Jurnal Geografi
Vol. 18 No. 2 (2026): JURNAL GEOGRAFI

Bridging Community Carbon Benefits and Village Revenue: Institutional Governance of Agroforestry-Based Carbon Credits in West Java, Indonesia

Sumarlan Sumarlan (Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Indonesia)
Meilinda Suriani Harefa (Department of Geography Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia)
Amal H Aljaddani (Department of Physical Sciences-Geographic Information Systems Program, College of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia)



Article Info

Publish Date
22 Aug 2026

Abstract

Agroforestry-based carbon credit development offers opportunities to combine climate change mitigation with rural economic development. However, existing studies have mainly examined carbon trading regulations, carbon sequestration valuation, and agroforestry productivity, leaving limited understanding of how carbon credit initiatives are implemented institutionally at the village level and connected to Village Original Income (PADes). This study examines village readiness, institutional governance, and community empowerment in agroforestry-based carbon credit development, particularly their role in connecting community economic benefits with village revenue systems. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed in five regencies in West Java Province. Data were collected through field observations, interviews with village governments, farmer groups, cooperatives, facilitators, and community members, discussions, and documentary studies. Outreach and technical training were treated as community capacity-building activities. Data were analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, interpretation, and conclusion drawing. The findings show that village readiness is supported by land availability, community literacy, technical capacity, and local institutions. However, community-level economic benefits from agroforestry-based carbon credit activities do not automatically translate into formal village revenue. Most benefits remain managed by farmer groups and cooperatives, while Village-Owned Enterprises (Bumdesa) and village regulatory mechanisms remain limited. This institutional gap constrains the connection between community carbon benefits and PADes. The study contributes to carbon and rural institutional governance literature by demonstrating that the potential economic benefits of village-based carbon credits depend not only on land and community capacity but also on institutional arrangements that connect community benefits with formal village revenue systems.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

geo

Publisher

Subject

Earth & Planetary Sciences Education Environmental Science Social Sciences Other

Description

Jurnal Geografi is published as a scientific communication media in the field of Geography Education in particular and Geography in general, as well as other related fields, for faculty members, alumni of Geography Education both from the Faculty of Social Sciences of State University of Medan and ...