WWF’s Achievements and Ongoing Initiatives in Rinjani

WWF Indonesia has been working in West Nusa Tenggara Province since 1999, both on forestry and policy issues.  The diverse PES program initiatives and achievements of WWF in Lombok  from 2000 till today can be summarized as follows: 

The period from 1999 till approximately 2002 has been an exploratory period for WWF. The first program location was the Rinjani area where in 1999 WWF’s involvement started with several biodiversity and socio-cultural research activities using participatory methodologies (especially participatory rural appraisal or PRA).In collaboration between government agencies, Groups of Civil Society, and international development agencies to develop coherent strategic intervention approach (Landscape); to review and implement efective methods to address  and promote understanding and acceptance of policy strategies on Sustainable Forest Management at the region and as the main approach in managing the Rinjani  forest areas.   

Since 2004, WWF Indonesia initiated Payment for Environmental Services (water) scheme in Rinjani Protected Area, Lombok Island. The initiative involves the Municipality of Mataram the Water Utility Company and individual water consumers in Mataram as buyer and communities up stream who maintain the water supply and forest as seller. The scheme is expected to be fully implemented in the third quarter this year upon the issuance of a District Regulation regarding Environmental Services.

Since July 2007, the PES schem was already adopted as part of the local government’s policy, and is effective for Lombok island. This sustainable financing model provides incentives for up stream communities to implement good forest management in the Mount Rinjani ecosystem.  Through the local regulations (Perda No. 4/2007) , 75% of the cost paid by the people who use the water services from PDAM Lombok, are allocated to the people in the hills of Mount Rinjani as a payback mechanism to help look after the forest that sustains the living systems of this small island.

In  2008, the Nusa Tenggara Project active facilitated continuation work on the sustainable development issue in West Nusa Tenggara, especially on revising the spatial plan of West Nusa Tenggara.  The government of NTB agreed to adopt criteria and indicator on conservation lansduse and sustainable development as a basis for revising the regional plan and the spatial plan.

One of key point for the regional plan and spatial plan revised is achieved agreement between Governor of NTB and Bupati's to protect some areas as a Kawasan Strategis Provinsi Untuk Fungsi Lindung" in the spatial plan, and Program development approach for Lombok as LECI (Lombok as Eco City Island) and SuEZ (Sumbawa Eco Zone) for Sumbawa island.

WWF Indonesia Nusa Tenggara active playing role with the tim of Tata Ruang.  The  team of Tata Ruang is under the collaboration work with WWF Indonesia as well as to take a role in processing of regional policy making and planning. Together with the local government and incorporating other stakeholders’ aspirations, WWF Indonesia has been able draw up the best management practices to protect, manage, and restore regional planing based on analysis of spatial and economic development in the region. The best management practices will strengthen and support the development of a basic concept and effectiveness tools for local government and private sectors in managing the small islands within West Nusa Tenggara province.  The Tata Ruang  team is to provide the technical inputs to enrich the concept of sustainable development, and facilitate its operational implementation by the local governments in Lombok and Sumbawa.

In collaboration with NewTrees Program, which is supported by Nokia Asia-Pacific, PT Indosat Tbk, Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation, PT Federal International Finance, PT Toyota-Astra Motor Tbk, and Ranch Market together with the government of Nusa Tenggara Barat Province, aims to ‘re-green’ the damaged Rinjani area.  NEWtrees Program is a initiative program developed by WWF-Indonesia, by engaging the corporate sectors, to rehabilitate protected forest area that has suffered deforestation. At this stage, the reforestation activity that are supported by those companies has covered 190 Ha in Mount Rinjani Protected Forest area, which include the administrative area of Sapit Village and Perigi Village in Dupe Hill, Sakan Hill and lastly, Perigi Hill.

At the level of local policy, this program works along with the program held by NTB Province government, which is named ’Green NTB’. Thus, the Governor of NTB greatly welcomes and supports the initiative performed by WWF-Indonesia and our corporate partners in re-greening Rinjani.