<![CDATA[Management of Forest Areas with Special Purposes requires an integrated approach that combines conservation, education, research, and community empowerment functions to support ecological and social resilience. The KHDTK UHO has strategic potential as a center for forestry knowledge development and innovation; however, its management faces several challenges, including unclear area boundaries, overlapping spatial utilization, limited community capacity, and suboptimal coordination among stakeholders. This community engagement program aimed to strengthen collaborative management of KHDTK UHO through a community empowerment approach and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The program was conducted in Tobimeita Urban Village, Nambo District, Kendari City, involving Halu Oleo University, Regional Section 1 of PSKL Sulawesi, the Southeast Sulawesi Provincial Forestry Agency, the Kendari City Government, Nambo District Government, Tobimeita Urban Village Government, Forest Farmers Groups (KTH), and community leaders. The methods applied included field observations, community outreach, Focus Group Discussions, stakeholder mapping, and participatory spatial mapping to identify potential resources, management challenges, and alternative solutions for sustainable forest area management. The results indicated that KHDTK UHO has significant potential to support biodiversity conservation and improve community livelihoods through the utilization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). However, the optimization of these potentials remains constrained by spatial conflicts, limited processing technology, restricted market access, and weak community institutional capacity. Based on the analysis, five priority management strategies were formulated: participatory boundary delineation through spatial mapping, community-based forest rehabilitation, local resource-based economic empowerment, capacity building for local communities, and strengthening multi-stakeholder institutional coordination. A collaborative management approach that integrates academic capacity, Government policies, community experiences, and local knowledge represents an essential strategy for establishing KHDTK UHO as a sustainable educational forest area while generating ecological, social, and economic benefits for surrounding communities.]]>
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