Social Capital of Communities in Kutai National Park Buffer Zone for Ecotourism Development

Abstract

Kutai National Park (KNP) is bordered by a coal mining company, PT. Kaltim Prima Coal (PT. KPC). Communities living between the TNK and the company were those living in Kabo Jaya Hamlet of Swarga Bara Village and G III Hamlet of Singa Gembara Village, who were economically dependent on this company. A main concern to the post-mining period in 2021 is a lost source of livelihood which could trigger the exploitation of the national park by the communities. Alternative sources of livelihood were natural resources available in Prevab-KNP, Tanjung Bara Beach, and Tanjung Bara Mangrove which could be use for ecotourism development. The objective of this research was to study the social capital of ecotourism development in the KNP buffer zone area. Data were collected using several methods including field observation, participative observation, in depth interview, and literature study. The social capitals were valued using Social Capital Assessment Tools (SCAT) to assess the community’s social capitals, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to assess the relationships between social capital variables, and descriptive analysis to evaluate each stakeholder’s ecotourism development policies. Social capital adequacy value for Kabo Jaya Hamlet of Swarga Bara Village was 173 (high) and G III Hamlet of Singa Gembara Village was 159 (average), suggesting that ecotourism development in Kabo Jaya Hamlet would be easier to develop than Singa Gembara village, due to the existence of Kabo Jaya Ecotourism Group. Results showed that the social capital inter-variables relationship’s (T-value) for Kabo Jaya Hamlet were: trust (27.45) with coefficient of effect ( ) of 0.63; network participation (31.75) with ( ) of 0.88; social norms (37.37) with ( ) of 1.00; proactive actions (31.98) with ( ) of 0.84; and concern for others and the environment (25.75) with ( ) of 0.66. Every element of social capital in Kabo Jaya Hamlet significantly affects the social capital, and the most significant element was social norm. While T-values for G III Hamlet were: 29.00 for trust with ( ) of 0.77; 28.66 for network participation with ( ) of 0.81; 27.72 for social norms with ( ) of 0.81; 28.99 for proactive actions with ( ) of 0.16; and 31.88 for concern for others and the environment with ( ) of 1.00. Every element of social capital in G III Hamlet significantly affects the social capital with the most significant element was concern for others and the environment.