<![CDATA[Social forestry schemes have emerged as important approaches for promoting sustainable forest governance, biodiversity conservation, and Indigenous livelihood improvement. The long-term effectiveness of these initiatives remains complex because socio-economic development, cultural continuity, institutional arrangements, and ecological resilience interact within dynamic forest systems. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term socio-ecological impacts of social forestry schemes on Indigenous livelihoods by examining relationships among community participation, livelihood transformation, cultural resilience, and forest ecosystem conditions. A mixed-methods socio-ecological design was employed involving 240 Indigenous households across six social forestry areas. Data were collected through household surveys, ecological assessments, remote sensing analysis, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and institutional document analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and comparative tests, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis and triangulation. The findings revealed that social forestry participation significantly improved livelihood security, income diversification, governance involvement, cultural continuity, and ecological conditions. Community participation, institutional support, and Indigenous knowledge integration emerged as key predictors of sustainable socio-ecological outcomes. The study concludes that social forestry can function as a transformative governance strategy when Indigenous communities are recognized as active managers of forest landscapes.]]>
