Implementing Partner: Belantara Foundation
Other Partners Involved: APP
Duration: 1 February 2016 – 31 December 2018
Goal
The proposed project aims to restore ecological value of peat and forest in the Tahura Sekitar Tanjung through a community based restoration approach, while at the same time trying to decrease forest fire impacts and improve local livelihoods
About this project
Tahura- Taman Hutan Raya (Grand Forest Park) is a forest conservation area established by the Indonesian Government to protect the biodiversity of flora and fauna for the purposes of research, knowledge, culture and tourism. Tahura Sekitar Tanjung is located in the Berbak Landscape, Jambi province, which lies adjacent to the Berbak National Park Tahura Sekitar Tanjung has a concession area of 20,830 ha with degraded land estimated at around 18,660 ha, where 10,000 ha of the area are in critical condition without trees and only brush following forest fires in 1997, 2007, 2011 and 2015.
Tahura Sekitar Tanjung is one of the key biodiversity areas in Berbak, and it is one of the priority landscapes of Asia Pulp & Paper Group’s (APP) landscape restoration and protection commitment. It was also assigned as one of the areas for Demonstration Activities (DA) of Reducing Emission Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) in Jambi through a the Decree (SK) of the Head of Forestry Agency Jambi Province No. 3111/BHKA-43/IV/2013.
The Tahura Sekitar Tanjung area fulfils all the parameters for urgent protection intervention given the acute threats from unplanned deforestation and degradation from illegal logging, forest fires and canal development on peat. Tahura Sekitar Tanjung is not yet effectively managed by the existing management unit – the Local Technical Implementation Unit (Unit Pelaksana Teknis Daerah/UPTD) of Tahura – since it was recently established. Meanwhile, there remain land tenure conflicts between the communities and the management unit and these have been identified as one of the causes of deforestation in the area
Local awareness and understanding of the villagers (local people) surrounding Tahura Sekitar Tanjung toward protecting and conserving the forest and environment is relatively low. They are unaware of the estimated size of degraded/ destructed area of Tahura Sekitar Tanjung although they understand that illegal activities are a cause of the forest degradation. People have been living in the surrounding Tahura Sekitar Tanjung area for many years. They are utilizing both timber forest and non-timber forest products from the Tahura Sekitar Tanjung area long before the UPTD was established. If not managed sustainably current utilization will decrease the ecological and economical value of the Tahura.
Tahura Sekitar Tanjung has important values in protecting the larger Berbak Landscape:
- It is one of the Buffer Zones of the Berbak National Park and is the highest carbon storage area in the Landscape;
- It is a priority area for Sumatran tiger conservation and also an important home of the Mentok Rimba/white-winged duck (Cairina scululata);
- It is part of the Peat Hydrological Unit and a sustainable landscape for commodities and communities;
Approaches
The project proposed aims to restore the ecological value of peat and forest in Tahura Sekitar Tanjung through a community-based restoration approach, while at the same time trying to decrease forest fire impacts and improve the livelihood of local communities.
The project proposed to achieve its goals through the following important workstreams
- Component 1: Commitment from all stakeholders including the villagers and UPTD to capacity building in protecting and restoring key areas of Tahura Sekitar Tanjung;
- Component 2: Hydrological rehabilitation to prevent drought and risks of fires;
- Component 3: Restoration of peat and forest ecosystem by planting native species that produce NTFP for the benefit of locals;
- Component 4: Support the development and application of sustainable agriculture practices on peat areas.
More Information:
IDH
Aris Wanjaya | wanjaya@idhsustainabletrade.com
APP
Dolly Priatna | dolly.priatna@gmail.com