akan memilih kegiatan dengan manfaat paling jelas bagi seluruh masyarakat. Dalam konteks Dana Desa, masyarakat cenderung tidak memilih konservasi dan reboisasi karena manfaatnya bagi masyarakat tidak jelas atau kurang bernilai. Kami berpendapat bahwa meskipun Dana Desa dapat digunakan untuk mempromosikan konservasi dan reboisasi, beberapa perbaikan dalam penerapan kebijakan Dana Desa akan diperlukan untuk mendukung dan memberi insentif pada kegiatan-kegiatan ini.