Green Ecotourism: Concept and Regulations for Selling Java’s Forest Areas Without Illegal Logging or Damaging

Damage to forest areas in Java remains a significant concern. Land degradation, floods, fires, and landslides continue to threaten the safety of future generations, who bear no responsibility for these outcomes. Economically, forest management has not improved community welfare. This mixed-method legal research, combining normative and socio-legal approaches and utilizing historical and legislative analysis as well as in-depth interviews, aims to examine the history and regulations governing forest area management. The study introduces the concept of green ecotourism, which involves commercializing forest areas without resorting to illegal logging or environmental destruction. The findings indicate that 1) historically, numerous forest management programs in Java have failed to enhance local welfare, often treating communities as passive recipients without rights or obligations. 2) The green ecotourism model is part of the broader green economy framework, which is constitutionally supported by the 1945 Constitution and interpreted in various laws and regulations. Green ecotourism centers forest areas and forest-edge villages in program implementation, positioning these communities as agents of environmentally sustainable development to reduce illegal logging and forest destruction. This approach empowers local communities and leverages all forest resources and village potential, in collaboration with formal institutions such as the Badan Usaha Milik Desa (BUMDes) or Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDES), the Koperasi Desa Merah dan Putih, and universities, to achieve self-reliant villages in pursuit of Indonesia Emas 2045.