Bridging Ecology and Livelihoods: Sugar Palm-Coffee Agroforestry for Forest Rehabilitation in the Upstream Bengkulu Watershed

Abstract

The declining carrying capacity of the Bengkulu Watershed has reduced ecological functions and threatened the sustainability of local community livelihoods. Forest and land rehabilitation through agroforestry systems is one policy response to this condition. However, agroforestry-based rehabilitation still faces challenges related to plant species maintenance, market access, local knowledge, and community participation. Therefore, analysing agroforestry potential based on ecological, economic, and social factors is necessary to minimise the risk of programme failure. This study was conducted in the Cuup Midar Community Forest, Penembang Village, Central Bengkulu Regency, which is geographically located within the Bengkulu Watershed. The study examined a sugar palm (Arenga pinnata)-coffee agroforestry model as an integrated approach for aligning forest rehabilitation with community economic improvement. A descriptive qualitative method was used by combining ecological, economic, and social analyses. The results indicate that the sugar palm-coffee agroforestry system has potential to increase land cover, reduce erosion, enhance water infiltration, and improve soil quality in the upstream watershed. Economically, the combination of sugar palm sap and coffee production may provide broader income diversification than coffee monoculture. Socially, implementation success is strongly influenced by local knowledge and community participation in sugar palm cultivation and farming. Therefore, the sugar palm-coffee agroforestry model can be considered a policy strategy for forest and land rehabilitation that integrates ecological recovery with community well-being.