SUSTAINABLE NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCT MANAGEMENT FOR LAND COVER IMPROVEMENT IN TEBING SIRING COMMUNITY FOREST

Community forests (CF) are forest areas sustainably managed with community involvement. Management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) within CF plays a crucial role in protecting the area and improving the welfare of communities surrounding the forest. Utilisation of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) technology to measure land cover changes during the 2014, 2019, and 2024 periods as an indicator of the success of NTFP development in the Tebing Siring CF area. The findings of the study reveal that the CF region has recorded an increase in vegetation density over the past 10 years. The vegetation density class is moderately dense, where it varies from a minimum of 55.17 ha in 2014 to 283.51 ha in 2024, out of a total of 400 ha. This NDVI value indicates that the community is doing well in terms of performing plant maintenance and planting. Well-managed sustainable NTFP can enhance environmental quality and boost household income. Monitoring needs to be regularised so that the ecological restoration will remain sustainable and potential future issues could be determined.