Social capital and institutional gaps in forest governance of Indonesia’s new capital city

Abstract. Anwar S, Sardjono MA, Rujehan, Suhardiman A, Kiswanto, Setiawati, Herlambang H. 2025. Social capital and institutional gaps in forest governance of Indonesia’s new capital city. Asian J For 9: 381-389. Social capital is a cornerstone of sustainable forest management, but its benefits depend on the institutional arrangements that shape how local communities participate in decision-making. The relocation of Indonesia's new capital city (IKN) to East Kalimantan is rapidly transforming forest landscapes and governance structures, creating both opportunities and risks for forest-dependent communities. This qualitative case study examines how social capital interacts with institutional gaps in forest governance across six villages located within and around the IKN development area. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 35 purposively selected informants, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Stakeholder power was analysed using an interest–influence matrix, while institutional coherence was evaluated across operational, collective-choice, and constitutional rule levels, drawing on Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development framework. The findings show a pronounced "social–institutional capital gap": local communities possess strong bonding and bridging social capital and high interest in forest protection, yet they have limited influence over formal land-use decisions dominated by state agencies and private investors. National and IKN-level regulations only partially recognise local rules and customary institutions, leading to overlapping authority and implementation gaps. These governance arrangements create conditions that may increase the risk of unsustainable forest conversion and biodiversity loss, even though our study does not directly measure ecological outcomes. We conclude that aligning formal rules with existing social capital through inclusive, multi-level co-governance is essential to maintain local legitimacy and reduce long-term forest-governance risks in the IKN region.