The community
Aik Bual is a traditional Sasak village of 1,464 households
located in the upstream watershed forests of Bali’s sister island, Lombok.
Sitting at the foot of Mount Rinjani volcano and bordering Mount Rinjani National Park, its community forest is vital for
water regulation, erosion control and other services. The community depends on
agricultural and forest products such as bamboo, rattan, bananas, vegetables
and palm sugar.
The community has secured customary management rights over
its forests and is determined to preserve and enhance their important watershed
services, and other benefits, through sustainable management and active
reforestation. There is great potential to expand this approach to neighboring
villages, bringing much-needed financing to help communities rehabilitate degraded
lands through agroforestry.
Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Mount Rinjani National Park and the rainforest covered
foothills of the mountain play a critical role in Lombok’s climate and hydrological
cycles. Three of Lombok’s four main watersheds are connected to Rinjani, making
the volcano and its forests an essential life supporting resource on the island,
particularly for irrigation, industry and drinking water.
Sixteen mammal species, 94 bird species and 30 reptiles and
amphibians have been recorded in the project area. About ⅓ of these are of high
conservation value including the Critically Endangered lesser sulphur crested
cockatoo and the Endangered Sunda pangolin.
Threats to the area
Watershed degradation is a very serious threat on Lombok;
springs in the upstream have been drying up due to deforestation since the
1980s, driven by: (1)Expansion of small-holder agriculture, (2) Wood fuel use
for households, (3) Wood fuel use for industry and agricultural commodity
processing, (4) Illegal logging for timber
Reducing deforestation and building sustainable livelihoods
1. Secure community forest management rights and capacity
This project is empowering the community to manage forest
resources effectively for people and conservation benefits, by establishing
appropriate management rights and institutions. A customary forest licence has
been obtained and the application for community-based forest management rights
is underway. These management rights, under the government approved Hutan
Kemasyarakatan (HKm) system, are in the final process of being granted to the
community institution for 35 years, which will secure long-term tenure necessary
for project sustainability.
2. Forest restoration and protection
In Aik Bual, climate benefits will be measured through
increased forest carbon stocks achieved through protection and rehabilitation
of upper watershed forests. Twenty-nine valuable and useful timber and
non-timber species have been identified in Mount Rinjani National Park.
Twenty-six of these are found in the project area, but their occurrence is now sporadic
due to past overharvesting. These species will be the focus of community
agroforestry enrichment, to enhance forest resources and secure the buffer zone
adjacent to Mount Rinjani National Park, rehabilitate watershed function, and
increase the productivity of the community-based agroforestry system. Forest
protection activities are carried out through periodic patrols involving
community groups, supported by officials from the District and Provincial Forest
Service as well as from the Rinjani National Park.
3. Building sustainable livelihoods
Women will be the focus of smallenterprise development
activities, as they have been traditionally active in land management and the
market for non-timber forest products. They will be the primary beneficiaries
of livelihood enhancing activities, receiving training and assistance with
post-harvest processing for a range of profitable crops, such as jackfruit,
banana, palm sugar, mangosteen and bamboo, which will drive improvements in
well-being that benefit their households as a whole.
Sharing REDD+ benefits
Aik Bual villagers are working to design a benefit-sharing
plan, using the same participatory approaches as in the other two sites.
Key Statistics:
Project Area: 2,517 ha
Project Type : Ecosystem rehabilitation
First Crediting Period :
5 years
Third Party Standard : Plan
Vivo Standard
Estimated VERs pa : 4,320 tCO2-e
Status : First
issuance expected Q2 2015
Total Beneficiaries :
134 households with approx. 450 individuals
Sources:
http://www.fauna-flora.org/initiatives/community-forests-for-climate-people-and-wildlife/
http://www.fauna-flora.org/initiatives/community-forests-for-climate-people-and-wildlife/
