The Site:
Bungo District in the Batang Hari watershed is located in the western part of the Jambi Province in the island of Sumatra - the third largest rubber-producing province in Indonesia. The district is between 1º08' and 1º15' latitude and 101º27' and 102º30' longitude. The region is relatively flat, and has an altitude of less than 500 m above sea level. Approximately 50% of the land is covered by rubber-based systems, of which 15% is in the form of old rubber agroforests or 'jungle rubber', now becoming increasingly important as a reservoir of forest diversity and other ‘forest services’ valued in natural forests.
In the Bungo area, deforestation has been high, with almost 60% of the forest having been lost. Additionally, Bungo area is surrounded by three national parks (Kerinci Seblat, Bukit Dua Belas and Bukit Dua Puluh). These parks can be seen as islands of rich biodiversity, which are isolated from each other. The locations where jungle rubber subsists, which are in the proximity of a village and especially along riverbanks, potentially interconnect the three parks. Therefore, apart from the potential to become a refuge area for nearby forest species, jungle rubber could also serve as a buffer zone for local people and a 'stepping stone' or corridor for biological diversity from the national parks.
This RUPES research site presents an example of how jungle rubber or rubber agroforest can provide a compromise between farmers' need to earn income and the need to conserve biodiversity. In Bungo, rubber farms consist of small, intensively managed rubber plots and small extensively managed plots of jungle rubber. Farmers regard rubber agroforest as a second-best management system, after the more intensive monoculture plantations they would plant if they had the resources to do so.
The Issues:
Despite the fact that the rate of deforestation in most of Sumatra has increased, the jungle rubber agroforest has become increasingly important to preserve forest diversity and providers of most of the environmental services. Jungle rubber refers to the traditional rubber agroforest in Indonesia and covers an estimated 2 million hectares, mostly in Sumatra and Kalimantan Islands. In facts, 70 percent of Indonesian rubber comes from jungle rubber systems.
In Jambi Province, however, where rubber as the major source of income, the economic level depends to the world market price. Low rubber prices over past years have brought a substantial part to the province below the official ‘poverty line’, while a decade ago Jambi was better off and formed as the attraction site for migrants.
In recent years, enormous increase of oil palm plantation has also supported to reduce number of jungle rubber areas in Jambi. Oil palm plantation, in one side, provides more income per unit land with less labor opportunities, thus forms a threat to both the environmental services, as well as livelihood opportunities. Yet, without rewards for the environmental services provided by rubber agroforest, this system soon to be replaced by oil palm plantation by those with credit or capitals.
The Rewards:
Rewarding rubber agroforest tappers
Current efforts to better understand the rubber marketing mechanisms have identified a number of obstacles (the product quality and processing of the ‘jungle rubber’ provides a link to the least ‘eco sensitive’ segment of the rubber market), but further efforts appear to be warranted. In the short term, RUPES expect the counterpart/buyers will respond positively to a proposal that will provide direct support to village communities that agree to protect a substantial area of old rubber agroforest. The hope is that RUPES funds can be used to establish a strong institutional framework, to overcome some concerns on gender equity and wealth distribution in the local communities (with efforts aimed at the rubber tappers rather than land owners), specific set of rules and monitoring instruments.
Eco-certified natural rubber from sustainable rubber agroforest
In the follow up of ICRAF research on profitability and environmental quality (carbon stock and biodiversity) of traditional and intensive rubber production systems in Indonesia, some opportunities for recognizing the environmental quality of rubber production systems in special product lines is now being explored.
Ensuring a sustainable mechanism
RUPES has contributed to some changes in Bungo’s communities, ranges from the establishment of farmer groups to increase the awareness of local officials on the environmental consequences of monoculture plantations. However, the world out there is dynamic and will always give some external impacts to the communities and their environment. In order to maintain the current positive processes, and to respond to the future situation, the internal capacity within the communities is needed to adapt the change wisely. Local and national institutions including the university are expected to provide supports in building the farmer’s capacities, as well as playing the role as intermediate between the communities and the international buyers.
The role of RUPES is not limited to develop the internal capacity in the communities, but also to provide the local and national networks for institutional supports. Not to mention the involvement of policy makers and takers at the village, district and provincial levels in achieving the objective above.
Contact:
Name: Mr. Rachman Pasha
Email: r.pasha@cgiar.org