The Implementation of Credit Program to Delay Cutting Down Trees
Farmers have difficulty in developing community forest and their derivative products because they are constrained by funds. So, The Ministry of Environment and Forestry issued a credit program to delay cutting down trees. Loans use trees as collateral for credit. The experimental site is in Kawengen Village Ungaran East Ungaran, Semarang Regency Central Java Province (7˚1021 N 110˚4814 W) at 216 m above sea level. Data is obtained from Lestari farmer grup. Lestari farmer group is a farmer organization that participates in the delayed cutting down trees credit program.The purpose of the study was to find out the implications of implementing credit program to delay cutting down trees for sustainable community forest management. The study indicated that delayed cutting loan is beneficial for farmers and forest suistainability. The result is the delay in cutting trees useful for providing longer opportunities of tree life, thus trees can be functioned ecologically and economically longer. On the other hand, if it fails to pay, there will be fragmentation of community forest land. The ecological and economic functions of trees will also be lost.