Zuleika, Rizka2025-11-122025-11-12https://hdl.handle.net/1885/733794095Forests are social and political spaces where questions of rights, access, and governance intersect with the lives of people, including Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs). In Indonesia, centralized control rooted in colonial legacies has historically marginalized these communities, creating decades of tenure conflicts. The country�s Social Forestry (SF) program attempts to address these injustices through five schemes, with the Customary Forest scheme recognizing the ownership of customary forest by the customary communities. While substantial literature exists on the legal frameworks of SF, less attention has been paid to post- community recognition outcomes: how formal recognition shapes daily practices, power dynamics, and the enabling conditions for self-governance. This research addresses this gap by examining whether customary forests translate into meaningful governance outcomes. As a case study, I focused on the Pikul-Pengajid Customary Forest in West Kalimantan is managed by the Melayang Hamlet community, dominated by Dayak Bekati� Rara people. I conducted three weeks of fieldwork including interviews and participant observation with communities, government institutions, and NGOs. The findings reveal interconnected opportunities and challenges. Recognition created opportunities through tenure security, access to funding via SF Business Groups (KUPS), hybrid economic models reinforcing cultural identity, and strengthened social cohesion. However, structural capacity gaps created NGO dependency, inequitable participation persists, and weakening traditional knowledge transmission threatens future leadership. With Indonesia targeting 12.7 million hectaresto be managed under the SF program by 2030, these findings may apply broadly to other SF schemes. This research provides an example of pathways needed for recognition to achieve meaningful outcomes: adaptive policy frameworks that address structural constraints, long-term technical support beyond recognition process, and enabling conditions for exercising community self-determination. The study demonstrates that while acknowledging community rights provides a foundation, developing these pathways is essential for translating formal recognition into sustainable self-governance. This research gathered perspectives from communities, government institutions, and Non Government Institutions. However, it was only possible to gain limited access to officials in Ministry of Forestry and Forest Management Units, who support the recognition process. This is important for future investigation regarding evolution of the recognition process and multistakeholder coordination. Future research should examine community decision-making processes and internal power dynamics, dependency patterns and traditional knowledge transfer, and ethnobotanical and ecosystems assessments, to understand how both social and ecological dimensions can inform more effective Community-based Forest Management.en-AU202510.25911/J4A2-CK14