THE COMMODITY ISSUE
MBEILING, FLORES, INDONESIA
LIGHTING THE CANDLE OF
INNOVATION
Our ‘mbelievable’ investment in micro-finance, community ownership and agroforesty is
ensuring this unique landscape keeps blooming in the future.
By Adi Widyanto
s well as being the
only place other than
Komodo National
Park where you
can find the infamous Komodo
Dragon, Indonesia’s Flores Island
is also famed (and named) for
its flowers. And there is one
flowering tree whose nuts are
attracting growing interest from
conservationists and community
groups: the candlenut. This large,
white nut is famed for its oil,
which can be burned for light,
but is also common in Southeast
Asian cuisine – making it a
valuable crop.
The Mbeliling landscape
stretches across nearly 94,000
hectares in the West Manggarai
district. As well as hosting a
wealth of wildlife, including 171
bird species, the forest is also
a crucial watershed, providing
clean water for agriculture,
villages and towns. Its rich
agricultural landscape supports
the livelihoods of approximately
30,000 people across 27 villages,
who make their living from
agroforestry, rice crops and
animal husbandry. Commodities
produced by the agroforests
include candlenuts, coffee,
cocoa, cloves and cashew nuts.
Sustainable agroforestry can
be an excellent way to make sure
that local people do not need
to clear pristine natural forest to
earn a living. If they earn enough
from the crops they grow, they
need not resort to hunting or
logging to feed their families.
Furthermore, growing different
crops together, interspersed with
trees, keeps the soil healthy and
provides habitat for wild animals,
A
JUL-SEP 2019 • BIRDLIFE
especially birds. This technique
also serves a greater purpose –
tree roots bind the soil together
and prevent natural disasters
such as landslides, which risk
becoming ever more frequent in
the face of climate change.
With this in mind, in 2007
Burung Indonesia (BirdLife
Partner) developed the idea of
Village Resource Management
Agreements (VRMAs) in order
to halt harmful activities to
the island’s biodiversity and
forests. Working alongside the
27 communities, they formed
agreements on forest protection,
fire prevention and water source
management, the results of
which are monitored regularly.
This role later evolved into a
broader guideline for planning
and developing villages as a
whole, since the agreement
contains guidance for the
productive and sustainable
management of village resources.
Besides conservation, Burung
Indonesia also helps communities
to explore economic activities
that will improve local earnings
without damaging natural
habitats. In 2010 there were only
ten small businesses in the area,
but now there are more than a
hundred – including livestock
and fish husbandry, tree nurseries,
coffee processing, a bakery and
shops. 22 microfinance units
serve the small businesses,
giving owners the boost they
need to get started. A candlenut
cooperative has been set up,
supplying the product to national
markets.
There are still a number of
challenges to be addressed,
and that’s where the Forest
Landscape Sustainability
Accelerator comes in. Over the
years, Burung Indonesia has
suffered from a lack of capital to
finance business opportunities,
and to provide fiance-based
incentives, including from the
government, for communities to
preserve habitats. Conservation
groups are also in need of
funding for staff, training and
equipment, which will enable
them to achieve even more.
Through the Accelerator,
Burung Indonesia to exploring
opportunities that have not been
tried before. We are already
getting VRMAs integrated into
the policies of local planning
offices, and they also seek to
expand the scale of the candlenut
cooperative, allowing even
more farmers to get involved.
Excitingly, we will be exploring
some completely new avenues,
including ecotourism and
‘payment for ecosystem services’:
incentives offered to farmers
or landowners in exchange for
preserving the vital, life-giving
services that nature provides.
F A C T
F I L E
AREA: 94,000 ha
forest mosaic
BIODIVERSITY:
Incredible endemic
wildlife including
171 bird species
SUSTAINABILITY
STRATEGY:
30,000 people
in agroforestry
(candlenut, coffee,
cocoa, clove and
cashew nut)
Flores Island
Photo Toni Wöhrl
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