Aim

To feed credible and comprehensive on-ground data into the policymaking process on restoring degraded land in Indonesia.

Where

South Sumatera and East Kalimantan

Why

Indonesia’s development trajectory has long relied on the land-based economy through the extraction of natural resources. Between 1967-1998, logging and timber processing were encouraged in 5-year development plans (Casson, et al., 2015). Forests and peatlands have been converted into plantations to increase agricultural production or mining sites for energy supply. However, the economic growth often comes at the cost of land degradation. To date, Indonesia has more than 24 million hectares of degraded land, equivalent to almost twice the size of England. Realizing the importance of land at the nexus between food, energy, and development, restoration is essential.

Restoration entails various approaches depending on the types of the land. Therefore, a careful and science-based restoration planning has to be taken.

How

Restore+ project will support the restoration, ranging from identifying the degradation, assessing the degradation impact, and proposing restoration options. In identifying the causes of degradation, WRI Indonesia will build a participatory platform to acquire citizen-sourced information and disseminate relevant datasets and modelling results on the issue of degradation, restoration and land use assessment in Indonesia.

Partners

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), World Agroforestry Centre, and WWF