Harapan Rainforest - Pilot Restoration of a Degraded Forest Ecosystem on Sumatra

The project supported the maintenance and protection of the 101,000 hectares of Harapan Rainforest in the Jambi and South Sumatra provinces. This project ensured that around 10-15 million tonnes of CO2 are sequestered over 30 years. This part of the Harapan currently represented a fifth of all remaining dry lowland forest in Sumatra and provided a habitat for countless endemic species. In cooperation with the indigenous peoples, the project partners conducted many different activities aimed at, among other things, combating the causes of deforestation and forest degradation as well as promoting forest restoration. Findings drawn from these activities provided important information to support the development of a REDD+ strategy for Indonesia and elsewhere. This was the first and only project so far to implement the new Indonesian legislation on ecosystem restoration. As a pilot project, it can serve as a model for an additional 24 million hectares of tropical forests in Indonesia.

Project data

Countries: Indonesia
IKI funding: 7,575,000.00 €
Duration: 10/2009 till 04/2014
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: KfW Entwicklungsbank
Political Partner: Ministry of Forestry - Indonesia*
Implementing Partner: Indonesian Forest Ecosystem Conservation Foundation (Yayasan KEHI)

Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU)

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

Wild Bird Conservation Society of Indonesia
Online: http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/rainforests/

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State of implementation/results

Project completed

Harapan Rainforest is the first area in Indonesia where the newly created concept of Ecosystem Restoration Concessions (ERC) are piloted
The ERC´s in Harapan contributed to the protection of one of the last remaining lowland forests on Sumatra
Income generating activities as well as strategies for the sustainable economic use of natural resources have been developed -- Comprehensive awareness raising on sustainable management and forest protection was conducted in local municipalities and schools
Establishment of a locally adapted monitoring system to combat illegal deforestation
Establishment of mediation processes with local stakeholder groups to discuss the future use and the protection of the Harapan area.
Active support for indigenous groups such as the Bathin Sembilan on the basis of joint Memorandum of Understandings (MoU´s) for sustainable resource use. The project supported the improvement of local livelihoods through measures such related to school & education, medical support, infrastructure as well as exploration of non-timber-forest products as alternative income source.

Latest Update:
01/2025