This project empowers local communities to secure land tenure rights, protect biodiversity, and improve incomes through sustainable agriculture and formation of forest protection committees.
Communities located in forested areas with high bio-diversity and critical watersheds have Indonesia's highest poverty, illiteracy and infant mortality rates. Lacking methods to enable poeple to participate in sustainable forest management, the government sometimes forcibly evict communities from their traditional lands. The project helps 6,000 families living near 3 critical protected forests learn to improve food production and income while regenerating forests.
The project focuses on sustainable agriculture technologies based on local knowledge to help stabilize farm production thereby reducing dependence on forests, and ensures that all members, including women have equal opportunities to participate.
This project strengthens the capacity of farmer groups to negotiate with the government for land tenure rights, greater access to water supply, forest resources, and participatory management of protected areas.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
