<big>Regional Special Feature On Indonesia <br>
Many focused on the fact that Indonesia and Malaysia were ‘welcome exceptions’ in what was otherwise yet another bleak year for forests worldwide. TFA’s recent Decade of Progress report shows what’s been happening in Indonesia and Malaysia, and here TFA Perspectives takes a look at some of the regional bright spots in this story.
The Siak Regency consists of 57% peatland and is one of the districts with the largest peatland area on the island of Sumatra. Of the 855,600-hectare peatland area, 278,000 hectares had been drained for palm and timber plantations. The drainage and land clearing for palm oil cultivation caused catastrophic peatland fires in the region in 2015.
In 2017, the Siak District Government announced the “Green Siak” Commitment. Since then, there has been significant progress in reducing deforestation, promoting forest and restoring peatlands, preventing forest and land fires, integrated ecotourism, and accelerating communities’ economies through agrarian reform.
Many achievements have shown a promising future for Siak, including the following activities:
In partnership with companies, 4,000 ‘Agrarian Reform Lands’ have been distributed to the communities for acacia planting.
Smallholder certifications have been awarded in peatlands.
Communities are conserving the 400-hectare, developing mangrove ecotourism, as part of a broader mangrove ecotourism plan.
Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve is an integrated ecotourism project blending a community-inclusive approach and integrating biodiversity conservation and sustainable development on a landscape scale.
To support these efforts, the Jurisdiction Investment Outlook for Siak will support the Green Siak Vision.
In 2019, the Governor of Central Kalimantan announced a plan towards 100% sustainable palm production province-wide. Within the province, the Seruyan District began an implementation plan for Jurisdictional Certification, encompassing governance systems, targets, priorities, stakeholders' inclusions covering Indigenous communities and smallholder farmers who represent 30% of palm supply chains.
Under this model, Seruyan indicated 202,699 hectares of high-conservation value, including corridors for orangutan and forest cover in non-forest areas.
Similarly, a district-wide organisation for independent smallholders was established to guarantee an equal access to every farmer towards certification. Supported by Yayasan Inobu and Unilever, Seruyan shows significant progress over the last seven years. The collaboration has been started long before the issuance of the Regent Decree on the Establishment of a Working Group on Jurisdiction Based Oil Palm Certification of Seruyan District in 2020.
The working group represented local governments, supply chains, smallholder farmers, Indigenous communities, and civil society organisations. Key activities are underway, such as a district-scale deforestation and forest-fire monitoring system; an integrated plantation business conflict database; and the completion of planters' land in the forest area, strengthening extension workers and access to agricultural information. The achievements of the multi-stakeholder process that took place in the three sub-working groups were significant in supporting the plan of Seruyan District towards sustainability, namely:
Independent smallholder registration: 5,296 independent smallholders have been recorded, which is equivalent to 88.3% of the total oil palm independent smallholders in Seruyan District.
Independent smallholder certification: 626 independent smallholders have been certified with RSPO and ISPO certification. From the results of the certification, smallholders can sell sustainable certificates worth IDR 2.2 billion per year.
The issuance of cultivation certificates for smallholders: 1,508 cultivation certificates (STDBs) have been issued which are used for the purposes of certification and smallholder empowerment through central, provincial, and district programs.
Land restoration: 35 hectares of areas have been restored with natural plants interspersed with productive plants in 3 villages.
Conflict registration: It has been recorded that 30 plantation business conflicts will be facilitated to be resolved through a complete settlement process.
These achievements will continue to grow in line with the target for Seruyan to become the first district to be labelled with jurisdictional certification.
Kubu Raya in West Kalimantan is richly endowed with natural resources from mangroves, forests, and peatland, making it a significant producer of agricultural commodities and forestry products, providing a source of income for the local communities. However, its deforestation levels reached 109,923 hectares from 2013 to 2018, caused by land conversion, forestry, infrastructure, fisheries, and mining activities.
Now, the Kubu Raya Government has a strategy – called KEPONG Bakol – which is aimed at accelerating green growth development through community’s empowerment, green investment and optimizing the social forestry scheme. With the support of IDH, Kubu Raya District Government issued a regulation to set up a Green Growth Acceleration Task Force. This Task Force plays a crucial role in mobilising funding opportunities, monitoring strategic and action plan implementation, and catalysing partnerships to support Kubu Raya Green Growth Program.
The Kubu Raya has also developed a database and a reporting platform to increase participation. The district has also collaborated with ICRAF to develop a strategic plan of peatland ecosystem management and protection and the Bekantan Corridor Management Action Plan with the support of Jari Indonesia Borneo Barat, under the leadership of Kubu Raya District's Landscape Management Team. There are also public-private collaborations, such as the one with PT Mega Inovasi Organic, to develop business incubation and the diversification of palm sugar.