Jakarta, Ekuatorial – Despite of lesser known and interests, around 20 community based forests were participating in emission reduction program to achieve added values of their forests, said an activist on Thursday (6/3), in Jakarta.

These communities, which include community forest (hutan kemasyarakatan), village forest (hutan desa), people’s plantation forest (hutan tanaman rakyat), people’s forest (hutan rakyat), and customary forest (hutan adat), are being facilitated by a consortium of local, national and international NGOs and donors dubbed as Indonesia Community Payment for Environmental Services (PES) Consortium which has been established since 2014.

“This [consortium] is still very new, only less than a year however we have facilitated 20 communities which covers 18,000 families with the total of nearly 70,000 hectares spread in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara,” said Ari Aliadi, chairperson of PES Consortium.

Aliadi said that communities were facilitated to set up forest management plan, especially to prevent deforestation and degradation. “Afterwards, we will need to integrate that plan to reduce emissions from forest,” he said. “The consortium would help determine emission reduction level and determine coverage areas of forest need to be protected and rehabilitated.”

Furthermore, he said that carbon emission reduced through the program will be evaluated and certified by Plan Vivo, an international independent certification body.

“Three projects in Jambi, West Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara are currently in validation stages while others are still in process,” he said referring to Durian Rambun Village Forest of Merangin district, Laman Satong Village Forest of Ketapang district, and Aik Bual Community Forest of Central Lombok, respectively.

Based on the Consortium data, Durian Rambun Village Forest is predicted to reduce 25,697 tons of CO2e, Laman Satong Village Forest is predicted to reduce 12,590 tons of CO2e, and Aik Bual Community Forest is predicted tore reduce 4,317 tons of CO2e.

“Emission reduction targets from community based forests are actually written in Indonesia’s Action Plan on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission. As much as 2.5 million hectares of community forest can reduce a total of 91.75 million tons of CO2e. Meanwhile, 9.18 million tons of CO2e can be reduced from 250,000 hectares of village forest,” he said.

However, he added, that long process to obtain permits have hindered community based forests to develop. “The regulation says 60 days [for permits to be issued] but in reality, some might get it within a year of three years,” he said adding that the government had announced that 12.7 million hectares of forest can be accessed for communities from 2015-20.

Meanwhile, Chris Stephenson, Director of Plan Vivo, said that to obtain certifications for emission reduction would vary to each projects. “It would take 5 to 10 years to get certified for REDD projects [Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation]. In some agro-forestry can go longer, it may have 20 -25 years to get certified,” said Stephenson.

Considering on the long process to get paid from issued certification, he said that local or national NGOs facilitating communities need to work on the ground on long term basis.

Aliadi said that emission reduction program from community based forest was not primarily income for people. “Don’t wait [for the money from emission] because the main purpose of this program is to protect their forests but can still benefit from it,” he said. “For example, people depending on sugar palm would plant more trees because it absorbs lots of water. But, by planting trees, they also can get additional value for reducing emissions. So, that’s environmental payment services means.”

The programs was not about getting direct money out of selling carbon certifications, he said, but focusing on protecting forests and increase their productivity. Fidelis E. Satriastanti.

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