Aim

The project aims to improve rights for IPLC groups in at least 32,000 hectares of forest, within 5 priority provinces, while at the same time enhancing sustainable development by improving livelihoods of 1,250 community members through sustainable business models and advancing gender equality and youth empowerment agenda in those communities.

Where

Aceh, West Sumatra, Jambi, East Kalimantan, and North Kalimantan.

Why

Throughout his leadership, President Joko Widodo has put social forestry agenda as one of his priority policies to improve the livelihoods and tenure security of communities living inside and surrounding the forest in Indonesia. Up to May 2020, his administration issued 4.1 million hectares of social forestry licenses to 837,134 families.

However, this strong momentum for Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLC) to secure and access their forest and land may come to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had forced the government to reallocate their budgets to tackle the pandemic. Simultaneously, marginalized communities experienced lost income, layoffs, food insecurity, and health risks. Studies shows past economic downturns have pushed local communities to encroach intact forest for quick cash and subsistence farming. Paradoxically, these behaviours will increase deforestation that raise the risk of water and food insecurity, natural disasters such as flooding/erosion, and other outbreaks as disease-carrying wildlife lost their habitat.

Against this backdrop, WRI Indonesia plans to keep the political momentum and enhance support to IPLC in securing their community forest and adopting forest-friendly livelihoods to reduce and reverse deforestation in 5 forest rich provinces, namely Aceh, West Sumatera, Jambi, East Kalimantan, and North Kalimantan.

How

WRI Indonesia works with local partners that has been working directly with IPLC in priority regions to implement 4 workstreams:

  • Supporting community forest mapping, registration, and recognition.
  • Improving IPLC capacity in managing and protecting their forest and adopt forest-friendly livelihoods opportunities.
  • Supporting women and youth groups of IPLC to strengthen their influence and access to natural resource management.
  • Facilitating key stakeholders to provide meaningful support to IPLC in securing and managing their forests.

Partners

KKI Warsi, KBCF

Compilation of articles on social forestry written by the supported community