Jakarta, June 29 -- The Ministry of Forestry said it pushes for downstream processing of social forestry commodities to increase product value, expand market access, and improve the welfare of communities living in and around forest areas.

Director General of Social Forestry at the ministry, Catur Endah Prasetiani, said social forestry has now entered a new phase, no longer focused solely on expanding access rights but ensuring that such access develops into productive, value-added, and competitive enterprises.

"The transformation we are promoting is from access to business, from productivity to value addition, and from area management to building a community economic ecosystem," Prasetiani said here on Monday.

She said downstream proc...