Social Return on Investment (SROI) of Agroforestry and Ecotourism Developments: Case Study of Multi-Stakeholder Support for Social Forestry Communities in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Evaluations in community forestry, such as Indonesia’s Social Forestry program, commonly rely on stand-alone economic, social, or environmental indicators. Return on Investment (ROI) is useful for economic but insufficient to capture social and environmental dimensions. These gaps call for an alternative approach. This study applies Social Return on Investment (SROI) framework to assess the multi-dimensional and stakeholder-experienced outcomes generated from agroforestry and ecotourism development in Social Forestry communities in West Sumatra. The program has attracted diverse stakeholders, including governments, civil societies, academia, business actors, and financial institutions, to support the communities through direct facilitation. Using FGDs and semi-structured interviews with 6 community representatives (Pagadih, Salibutan, Limo Koto, Padang Janiah, Beringin Sakti, Solok Radjo) and 18 supporting stakeholders, this study estimates evaluative and forecast SROI over a 5–20 year horizon. Both social and economic benefits dominate the outcome results, influenced by monetary proxies of multiplier effects, infrastructure-driven improvements, and income generation. Although some environmental benefits were monetized, overall environmental outcomes remain undervalued due to persistent challenges in reliable monetization. Findings reveal low SROI average values (<1) in early years but are forecasted to increase (1.1–2.6 in year 20). This result underscores the advantages of a longer-term analysis scope to capture the full return on investment of agroforestry and ecotourism. It highlights positive outcomes of immediate and consistent stakeholders’ support, while also prioritizing community self-reliance as equally important to attract support and sustain impacts. This study offers a replicable framework and a basis for refinement in SROI of Social Forestry. • Applies SROI to assess agroforestry and ecotourism outcomes in Social Forestry • SROI ratios start low but increase over 20 years with stakeholder support • Social and economic outcomes dominate, but environmental outcomes undervalued • Local institutional capacity attracts stakeholder support and sustains impacts • Provides empirical evidence of SROI application in Social Forestry