Innovation in Forest Area Conservation Strategy at the Rokan Koto Ruang Ecotourism Location, Rokan Hulu Regency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31849/joels.35294Keywords:
Conversion, Conservation, Ecotourism, AHP, RiauAbstract
Global deforestation continues to erode the climate system and biodiversity, and in Indonesia, one of the primary drivers over the past 25 years has been the conversion of forest areas into oil palm plantations. Addressing this requires innovative, politically grounded conservation strategies that can curb land conversion and maintain sustainable forest areas. This study analyzes the conservation strategy implemented through sustainable green tourism, driven by the Rokan Koto Ruang Village Government's own political leadership initiative. It develops a forest conservation strategy for its ecotourism sites. A mixed-methods design was used: a qualitative phenomenological approach addressed the first two research questions, while a quantitative approach employing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to formulate the conservation strategy, supported by questionnaire data from 28 key informants. The results show that the Rokan Koto Ruang Village Government has developed ecotourism as a forest conservation strategy, but this strategy has not yet significantly curbed deforestation or forest conversion in the forest-margin sites where land tenure is contested. The proposed solution is a forest conservation strategy for the ecotourism site, with alternative strategies ranked by priority as follows: agroforestry, ecosystem rehabilitation, community empowerment and education, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and improvement of environmentally friendly infrastructure. Although agroforestry and ecosystem rehabilitation rank first and second, their implementation must be supported by community empowerment, education, and multi-stakeholder collaboration to be effective.
References
Al Hakim, R. R., Rukayah, S., & Nasution, E. K. (2022). Peluang dan tantangan konservasi berbasis ekowisata. Proceeding Seminar Nasional IPA XII, 12–16. https://seminar.unnes.ac.id/event-semnasipa2022
Andita, R. P., & Kahfi, F. (2019). Pengelolaan lingkungan melalui ekowisata berbasis masyarakat di Taman Nasional Tesso Nilo-Riau. Daya Saing: Jurnal Ilmu Manajemen, 5(3), 262–272. https://doi.org/10.35446/dayasaing.v5i3.404
Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mum032
Azizah, M. N. L., Wulandari, D., & Marianti, A. (2021). Tantangan mewujudkan ekowisata sungai berkelanjutan untuk meningkatkan kesejahteraan manusia dan melindungi keanekaragaman hayati di Indonesia. Indonesian Journal of Conservation, 10(2), 72–77. https://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/ijc
Bertens, K. (1987). Fenomenologi eksistensial. Gramedia.
Damanik, J., & Weber, H. F. (2006). Perencanaan ekowisata dari teori ke aplikasi. Penerbit Andi.
El Amady, R., Yanti, R. N., Dinata, M., & Alexusanto. (2024). Local action to prevent land conversion through tourism in Rokan Koto Ruang Village, Rokan Hulu, Riau, Indonesia. E3S Web of Conferences, 593, 07003. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202459307003
FAO. (2020). Global forest resources assessment 2020: Main report. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9825en
Fennell, D. A. (1999). Ecotourism: An introduction. Routledge.
Hakim, A. (2001). Dampak penerapan kebijakan konversi hutan pada kerusakan lingkungan (studi kasus pelepasan kawasan hutan untuk perkebunan kelapa sawit) [Tesis, Universitas Indonesia]. http://www.digilib.ui.ac.id/opac/themes/libri2/detail.jsp?id=71322
Khairunnisa, A. (2018). Dampak industri perkebunan kelapa sawit di Riau terhadap ekosistem lingkungan. https://www.researchgate.net
Li, T. M. (2007). The will to improve: Governmentality, development, and the practice of politics. Duke University Press.
Likens, G. E. (1992). Some applications of the ecosystem approach to environmental problems and resource management. In Responses of forest ecosystems to environmental changes (pp. 16–30). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-2866-7_2
Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia. (2022). Indonesia's FOLU net sink 2030: Operational plan. https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/ins228605.pdf
Mulyadi, E., Hendriyanto, O., & Fitriani, N. (2010). Konservasi hutan mangrove sebagai ekowisata. Jurnal Ilmiah Teknik Lingkungan, 2(1), 11–18. https://eprint.upnjatim.ac.id
Mu'Thasim, M. R., & Indahsari, K. (2021). Pengembangan ekowisata di Indonesia. Jurnal SENRIABDI: Seminar Nasional Hasil Riset dan Pengabdian Universitas Sahid Surakarta. https://jurnal.usahidsolo.ac.id/index.php/SENRIABDI
Nafi, M., Supriadi, B., & Roedjinandari, N. (2017). Pengembangan ekowisata daerah (Bunga rampai). Universitas Merdeka Malang.
Nicha, A., & Zulkarnaini. (2025). Kebijakan pengembangan ekowisata mangrove berkelanjutan untuk konservasi ekosistem dan pemberdayaan masyarakat lokal. Jurnal Ilmiah Research Student, 2(2), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.61722/jirs.v2i2.5133
Peluso, N. L. (1992). Rich forests, poor people: Resource control and resistance in Java. University of California Press.
Perez, A. S. M. V. (2025). Implementation of green tourism: A systematic literature review. Journal of Economics, Management and Trade, 31(6), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.9734/jemt/2025/v31i61304
Republik Indonesia. (2014). Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2014 tentang Desa [Law No. 6 of 2014 on Villages]. Lembaran Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2014 Nomor 7.
Rianse, U., & Abdi. (2010). Agroforestri: Solusi sosial dan ekonomi pengelolaan sumber daya hutan. Alfabeta.
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2021). Deforestation and forest loss. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation
Robbins, P. (2020). Political ecology: A critical introduction (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Rusiani. (2019). Pemberdayaan masyarakat melalui ekowisata di Resort Wonolelo, Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu: Tantangan dan strategi. Jurnal Pembangunan Wilayah dan Kota, 14(1), 51–60. https://ejurnal.undip.ac.id/index.php/pwk/index
Saaty, T. L. (2008). Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process. International Journal of Services Sciences, 1(1), 83–98.
Steenbergen, D. J. (2016). Strategic customary village leadership in the context of marine conservation and development in Southeast Maluku, Indonesia. Human Ecology, 44(3), 311–327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-016-9829-6
Stronza, A. L., Hunt, C. A., & Fitzgerald, L. A. (2019). Ecotourism for conservation. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 44, 229–253. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-101718-033046
Ullyta, A., Tarigan, S. D., & Wahjunie, E. D. (2022). Infiltrasi dan aliran permukaan pada agroforestri dan kelapa sawit. Jurnal Ilmu Pertanian Indonesia (JIPI), 27(3), 359–366. http://journal.ipb.ac.id/index.php/JIPI
UNEP & SCBD. (2004). CBD guidelines: The ecosystem approach. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
UNFCCC. (2021). Glasgow leaders' declaration on forests and land use. UN Climate Change Conference (COP26). https://www.unccd.int/news- stories/statements/glasgow-leaders-declaration-forests-and-land-use
Warren, C., & Visser, L. (2016). The local turn: An introductory essay revisiting leadership, elite capture and good governance in Indonesian conservation and development programs. Human Ecology, 44(3), 277–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-016-9831-z
Wijayanto, N., Putra, R. K., & Silviana, A. (2024). Kebijakan konsep ekowisata berbasis konservasi lingkungan. Jurnal Discretie, 5(3), 409–420. https://doi.org/10.20961/jd.v5i3.9826
Yandra, A., Novianti, S., Irawati, I., Rianita, D., Effendi, I., & Hadi, T. (2026). Riau Province’s land and forest governance: The tendency of budget information transparency among Riau’s 12 regencies. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(5), 2979.
