Protecting life-supporting watersheds in Lombok

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/