Who Manages the Forest? Understanding Indonesia’s KPH System

Indonesia’s forests cover vast and diverse landscapes. Managing them requires more than national policies and regulations. Decisions also need to be translated into management at the forest-site level. This is where Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan (KPH), or Forest Management Unit (FMU), plays an important role.

A KPH or FMU is a defined forest-management area organized according to its main function and designation. It serves as a management unit at the site level, helping connect broader forestry policies with conditions on the ground. According to the Ministry of Forestry’s National Forestry Plan, as of 2025, Indonesia currently has 673 KPH units, consisting of 149 conservation KPH (KPHK), 170 protection KPH (KPHL), and 354 production KPH (KPHP).

From an ecological and management perspective, the three types have different priorities. KPHK focuses primarily on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem protection, and restoration. KPHL is dominated by protection forests, where functions such as regulating water, preventing erosion, and maintaining environmental stability are central. KPHP, meanwhile, is dominated by production forests and places greater emphasis on the sustainable utilization and production of forest resources. These categories are not completely separate: a KPH may contain more than one forest function and is classified according to the function that dominates its area.

Their governance also differs. KPHL and KPHP are operationally managed by provincial governments through regional technical units, or UPTD KPH. By 2025, 349 UPTD KPH had been established through regulations to manage the 524 KPHL and KPHP units, and one UPTD may manage more than one KPH. The central government, however, remains responsible for the broader regulatory framework and for establishing KPH units. KPHK is more centralized: the 149 conservation KPH generally cover areas under central government authority, with Taman Hutan Raya (Tahura) as the main exception because its management falls under regional government authority.

This division shows that KPH is not simply a way of dividing forests on a map. It is also an institutional system for bringing forest management closer to the landscape itself. KPH responsibilities may include preparing forest-management plans, supporting rehabilitation and protection, monitoring forest utilization, and coordinating activities within their management areas.

This site-level approach matters because every forest landscape faces different conditions. One area may require ecosystem rehabilitation, while another may have potential for sustainable production, non-timber forest products, tourism, or other forest uses. Local communities, businesses, and government institutions may also interact with the same landscape in different ways.

KPH therefore provides an important bridge between national forestry policy and day-to-day management on the ground. Recent research on forest governance in Indonesia also shows that this relationship remains important: although KPH was designed to strengthen local-level management, strategic authority and financial control can remain concentrated at higher levels of government, making coordination between national policy and site-level implementation essential.

The KPH, or Forest Management Unit (FMU), has also been part of Korea–Indonesia forestry cooperation. From 2013 to 2016, the Tasik Besar Serkap FMU/REDD+ Joint Project in Riau supported forest-management planning, institutional capacity, community involvement, rehabilitation, and preparation for REDD+ implementation. The project demonstrated how strengthening an FMU could support broader goals for sustainable forest management. For this reference, the previous article can be found at: kifcjakarta.org/from-redd-concept-to-practice-kifc-in-tasik-besar-serkap/.

Sustainable forest management depends not only on setting national goals, but also on how those goals are implemented across individual landscapes. Understanding the ecological role and governance structure of KPH helps explain how Indonesia translates forestry policy into management at the site level.

Sources:

• Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan (KPH).
• Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. National Forestry Plan 2011–2030 (Minister of Forestry Regulation No. 8 of 2026)
• Chervier, C., et al. (2025). Impact of Indonesia’s Forest Management Units on the reduction of forest loss and forest fires in Sulawesi. Ecological Economics, 227, 108418.
• Nurrochmat, D. R., et al. (2020). Enhancing the Role of the District Government in Decentralized Forest Management. Jurnal Manajemen Hutan Tropika, 26(2), 114–122.