plants people regeneration

plants people planet

Rainforests are critical to planetary health, performing unique functions in global weather patterns and carbon storage, making a significant contribution to combating global warming. Rainforests cover around 3% of the planet’s surface and Indonesia is home to the largest remaining expanse of rainforest in the whole of Asia.

The archipelagic state of Indonesia consists of more than 18,000 islands and is the largest country in South-east Asia. It is estimated that around half its primary forest has been lost and 25% of this in the last 25 years.

The greatest cause of forest clearance in Indonesia is agriculture to satisfy global human demand for food and products. It has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world with an annual estimated loss of around one million hectares, 30% of which are from carbon-rich peatlands.  When these peatland rainforests are cleared, stored carbon is released into the atmosphere contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.

Indonesia has up to 11 million hectares of degraded forest, land that has been cleared largely for palm oil and rubber production, logging and wood pulp. But what happens to deforested and degraded land once commodity agriculture moves on?

The Forest Vanilla Project is a forest restoration project which hopes to assist the regeneration of 2 million hectares of degraded Indonesian rainforest, providing sustainable incomes for around 5 million people.

Second only to saffron, vanilla is the most valuable global food crop. Current production of natural vanilla meets only 1% of total annual global demand for food and perfume. The Forest Vanilla Project aims to demonstrate the sustainable value of cultivating vanilla to local people. Working with indigenous models of agroforestry and incorporating high value crops like vanilla, the Forest Vanilla Project hopes to encourage a polyculture approach in forest cultivation.

Incomes for small holder farmers can be unreliable because of vulnerabilities in the supply chain. Middlemen and variations in market price can have a huge impact on the income farmers receive for their produce. The Forest Vanilla Project aims to shorten the supply chain and make it more transparent. These initiatives combined with market demand should help to make the production of natural vanilla a more reliable source of income for farming communities.

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 Forest farmers planting vanilla                                                     image: I. Madé Setiawan

In Anjir Kelampan, Kalimantan Province, Borneo, the Forest Vanilla Project is working with women forest farmers in degraded peatland forest areas . Vanilla vines have been planted in plantations of rubber trees, taking a step towards a mixed cropping agroforestry approach.

Using a polyculture approach, the Forest Vanilla Project aims to demonstrate that assisted forest regeneration is more profitable financially and environmentally. Rainforests are home to more species of plants and animals than any other land ecosystem. Regenerating degraded forest can contribute to slowing the rapid loss of rainforest biodiversity and protect the critical roles these unique ecosystems perform.

 

 

 

plants people progress?

plants people planet

Palm oil production is a leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss, however output is expected to rise at a slower rate in 2018 than last year. But the figures are still alarming, with the predicted production for Indonesia alone expected to reach 40 million tonnes.

This intensive, mono-culture approach to palm oil farming is bad for the planet and is often bad for the people involved too, particularly for women and their children working on these vast plantations.

There is evidence to suggest the use of child labour in the industry, with children as young as eight years old working in the plantations. 1.5 million children are thought to be working in Indonesia in the commercial cultivation of rubber, tobacco and palm oil.

And in many circumstances employment rights for women workers classed as casual labourers, are particularly poor or non-existent. Often the working conditions and harmful effects on health are particularly acute for women who are employed to apply herbicides and pesticides.

Palm oil certification (RSPO)  is the most effective way of bringing about change. Smallholder farming backed by shopper demand is key to the increased production of sustainable palm oil and the empowerment of women working in this industry.

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Consumer demand for the use of sustainable palm oil in products can improve the livelihoods of many women and their children

It is acknowledged that there have been difficulties in thoroughly enforcing and monitoring all aspects of the criteria required for certification. With a growing consumer market for sustainable palm oil, there are increased incentives for small holders to consistently adhere to the standards required.

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in the palm of your hands

plants people planet

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil in the world and found in half the packaged products on supermarket shelves. Chocolate, dog food, pizza and lipstick are just a few of the products containing palm oil.

There has been a dramatic increase in global demand in recent years. This has lead to a rapid expansion in commercial cultivation which has required land clearance on a dizzying scale. Indonesia is the world’s largest producer with more than 9 million hectares dedicated to growing palm oil. The palm oil industry in Indonesia has provided 16 million jobs, giving many people a reliable income and a way out of poverty.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is committed to transforming the industry, making sustainable palm oil the norm. Working with industrial scale producers and smallholders, RSPO provides support and training to help producers achieve RSPO certification.  Currently 19% of global production is certified by the RSPO.

The RSPO also campaigns, encouraging consumers to use our purchasing power to support more sustainable palm oil #GoodBadPalmOil.

 

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This symbol can be found on products that contain palm oil certified by the RSPO.

Nearly 45 million people live in the forests of Indonesia and many depend directly on these environments for their livelihoods. Indonesia’s unique rainforests are ranked amongst the most important on the planet. A quarter have been lost since 1990, with commercial-scale agriculture such as palm oil production, the leading cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss.

A number of organisations are working with smallholders in Indonesia, helping them to increase yields and achieve a fairer price for the crops they grow. Farmers are encouraged to diversify, growing mixed crops such as rubber, cocoa and coffee and reducing their reliance on a single crop such as palm oil. The benefits also include more productive use of available farmland, reducing the need for further forest clearance.

Global demand for palm oil is increasing. The future of palm oil production and of the rainforests is in our hands…

seeing the wood and the trees

plants people planet

At 7%  Kenya has one of the lowest levels of tree cover in Africa. The 20 Million Trees campaign from the International Tree Foundation (ITF), is helping Kenya to meet its reforestation targets. This campaign contributes to the Kenyan government’s wider environment strategy tackling climate change, land degradation and reversing deforestation.

ITF has been working closely with partners including Mount Kenya Environmental Conservation (MKEC), the Mount Kenya Trust , the Kenya Forest Research Institute and Botanic Garden Conservation International supporting community organisations leading the 20 Million Trees campaign.

As part of its work with groups of small holders in the Embu district, MKEC conducted a household survey to understand how people use the forests. Rural Kenyan communities rely primarily on the forests for collecting firewood and harvesting wild plants for fodder. The forests have also suffered from encroachment, logging, poaching, fires and livestock farming.

As part of this inspiring community-led reforestation project, local women groups and community groups establish tree nurseries and take part in tree planting and are also responsible for the aftercare. Young trees are planted in existing forest, degraded areas and on small farms. For farmers, reforestation helps to prevent soil erosion, restores soil fertility and the trees provide shade for crops. Vegetables can be cultivated amongst the maturing trees, improving food security and providing additional income. If two vegetable crops can be harvested a year, then it is estimated that farmers can earn up to $1000. This additional income can support access to education and healthcare, and enable farmers to save and invest.

The 20 Million Trees campaign, works with local communities living in and around the Imenti and Ontulili forests, Aberdares, Mount Elgon, the Cherangani Hills and the Kakamega forest – Kenya’s only remaining rainforest. On Mount Kenya, the ITF and the 20 million Trees campaign aim to restore 900 hectares of degraded forest and plant more than 800,000 trees!

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Mount Kenya

 

plants people perfume

plants people planet

In the remote Kunene region of north western Namibia, a plant conservation project has helped to generate income amongst women and to encourage sustainable harvesting from the wild. Integral Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC), is an organisation focused on community-based natural resource management in Namibia.

Women from the nomadic Himba community have traditionally collected from the succulent plant called omimbiri or Commiphora wildii. As with myrrh, to which it’s closely related, it is also the dried resin that is harvested from this desert shrub. The resin is gathered during the dry season from wild plant populations growing on the dolomitic inland cliffs on the edge of the desert.

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Himba women harvesting resin of Commiphora wildii

Traditionally the resin is heated and combined with butter fat and powdered ochre to make a beauty treatment. The resin provides this paste with a lemony perfume, which women apply to their skin for its moisturising, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

IRDNC’s project has selected to work with Himba women from two conservancies to protect sustainable harvesting and local knowledge, and provide income from the commercialisation of the oils derived from the plant resin.

Women have traditionally collected the dried resin and continue to be the majority of wild collectors. The project has helped to train other harvesters and create opportunities to generate income and improve livelihoods.

An annual harvest of more than six tonnes, could be wild collected by more than 300 women. These harvesters receive direct income at the point when they bring the resin to be weighed. The resin is processed at a local pressing factory owned by a trust whose members are also harvesters.

 

plants people positive

plants people planet

In Central Europe, Traditional and Wild  has aimed to promote the sustainable harvesting of wild plants and the benefits of equitable trade. In Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland,  a series of conservation projects called Traditional and Wild have helped to protect indigenous knowledge relating to wild plant collection and plant use.

Traditional and Wild projects have been a collaboration between TRAFFIC and WWF working with in-country partner organisations. Integral to the Traditional and Wild projects are sustainability principles. These are based on the FairWild principles of good management and business practices to help maintain wild resources and achieve fair prices for wild plant collectors.

Species of birch, walnut, nettle and elder are some of the plants gathered by wild plant collector communities in these areas. Derivatives of these species are used on a commercial-scale in foods, medicines and cosmetics. Betula pendula, Vaccinium mrytillus, equisetum arvense, Juglans regia, Sambucus nigra, Rubus idaeus, Urtica dioica and Rosa canina have all been included in Traditional and Wild projects.

The experiences gained from the Traditional and Wild projects have contributed to the larger programme, Local Economy and Nature Conservation in the Danube Region (LENA). This programme promotes the sustainable use of wild plant resources across 11 ecologically sensitive areas in seven countries where wild plant harvesting has provided valuable income. An aim of this programme is to support livelihoods in rural communities using socially, economically and ecologically sustainable practices.

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Danube river