ABSTRACT
Indonesia is considered a megadiverse country with most biodiversity found in its low-land forests. The country harbours many types of native fruit species of which the majority are still found wild in the forests. The fruit from tropical trees is nutritionally dense, culturally important and its sale contributes to family food and nutrition of local people. In Indonesia, human activities such as palm oil production, rubber, timber and mining have already led to large-scale deforestation, soil degradation and massive forest fires. In recent years, the inability of the state to control forest degradation has been recognized in many countries. Governments have seen the benefits of handing over forest areas to local communities under a variety of community forest management schemes in many developing countries. This chapter discusses two cases of forest management by communities, in Kediri in East Java and in Telaga Langsat in Kalimantan, which help to secure tropical fruit tree diversity.
