Bisnis & Birokrasi, Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi International Journal of Administrative Science & Organization, May 2013 Volume 20, Number 2 ISSN 0854 - 3844, Accredited by DIKTI Kemendiknas RI No : 64a/DIKTI/Kep/2010 INTRODUCTION Indonesia ranks third after Brazil and the Republic of Congo as a country that has the largest tropical forest in the world, as large as 90.1 million hectares (Brockhaus et al., 2012). Since the time of the kingdoms, Indonesia’s forests have been continuously threatened by deforestation and forest degradation caused by forest ires, legal and illegal logging (Noordwijk, et al., 2008; Simon, 2008; Tolo, 2012). Deforestation and forest degradation in Indonesia is considered as a result of bad policies (implementation) in the forestry sector that tends to be centralized, ignoring the role of society, and use a purely economic approach (Yustika, 2009; Awang, 2006). As a result, the richness of forest resources seems to bring no beneit for public welfare. In economic literature, the fact is called a resource curse or Dutch disease (Yustika, 2009). If the root causes of deforestation and forest degradation lies in the realm of policy (implementation), then a policy reform is a conditio sine qua non. In Indonesia, since the independence, the dynamics of centralization and decentralization of forestry policy changed to seven times (Siswanto and Wardojo, 2006; Ekawati, 2010). When the New Order authoritarian regime collapsed, the government reformed centralized forest policy to decentralized one. However, the post-New Order decentralized policy also failed, characterized by the increasing deforestation and forest degradation. According to the author, the failure of forestry decentralization in Indonesia, besides due to misinterpretation of the meaning of decentralization, is also caused by the neglect of public participation in forest governance. After the collapse of the New Order, the new government is committed to build democracy through political and policy reforms (Boediono, 2009). The political system is changed from centralization to decentralization with the issuance of Law no. 22/1999 on Regional Government. The goal of decentralization is to improve the effectiveness and eficiency of public services, reduce public spending of the central government, and tackle the disintegration of the nation (Kristiansen and Pratikno, 2006). In the forestry sector, decentralization has liberated autonomous regions to manage their own forest resources. However, forestry decentralization, believed to bring positive Public Participation in the Implementation of Forestry Decentralization in Indonesia EMILIANUS YAKOB SESE TOLO Graduate School of Public Administration, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta emilianustolo@yahoo.com Abstract. The implementation of decentralization in Indonesia brings two-fold effects. On the one hand, it has given more autonomy for regions to organize and manage their governmental affairs. However, on the other hand, regional autonomy causes problems in society, such as increased corruption, money politics, and environmental damage. By using descriptive- qualitative approach, the author evaluated the implementation of forestry decentralization in Indonesia with research focus in Manggarai and Central Maluku districts. This study found that the implementation of forestry decentralization ignored community involvement thus brought negative consequences such as the increasing damage to forest ecosystems and the declining public welfare. Therefore, in order to bring beneits for forest conservation and welfare of the community, forestry decentralization needs to fortify community involvement. Keywords: forest decentralization, forest degradation, fortiication of community involvement, social welfare Abstrak. Penyelenggaraan desentralisasi di Indonesia telah membawa dampak yang mendua. Pada satu sisi, desentralisi telah memberi otonomi yang lebih luas kepada daerah otonom untuk mengatur dan mengurus berbagai urusan pemerintahan yang dimilikinya. Namun, di pihak lain, otonomi daerah justru telah menimbulkan masalah di dalam masyarakat, seperti meningkatnya korupsi, politik uang, dan kerusakan lingkungan. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan deskriptif-kualitatif, penulis mengevaluasi penyelenggaraan desentralisasi kehutanan di Indonesia dengan lokus penelitian di Indonesia Bagian Timur, khususnya kabupaten Manggarai dan Maluku Tengah. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa penyelenggaraan desentralisasi kehutanan mengabaikan keterlibatan masyarakat sehingga membawa akibat negatif berupa meningkatnya kerusakan eksosistem hutan dan menurunnya kesejahteraan masyarakat. Oleh karena itu, agar penyelenggaraan desentralisasi kehutanan membawa manfaat bagi kelestarian hutan dan kesejahteraan masyarakat, perlu diupayakan fortiikasi peran masyarakat dalam desentralisasi kehutanan. Kata kunci: desentralisasi kehutanan, fortiikasi peran masyarakat, kerusakan lingkungan, menurunnya kesejahteraan masyarakat