The Bunut Hulu Village Forest (BHVF) covers an extensive area of 4,763 hectares in Bunut Hulu village, within the Bunut Hilir sub-district of the Kapuas Hulu District in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. BHVF is legally designated as a Protection Forest (Hutan Lindung) and is crucial for supporting the livelihoods of 1,153 community members. The Village Forest Management Institution (Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa/LPHD) has been granted a 35-year forest management permit under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) Decision. The project area encompasses various land cover types, with approximately 60 hectares characterized as open land, 2,508 hectares as secondary swamp forest, 732 hectares as primary swamp, 458 hectares as swamp shrub, and 1,005 hectares as water bodies.

The forest and lake ecosystems are essential to the community’s well-being, supporting activities such as honey harvesting from the village forest area and fishing in the lake. However, these ecosystems face direct threats, including forest encroachment (noncommercial illegal logging) driven by local construction needs and illegal hunting due to market demands and cultural practices, such as using bird feathers for traditional ceremonies. The lake also faces threats like overfishing, unsustainable fishing gear, a lack of fishing regulations, sedimentation, erosion, and the risk of flooding due to forest clearance. Previously, the Forclime FC program had assisted LPHD BHVF in capacity building for forest management plans, including forest patrols. However, the program concluded in June 2022, and currently, BHVF lacks alternative funding sources to implement its management plan and conservation activities.

Threats to the forest and lake ecosystems in Bunut Hulu arise from both commercial and non-commercial timber utilization, forest fires, overfishing, and wildlife poaching. These threat originate from both Bunut Hulu communities and outsiders. Timber is utilized locally for construction needs, while outsiders engage in illegal commercial timber activities. Forest fires pose significant risks during dry seasons, and overfishing is due to unsustainable catches in the dry season and wildlife poaching led by the market demands and culture (e.g., bird feathers as jewellery for traditional ceremonies) and primarily hunted by outside villagers. Wildlife poaching is driven by market demands and cultural practices, primarily by outside villagers.