Carbon Projects in Social Forestry (Perhutanan Sosial)

Updated 2026-11-02 · 4 min read · By the akar.earth specialist team

How carbon projects work in Indonesian social forestry (perhutanan sosial): the five schemes, Permenhut 6/2026 rules, partners, FPIC and benefit sharing.

Social forestry (perhutanan sosial) groups can now run and sell forest carbon projects under Indonesian law. Permenhut 6/2026, socialised by the Ministry of Forestry on 29 April 2026 under the slogan “carbon for the people”, names social forestry, customary forests and forest communities as legitimate, equal participants, and requires community projects to work with registered partners.

What social forestry is

Perhutanan sosial is Indonesia’s programme for giving communities legal management rights over forest land. Most of it is state forest area, held under a permit or approval for a fixed term. The government set an allocation target of 12.7 million hectares. The legal base is PP 23/2021 on forestry implementation and Permen LHK 9/2021 on social forestry management. See our perhutanan sosial glossary entry for a short definition.

The five schemes are:

Hutan Adat has a different legal status. See our separate page on customary forest carbon.

Who the carbon rules apply to

The forestry carbon procedure applies to holders of social forestry permits who want to generate and trade carbon units. It also applies to the partners, developers and buyers who work with them. Under Permenhut 6/2026:

• Social forestry groups, customary communities and forest communities may take part as project actors, not only as beneficiaries.
• Projects involving communities must work with registered partners. The Ministry frames this as a way to raise project quality, strengthen accountability, provide social protection and keep credits credible.
• The procedure runs end to end: mitigation activity, measurement and calculation, validation and verification, recording in the national registry, and trading. Each stage has a time limit.

We have not reviewed the full regulation text. Read it on the Ministry of Forestry website or JDIH for the registration criteria for partners and the exact timelines.

What it requires and changes

Before 2026, social forestry carbon projects existed but sat in a grey zone. Permits were not designed with carbon in mind, and the earlier forestry carbon procedure (Permen LHK 7/2023) was read mainly with concession holders in view. Permenhut 6/2026 changes three things:

1. Explicit eligibility. Social forestry is named as a legitimate route, so developers no longer need to argue that it is allowed.
2. Partner requirement. Community projects need a registered partner. This filters out informal intermediaries but adds a gate to clear.
3. Safeguards for international access. A Ministry director said that projects aimed at the international market must meet additionality, benefit-sharing and FPIC principles. See our pages on benefit sharing and FPIC.

Units will be recorded in SRUK. A transitional route through the Ministry of Forestry’s electronic system was described while SRUK is refined.

What it means for developers and buyers

For developers and partners, social forestry is now one of the clearest routes into community-scale ARR, agroforestry and peat restoration. Practical steps:

• Confirm the permit type, area, term and any restrictions on use before you design the project.
• Build consent and benefit-sharing documents that would satisfy both the Ministry and an international standard such as Plan Vivo or Verra VCS.
• Plan for many small parcels. Grouped and aggregated designs suit social forestry well. See smallholder ARR aggregation.
• Register farmers and members with clear consent records. Our community engagement guide covers the basics.

For buyers, social forestry credits offer strong community co-benefits and match the Ministry’s own priorities. Due diligence should check that the permit is valid for the full crediting period, that the partner is registered, that benefit sharing is documented, and that the units are recorded in the national registry.

Open questions

• Permit term vs crediting period. Social forestry permits run for a fixed term. How renewals interact with long crediting periods and permanence obligations is not fully settled in public guidance.
• Partner registration. The criteria and process for registered partners were not detailed in the sources we reviewed.
• Benefit-sharing shares. We have found no confirmed fixed percentages for social forestry projects. Do not assume a default split.
• Implementation guidance. Practitioners have been preparing input to the Ministry and the NEK secretariat on refining implementation, so expect further guidance.

Our feasibility and eligibility work checks permit status and carbon fit for social forestry sites. For the full regulatory map, see the Indonesia regulation hub.