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REDD+ Projects and Their Impact on Household Incomes in Indonesian Borneo

Forest and Society · Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025) · pp. 665–683

DOI
10.24259/fs.v9i2.44699
ISSN
2549-4333, 2549-4724
Published
2025-09-22
Publisher
Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin
Language
en
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Abstract

In Indonesia, early Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects, established in the early 2010s, were required to self-fund through carbon credit sales or donor aid while supporting local livelihoods. This paper examines the impact of REDD+ projects on both agricultural and overall household incomes (i.e., from all economic activities, including agriculture). We hypothesize that the agricultural incomes of REDD+ participating households (or treated households) would decrease as REDD+ forbids forest clearance, but this loss would be offset by a subsequent rise in overall household income as REDD+ encourages income diversification. Additionally, we assess whether REDD+ implementation has an intra-community 'spillover' effect by comparing the incomes of households living in REDD+ villages but abstaining from participation, with those in non-REDD+ (control) villages. We evaluate two such projects in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) using panel survey data from over 400 households, collected in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Our analysis employs panel difference-in-differences in matched samples. Overall, our results reveal a small, heterogeneous impact of REDD+ on household incomes. While we found no significant impact in East Kalimantan’s BFCP site, participation in Central Kalimantan’s KMP site led to a reduced agricultural income over the short term (2010-2014). However, we detected no improvement in overall household income, nor did we find this impact to be long-lasting. We also found no conclusive evidence of intra-community spillover effects. The short-term income shock observed at the KMP site, despite its small overall magnitude, indicates the need for strategies to support and safeguard household incomes against temporary disruptions associated with REDD+ implementation. Our research contributes to the broader discourse on REDD+ performance, echoing previous findings of its mixed and modest impact on local communities' incomes globally.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

4 authors · 6 co-authorship links · 6 across different organisations

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  • University of Manchester
  • Padjadjaran University
  • Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
  • Center for International Forestry Research
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
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Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/oai, first harvested 5 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">REDD+ Projects and Their Impact on Household Incomes in Indonesian Borneo</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Nofyanza, Sandy</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Avia, Zahra</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Chervier, Colas</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Maulana, Agus Muhamad</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">REDD+</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Forest policy</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Impact evaluation</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Difference-in-differences</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Matching</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Household income </dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">In Indonesia, early Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects, established in the early 2010s, were required to self-fund through carbon credit sales or donor aid while supporting local livelihoods. This paper examines the impact of REDD+ projects on both agricultural and overall household incomes (i.e., from all economic activities, including agriculture). We hypothesize that the agricultural incomes of REDD+ participating households (or treated households) would decrease as REDD+ forbids forest clearance, but this loss would be offset by a subsequent rise in overall household income as REDD+ encourages income diversification. Additionally, we assess whether REDD+ implementation has an intra-community 'spillover' effect by comparing the incomes of households living in REDD+ villages but abstaining from participation, with those in non-REDD+ (control) villages. We evaluate two such projects in Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) using panel survey data from over 400 households, collected in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Our analysis employs panel difference-in-differences in matched samples. Overall, our results reveal a small, heterogeneous impact of REDD+ on household incomes. While we found no significant impact in East Kalimantan’s BFCP site, participation in Central Kalimantan’s KMP site led to a reduced agricultural income over the short term (2010-2014). However, we detected no improvement in overall household income, nor did we find this impact to be long-lasting. We also found no conclusive evidence of intra-community spillover effects. The short-term income shock observed at the KMP site, despite its small overall magnitude, indicates the need for strategies to support and safeguard household incomes against temporary disruptions associated with REDD+ implementation. Our research contributes to the broader discourse on REDD+ performance, echoing previous findings of its mixed and modest impact on local communities' incomes globally.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Forestry Faculty, Universitas Hasanuddin</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-09-22</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
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	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/44699</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.24259/fs.v9i2.44699</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">Forest and Society; Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025): DECEMBER; 665-683</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4333</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2549-4724</dc:source>
	<dc:language>en</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/fs/article/view/44699/13402</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 Forest and Society</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0</dc:rights>
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