Securing thriving landscapes and supporting sourcing

Indonesia’s tropical forests are rich in biodiversity including iconic wildlife like orangutans. The Indonesian forests play an important role in regulating the global climate and securing freshwater resources. The forests are also home to numerous indigenous peoples and local communities, whose livelihoods and culture are closely interwoven with the forest. However, in recent decades, huge areas of forest have been converted to palm oil and pulp plantations or degraded through illegal or poorly managed logging. Catastrophic fires, particularly on carbon-rich peatlands, have released millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, resulting in dangerous air pollution. Local communities suffer the consequences of forest loss, and often lack alternative livelihood opportunities.

Building on a long history of collaboration to help reduce Indonesia’s deforestation rate, WWF and IKEA are undertaking and promoting forest restoration projects in its most important regions. The partnership works to support sustainable forest management practices that help indigenous and local communities earn a decent income. One key area of focus is the Katingan Corridor in Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo (700,000 hectares), which connects two national parks, Sebangau and Bukit Baka-Bukit Raya, and is home to a significant orangutan population. In the Katingan Corridor, we’ve established a collaboration with three communities to promote alternative forest management approaches that prioritize their needs and deliver community benefits, and are increasing the monitoring of habitats and introducing best management practices.

Elsewhere in Indonesia, we’re working to support improved forest management in West Papua, empowering communities in Flores to benefit from supplying sustainable bamboo, and supporting local government in Central Java to develop green procurement policies for timber and paper products.

What we’re doing

Empowering communities

By 2023, we want an additional 20,000 hectares of forest to be sustainably managed by communities, bringing socioeconomic and environmental benefits. Previously, we’ve supported rattan farmers in the Katingan Corridor to achieve FSC certification, and we’re aiming to expand certified rattan production, bringing in more producers. We’re also looking at other commodities such as bamboo that farmers can produce sustainably, both in Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, and other priority landscapes in Flores, Java and West Papua. We’re providing training in better management practices that will reduce impacts on biodiversity and the environment and enable communities to achieve certification. We are also helping communities to generate greater economic value, including by linking them with buyers and supporting them to develop social enterprises.

Increasing responsible forest management

Under the WWF and IKEA partnership, we’re continuing to support forest management enterprises to develop long-term sustainable management plans and to achieve FSC certification. We provide technical assistance on issues such as identifying and protecting areas of high conservation value and resolving potential social conflicts. This includes supporting the certification of 275,000 hectares in West Papua – a vitally important area for biodiversity.

Improving market links

To incentivize responsible production, WWF and IKEA are forging stronger market links between producers – particularly smallholders and communities – and buyers who want to source sustainable products. This includes linking producers with IKEA suppliers, contributing to the company’s own objectives of sourcing its materials sustainably, and with other potential markets, such as local governments. In the current phase of the programme, we’re focusing on bamboo from Flores and other potential alternatives to timber from natural forests.

Restoring orangutan habitat

Our ambition is to secure a large landscape that’s crucial to the survival of orangutans. The Katingan Corridor in Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo connects two national parks, Sebangau and Bukit Baka-Bukit Raya. Around 40% of this landscape provides suitable habitat for orangutans. In partnership with multiple actors in the region, we’re aiming to secure around a million hectares of habitat. Our work includes monitoring the condition of the habitat, with a particular focus on building resilience against potential climate change impacts, and addressing threats such as oil palm expansion, other land conversion, illegal logging and forest fires. We collaborate with communities and producers’ associations to help them benefit from sustainably managing their natural resources, including through cultivating non-timber forest products such as rattan and bamboo. This will improve livelihoods while taking pressure off the forest. We’re working with forestry companies to promote responsible forest management and certification. Another key element of our work is advocating with local government officials to take action against threats to orangutan habitat, while building public support for conservation.

For more information

Michelle Slaney
WWF Senior Programme Manager Forests
Michelle.Slaney@wwf.se

 

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