Indonesian forestry challenges in attributional land-use conflicts of overlapping villages and state forests have affected community livelihoods and forest sustainability for decades. This empirical research uncovers the socio-economic attributes of villages in order to gain a better understanding of people−forest relationships in order to guide improved forest management and governance for long-term sustainability. Data were obtained from 69 villages located in the forest management unit of Lakitan Bukit Cogong in South Sumatra Province. Spatially-explicit quantitative measurements and qualitative approaches were employed to explore the interrelationships between human footprint, village development, and conflict resolution strategies over two decades. The results confirmed that utilization of forest areas as part of the village territory (such as for building settlements, public/social infrastructure facilities, plantations and agricultural fields) has long been administered without permits, destabilizing forest functions. Moreover, aspects such as human population size, proximity of villages to the national road and sub-district capital, and the transmigration settlement units have an impact on the Human Footprint Index and Village Development Index. Furthermore, our analyses identified three distinctive forms of conflict based on village type: (1) villages which are administratively included in the forest area; (2) villages for transmigration settlement; and (3) villages adjacent to company management concession areas. In these villages, the clarity of land/forest boundaries and property rights are predominant conflict issues. Several recommendations are proposed to support sustainable forest development; namely, controlling human activities in the forest, improving village management governance, and resolving associated conflicts.

中文翻译：

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理解人与森林的关系：印度尼西亚南苏门答腊适当森林治理的关键要求

数十年来，印度尼西亚林业在重叠村庄和国家森林的归属土地使用冲突中面临的挑战影响了社区生计和森林可持续性。这项实证研究揭示了村庄的社会经济属性，以便更好地了解人与森林的关系，从而指导改善森林管理和治理以实现长期可持续性。数据来自位于南苏门答腊省 Lakitan Bukit Cogong 森林管理单位的 69 个村庄。采用空间明确的定量测量和定性方法来探索二十多年来人类足迹、村庄发展和冲突解决策略之间的相互关系。结果证实，作为村庄领土一部分的林地利用（例如用于建设定居点、公共/社会基础设施、种植园和农田）长期以来一直未经许可进行管理，破坏了森林功能的稳定。此外，人口规模、村庄与国道和街道首府的距离、移民定居单位等方面对人类足迹指数和村庄发展指数都有影响。此外，我们的分析根据村庄类型确定了三种不同的冲突形式：(1) 行政上包括在森林区域内的村庄；（二）流动安置村；(3) 与公司管理特许区相邻的村庄。在这些村庄，土地/森林边界和财产权的明确性是主要的冲突问题。为支持可持续森林发展提出了若干建议；即控制森林中的人类活动，改善村庄管理治理，解决相关冲突。