Six-year community-focused forestry project in Indonesia completed with positive climate change mitigation impact

Jul 25, 2023

In 2018, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia embarked upon the Forest Investment Program-1 project entitled “Community-Focused Investment to Address Deforestation and Forest Degradation in West Kalimantan (FIP-1)”, with financing from a 17 million USD grant by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Hatfield Indonesia was selected to lead the Project Implementation Supporting Unit (PISU).

After six years of collaborative work, the project concluded with two main outcomes of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing community income. Based on project carbon accounting completed in December 2022, the project reduced GHG emissions by 1.82 million tons carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) and has increased income in project communities by 40% from the 2018 baseline condition.

Hatfield Indonesia’s role included planning, implementation, and monitoring of the grant that was integrated in the national budget plan. Mobilizing 43 experts and utilizing more than 1,700 person months, Hatfield Indonesia provided support on sustainable forest management, forest fire prevention, community-based forest management (social forestry), strengthening the capacity of sub-national government on REDD+ planning and communication, community livelihood improvement, and harmonizing sub-national regulation related to REDD+ with the national fiscal policy. Hatfield Indonesia was also responsible for the REDD+ measurement, monitoring, reporting, and development of the Safeguard Information System for REDD+, and assessment of the REDD+ benefit sharing mechanism.

During the Project Closing Ceremony in June 2023, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry noted successful project facilitation. and the meeting, or exceeding, of project performance indicators. Additionally, Hatfield Indonesia also provided substantial added value to the project, for example facilitating 15 out of 17 targeted villages to receive the Village Climate Program (ProKlim).

Hatfield Indonesia is proud of the collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, especially the Directorate General of the Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership (PSKL), the Provincial Government of West Kalimantan, and the ADB team. We also received support from the Project Management Unit (PMU) and the FIP Program Coordinating Unit (PCU).

Bambang Tri Sasongko Adi, FIP-1 PISU Team Leader, expressed his gratitude for the experience and noted that “the six years were challenging, but a great experience that has made Hatfield Indonesia a strategic partner for future projects related to REDD+, forestry, and other land-uses for climate change and social forestry development in Indonesia.”