USAID IUWASH Tangguh and SEGAR will collaborate to replicate a local social forestry initiative in Teluk Bakung Village through a sustainable landscape approach.
Until recently, the Village of Teluk Bakung in Kubu Raya District, West Kalimantan, has successfully implemented a forest conservation program with the help from a religious-based community organization, Kapusin Pontianak Brotherhood – the local branch of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. They created a conservation area called Rumah Pelangi (House of Rainbow).
On August 1st, 2023, USAID Indonesia Mission Director, Mr. Jeff Cohen visited Rumah Pelangi. Mrs. Nur Hygiawati Rahayu, the Director of Forestry and Water Resources Conservation at the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), participated in the visit.
During the event, the USAID Indonesia and Bappenas delegation observed and learned first-hand about best practices from Kapusin Pontianak Brotherhood’s sustainable landscape approach in their forest conservation program.
In the early 2000s, the local hills and swamps in Teluk Bakung Village were in critical condition due to illegal logging and irresponsible land clearing using slash and burn techniques, which affected the ability of the land to hold water.
This situation motivated the Kapusin Pontianak Brotherhood to create a 90 Ha conservation area through reforestation. The conservation area has expanded to 108 Ha. They planted tree species that have ecological and economic values such as coffee, stink beans, and rattan.
Their conservation efforts not only benefitted the local livelihood through timber and non-timber forest products, but they also improved the land’s ability to retain water. As a result, water capacity at the three springs in the conservation area have increased and the communities have since use them for bathing, washing laundry, and latrines.
Mrs. Nur Hygiawati highlighted that village forests can address challenges resulting from slash and burn practices and illegal logging: “Local residents have benefitted from timber and non-timber products by actively conserving economically valuable plants. Thus, residents are incentivized to sustainably manage village forests.”
In line with the local government’s plans to expand the forest conservation program, USAID IUWASH Tangguh will work with USAID SEGAR to help replicate the work of Kapusin Pontianak Brotherhood’s conservation initiative best practices and lesson learned to other community-based village forests in the region. Together, USAID SEGAR will help strengthen the Village Forest Management Agency or Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa (LPHD) while USAID IUWASH Tangguh will increase the knowledge and skills of local institutions and communities to apply sustainable landscape and water resources management approaches.
The scale up will further support the local government’s forest conservation efforts, which they have initiated since 2019 to manage and protect water resources. The expansion will include the establishment of an LPHD that covers three hamlets: Dusun Benua, Dusun Rees, and Dusun Lintang Batang.
Mr. Jeff Cohen commended the collaboration and emphasized: “The main strength of USAID’s partnership program is collaboration such as what we do with LPHD, local organizations such as Jari Indonesia Borneo Barat, and the community at Rumah Pelangi. Hopefully, village forest conservation efforts through preservation of high conservation value nature such as in Teluk Bakung Village will be realized through the increase of economically valuable plants and vegetation that will help increase water reserves in the catchment area. Remember, more trees, more water.”
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