The Living Rubber project is located in the north of Hutan Harapan, one of Sumatra’s remaining lowland forests. Home to the Batin Sembilan and local Malay indigenous people, the 2,700-hectare protected area is rich with trees, flora and highly endangered species including the Sumatran tiger, agile gibbon, greater green leafbird and helmeted hornbill. In recent years the forest has faced illegal encroachment from loggers, poachers and farmers leading to deforestation that has damaged its luxuriant biodiversity and affected the lives of Hutan Harapan’s inhabitants. A three-year initiative supported by Pirelli and BMW, in conjunction with the non-governmental organisation BirdLife International and administered by the Indonesian Ecosystem Restoration Concession company, PT REKI, is pioneering a new way of life – for the people and the forest. Using an inclusive and participatory process, the goal is to enable local people to live where they belong by developing agroforestry – combining trees with agriculture to boost the food supply, income and health of smallholder farmers and reduce their exposure to price fluctuations by diversification while at the same time protecting the forest. This work is in line with the Indonesian government’s support for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and addresses the issues of goals number 1 No Poverty, number 13 Climate Action and number 15 Life on Land. Called Living rubber: a joint pathway to sustainable rubber, the project involves multiple stakeholders including the national and local governments, local communities and the private sector, and is designed as a pilot scheme to develop a model for smallholders to grow deforestation-free rubber.
A crucial zone to prevent forest fragmentation
The project’s protected area has been identified as a key zone as it links with a larger forest block in the south. If this zone is not maintained it will lead to what is called “forest fragmentation”, when the forest is broken into smaller pieces, typically separated by roads, agriculture or other human development. Breaking up the forest in this way inhibits the movement of plants and animals, restricting breeding and gene flow and leading to long-term population decline. In addition, the Kandang River, which runs through this area, would be affected if the forests were cleared and would be susceptible to degradation and a decline in water quality for communities downstream. “The integrity of the forest is critical not only for flora and fauna, but also for the communities for livelihoods, health and resilience,” says Lahiru Wijedasa, Asia forest coordinator, BirdLife International.
