Implementing Government Regulation No. 23 of 2021 in the Conversion of Protected Forests into Plantation Areas: Evidence from Tonra District, Bone Regency

Abstract

Protected forests perform a strategic ecological function by regulating water systems, preventing erosion and floods, reducing landslide risks, and maintaining soil fertility. Their conversion into plantation areas therefore raises legal, environmental, and socio-economic concerns. This study examines the implementation of Government Regulation No. 23 of 2021 concerning Forestry Administration in the conversion of protected forests into plantation areas in Tonra District, Bone Regency. It addresses two questions: how the conversion mechanism is implemented under the regulation, and what impacts arise together with the measures undertaken by the local government. The study employed qualitative socio-legal research combining the analysis of statutory provisions with field observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentation. The fieldwork focused on Rappa Village and involved information from the village head and a forestry extension officer of the Ulubilah Forest Management Unit. The findings show that conversion is legally expected to proceed through layered administrative and technical stages, beginning with local proposals and spatial-planning review and ending with central-government approval. In practice, implementation remains suboptimal because regulatory requirements collide with community economic needs, supervision is limited, institutional authority is fragmented, and human resources are insufficient. Conversion has contributed to soil and water degradation, short-term income gains accompanied by the loss of traditional forest-based income, and declining forest-based social interaction. Government responses include law enforcement, inter-agency patrols, rehabilitation, reforestation, and community involvement, but limited funding, personnel, and public awareness constrain their effectiveness.