Conservation that promotes a green economy

Elizabeth Kahurani (Nairobi) - As countries like Indonesia consider strategies for a policy to implement the REDD+ mechanism, evidence is increasingly pointing to the need for an all-inclusive approach as opposed to establishing and exclusively focusing on protected areas.  In a recent study, ASB Partnership scientists looked at opportunities for a green economy and preservation of unique habitat that exist in the diverse landscape of Sumatra. Here, you find a mosaic of villages that seat at the base of the natural forest and in between there are domesticated tree-based systems and tree crops that provide firewood, timber and other non-forest products that are a source of income for the communities. It is also home to the famous endangered Sumatran Orangutan.

Looking at which elements hold high carbon stock between disturbed forests, undisturbed forests, mixed gardens, pine plantations and benzoine resin (locally known as kemenyan), mixed gardens had slightly higher carbon stored than disturbed forests and pine plantations. The scientists also found that mixed gardens ranked third largest for diversity and richness of species.

‘This evidence shows that ‘agroforests’ play a significant role in biodiversity conservation and carbon storage,’ point out the ASB scientists in a new policy brief titled co-existence of people and orangutan in Sumatra. The scientists argue that trees on farm meet the internationally accepted definition of forest based on tree cover and tree height and the only difference is that they are managed by farmers rather than forest management institutions. Forests and ‘agroforests’ therefore should not be taken as being exclusive from each other in efforts to reduce carbon emissions,  but  should be seen as compliments and the challenge should be how best to engage communities and forest authorities in joint management. Instead of having areas of the landscape demarcated as formal protected territories, the scientists recommend a multifunctional approach which allows for land use sharing for agriculture, forests and the preservation of the Orangutan and their habitat.

They point out that for a long time, the forest-agroforest-village Sumatra landscape survived because the terrain was inaccessible but now it is under threat from migration and logging roads and a REDD scheme might prove effective in rewarding the local people to protect the forests, as well as explore other opportunities for introducing payments for ecosystem services.

Read full ASB Policy Brief 20 which describes  recent research findings for the Batang Toru landscape in Sumatra and discusses their wider implications for stabilizing tropical forest margins. The research was carried out in cooperation with PanEco/YEL and the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP).

A full report of the fieldwork is available as

Tata MH, van Noordwijk M, Mulyoutami E, Rahayu S, Widayati A and Mulia R. 2010. Human livelihoods, ecosystem services and the habitat of the Sumatran orangutan: Rapid assessment in Batang Toru and Tripa. Project Report. Bogor, Indonesia. World Agroforestry Centre - ICRAF, SEA Regional Office. 136 p.

http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/files/report/RP0270-11/RP0270-11-1.PDF

http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/files/report/RP0270-11/RP0270-11-2.PDF

http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Publications/files/report/RP0270-11/RP0270-11-3.PDF

The study was part of a comprehensive study of Orangutans and the economics of sustainable forest management in Sumatra by UNEP:

http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2653&ArticleID=8877&l=en

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