ABSTRACT Squatters in protected areas are an environmental issue that impacts the decline in the function of protected areas, socio‐constructive vulnerability, and low quality of settlements. Temanggung Regency faces a problem of squatters in the Rowali Spring, which pollutes the water sources. Despite the relocation efforts, the community has not yet fully improved its quality of life or rebuilt its lives, resulting in some communities reverting to squatting. The study aims to examine the handling of squatters through a relocation approach based on a social‐ecological system in the Rowali protected area of Temanggung Regency. Quantitative methods with a deductive approach are used with primary data collection through observation, distribution of questionnaires using saturated sampling techniques (21 relocated families), interviews, and secondary data through document review and literature review. The research findings indicate that the socio‐ecological system can serve as a basis for considering relocation in line with existing characteristics in protected areas. As a novelty, the key to a social‐ecology‐based relocation is the proximity and legality of relocation to sustain community livelihoods and the continuity of social‐ecological interactions. The relocation process should not only focus on eviction and displacement, but should also facilitate community‐led housing initiatives. Further, to target sustainability, it should also consider community empowerment that utilizes natural resources for sustainable livelihoods and environmental preservation, fostering social‐ecological interactions.
Sunarti et al. (Mon,) studied this question.