A year ago, the ecology of forestland in the highlands of Pangalengan, Indonesia was under such threat that a government ban on vegetable growing was implemented. This decision led to more than 5000 people being denied their livelihoods. In response, farmers in the villages surrounding the forest decided to revitalize an already existing farmer’s group and to initiate a project called the “Friends of the forest”. Their aim was to find ways to conserve the forest while continuing to gain their livelihoods from it.
Background
The highlands of Pangalengan in the Bandung district of West Java, Indonesia, have fertile, volcanic soils and enough rainfall throughout the year to allow two planting seasons. The main economic activity is vegetable growing and most people depend on this activity for their livelihoods.
Pressure
More than eighty percent of the population are small-scale farmers who depend on plots averaging 0.3 hectares. With the rapid rise in population, there is a continuously growing pressure for farmland and over the years it became common practice to grow vegetables in the neighbouring forestland of the Mount Tilu nature reserve. This reserve, established in February 1978, includes primary forests that are important as a habitat for many endangered animals. The forest also acts as a water catchment for the surrounding area.
The government carried out logging for timber on this land and after it had been cleared, farmers were employed to replant the cleared areas. As they did so, they also started to grow vegetables in between the tree seedlings. Formally, they had not been allowed to cultivate in the forest, but the Department of Forestry turned a blind eye as long as the areas were replanted.
Ban
Over time, however, the government realized that things were getting out of hand. Soil erosion was increasing and the water level in the rivers was going down. As the area is a major source of drinking water to many and also has a hydro-electric facility, this was considered serious and thought to be the result of farming activities taking place in the forest. The vegetable growing left the soils bare, increasing erosion and water loss from the ground and the farmers were suspected of illegal logging and destroying the forest to make room for crops. In 2003, therefore, the government introduced a ban on vegetable growing on forestland and the farmers and their families faced a crisis.
Friends of the forest
Farmers from five villages that surround the Gunung Tilu Mountain decided to revitalize an already existing farmer’s group and to initiate a project, which they called the “Friends of the Forest”. Their aim was to find ways to conserve the forest while continuing to gain their livelihoods from it. The farmer’s group was reorganized and a committee of twenty-three people was formed, led by a local farmer called Pak Ikin. The first step was to explain their ideas to the Department of Forestry. The Department supported the idea and the committee began its activities.
Safeguarding biodiversity
The tropical rain forest at Gunung Tilu is very rich in biodiversity and has a wide variety of tree species. It is also home to wild animals including the leopard, the Javan wild dog and numerous bird species. Many of these are threatened by human hunting activities.
The main daily tasks of the committee members involves moving around the forest to prevent cutting down of trees, burning of the forest, hunting and any other destructive activities. To support their livelihoods, the members of this committee collect wild fruits, tubers and other plant parts for food as well as for sale. Other plants are collected for medicinal use. Fearing that these important herbal plants might become extinct, the farmers have established small gardens in the forest to propagate them.
Intelligent crop selection
Some food crops are also grown in the forest to provide farmers with food as well as income. Not just any kind of crop can be grown, but only those that do not compromise the conservation of the forest. In collaboration with the forestry department, farmers carefully selected crops that can be integrated into the forest ecosystem and do not require the use of any chemicals. The crops grown in Gunung Tilu include coffee, papaya, banana, jack fruit, sugar palm, avocado and cassava. The cultivation of these crops does not involve making the land bare, which would increase soil erosion. Many of these crops also have multiple uses. Banana is grown for its fruits as well as for its leaves. The leaves are used for wrapping foodstuffs and are sold to local markets. Cassava produces tubers as the main food and the leaves are also a good vegetable.
There is also a tree nursery project involving the growing of both exotic and indigenous tree species. The project aims to conserve and protect those indigenous tree species that are near extinction. Each farmer maintains a small tree nursery in his area of operation in the forest and the farmers usually go deeper into the forest to collect seeds and seedlings of indigenous tree species to be grown in the nurseries until they are large enough for planting.
Another important economic activity is collecting and selling materials for handicrafts and construction. These materials mainly come from bamboo and are used for weaving boards for house walls as well as ceilings.
All activities undertaken aim to preserve biodiversity and maintain the ecological balance in the area. The farmers committee is now negotiating to be allowed to grow more crops in the forest, including chilli and herbs. These are already grown in the small gardens, but are not yet on the list of crops that are permitted in the forest. The committee includes staff members from the Department of Forestry, which helps guide farmers in their discussions with the government. These people are important when trying to find a workable solution that is satisfactory to both parties.
Conclusion
The activities of the “Friends of the Forest” farmers are very different from the usual farming practices that are carried out in the main vegetable growing areas in Pangalengan. Most vegetable farmers in the area depend on large amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, to the extent that it has brought about an ecological imbalance in the area. Natural predators of harmful insects have been eradicated, useful animals as well as the chemical balance in the soil have been negatively affected and the water sources are polluted.
Unlike most other farmer groups, the “Friends of the Forest” farmers depend only on local resources to carry out their projects. So far, they have neither requested nor received any donor support. It is a great example of using local resources to solve local problems and the lack of reliance on external resources makes it possible to replicate this experience elsewhere.
