Combining community income generating activities with conservation. Towards reduction of fire risks in Berbak national park and its buffer zones.

Grant Agreement Nr. WGP2 03 GPI 62

Agreement holder: WI - Indonesia Programme

Country/region: Sumatra, Indonesia

Activity period: 01/01/2003 - 31/12/2003

Documentation and products available:

Background:
Peat swamp forest is an ecosystem with great importance to human life. In addition, it has important ecological and hydrological functions, and provides a habitat for many rare and endemic species. For thousands of years these forests and particularly their soil have been an active carbon sink. Over the last three decades they have been subject to large scale development, which has had severe impacts.
In Sumatra less than 5% of the original peat swamp forests remain relatively undisturbed. Many of the disturbed forests have been impacted by drainage and fires releasing huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, significantly contributing global climate change.
Jambi province still possesses large areas of peat forest (717,000 ha) with a carbon content (below ground C) of around 1,413 million tons. This peatland is scattered and of varying status, i.e. Production Forest, Peat Protection
Harvesting Jelutung. Photo: W. Giesen
Forest, and National Park. The Berbak National Park alone contains well over 100,000 ha of peatland. Currently, the Berbak National Park is facing serious threats from both the local communities living in the vicinity of the park as well as from outsiders, including people from south Sumatra province. Threats include agricultural encroachment by the community into the park, over-harvesting of collect non-timber forest products as well as illegal logging of timber. Camp fires and discarded cigarettes have been identified as potential causes of forest fires. There are about twenty three village communities living near the Park, mainly in Benuh River, Labuan Pering, Cemara, Air Hitam Laut, Remau River, Simpang Datuk, Telagalima, Rambut River and Rantau Rasau. The first six villages have developed as the result of migration of Buginese people into the area in the 1960s, though today their populations consist of a mixture of ethnic groups.
In view of these conditions, there are various needs for measures to protect, rehabilitate and conserve the peatlands, particularly those within the Berbak National Park. Direct activities which can be carried out include reforestation and enrichment planting,
Fire hazards in significantly disturbed peatswamp forests
while indirect activities would involve education and motivating the Win-win scenarios can be identified such as the development of perennial buffer zone crops that can act as fire shields.

Brief project description:
The main goal of the project was to reduce the fire risks to the Berbak National Park and its surrounding areas by improving the community's livelihood and awareness. The approach involved:

The combination of the these activities would create development possibilities for the communities and enable the reduction of their pressure on the Berbak National Park and decrease the risk of peat and forest fires.

Results:

Expected Outputs and Results achieved

Objectives and results:
  1. To reduce pressure on BNP through the creation of alternative income generating activities which are linked to land rehabilitation and environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
  2. To improve the skills of the involved community groups prior to carrying out alternative economic activities (Desa Simpang Datuk, Desa Air Hitam Laut and Desa Sungai Benu villages).
  3. To raise awareness of the environment and of the importance of peatland conservation and to promote environmentally friendly agricultural practices in the vicinity of Berbak National Park

Identification and generation of alternative income sources
  • Participatory Rural Appraisal implemented in three villages in the vicinity of BNP buffer zone (i.e. Simpang Datuk, Air Hitam Laut, Sungai Benu)
  • Community groups identified with sincere interest in the programme
  • Alternative forms of income generating/economic activities identified
  • Cooperation agreement signed with community groups
  • A total amount of Rp 165 millions of funds were distributed to 12 community groups in July 2003 - March 2004. Various economic activities were initiated by community groups
  • Community involved in activities to rehabilitate burnt peatland and apply environmentally friendly agricultural practices, as a consequence of the financial aid provided through the project
Training of community groups
  • Identify forms of activity which can improve the guided community groups' economies
  • Identify types of training relevant to the forms of economic activities chosen, and identify training for environmentally friendly agricultural practices and land rehabilitation
  • Give training to community groups
Awareness raising
  • Identify materials needed for the environmental awareness campaign in the vicinity of BNP Print materials for the environmental awareness campaign for peatland conservation and environmentally friendly agricultural practices in the vicinity of BNP.
  • Identify formal and informal community leaders in the three villages who could be involved in implementing the environmental awareness campaign
  • Together with these community leaders, carry out the environmental awareness campaign in the three villages
Evaluation

  • The GPI Project carried out in three villages (Simpang Datuk, Air Hitam Laut and Sungai Benuh) in the buffer zone of Berbak National Park has been warmly welcomed by the village communities, as can be seen from the encouragingly large number of groups (totally 12 groups) and number of members in each group (total groups member 178 individuals) were established.
  • From the 12 community groups established in three villages at the Berbak National Park's Bufferzone areas a total amount of fund Rp 165,000,000,- have been distributed to these groups as grant money. In return to this fund, the community groups have planted their own land (formerly abandoned land) and the ex-burnt peatlands with various economic plant seedlings such as coffee, chocolate, areca nut, mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia), oranges, coconut and mangrove species such as Rhizophora sp and Avicennia sp. The last two species were mainly planted along the Sungai Benuh river mouth and beaches.
  • The fund received by each community groups were not used to procure tree seedlings mentioned above, but it was used as working capital to farm chicken, duck, goats, procure paddy seedlings, fishing gears and hand tractors. The total amount of trees seedlings that have been planted within the implementation of GPI project periods (April - Dec 2003) in these three villages were totally 133,197 trees and covered an area of totally 306.50 ha of both in the ex-abandoned land and ex-burnt peatlands areas.
  • The village communities have rarely been so directly involved in the implementation of government projects. Even when the villagers have been involved, they have never had a field worker who would live in the village with them to give them direction in carrying out the project. Government field/extension workers (PPL) seldom visit the field (due to lack of funds). This GPI project, however, is verymuch appreciated by the community groups at these villages as they can directly involved in the project and technically guided by the local NGO (personel from Yayasan Pinse).
  • There is a request from other villages surrounding the Berbak NP's bufferzone to also participate in similar project in the near future as this project can enhanced community's livelihood while at the same time they can do rehabilitation on their abandoned land and this is very positive to support their future life. Fortunately under the project entitled 'Promoting the river basin and ecosystem approach for sustainable management of SE Asian lowland peatswamp forests', (case study Air Hitam Laut/AHL river basin, Jambi Province, Indonesia), funded by the Ducth Government, another villages are also being supported by this project using a relatively similar approaches that was used by PINSE/WI-IP.
  • Awareness materials such as comics for school children, posters and manuals on best management practices on peatlands areas have been produced very recently by WI-IP. These materials produced under the co-funding of CCFPI project (funded by CIDA), GEF-BSP project (funded by GEF - the World Bank) and partly have been distributed by PINSE to these villages and the remaining materials will be distributed soon in April 2004. These materials are expected to be used as guidance by the communities to implement best practices to rehabiliate peatlands areas as well as to tackle fire in the peatland area.
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last update: 20/07/04