PanEco

With a comprehensive programme, PanEco strives to stop the destruction, improve local environmental governance and provide alternative livelihood opportunities for the local people.

On the background of the acute and desperate situation in Tripa, PanEco and YEL started a programme to halt the destruction and ensure the long-term restoration and conservation of the unique forests of Tripa in 2005. The programme has two complementary aims: to improve environment governance and to provide alternative livelihood.

Measures of the programme:

• We provide scientific research and mapping to assess the situation and trends on a sound data basis. Based on it, a number of reports on the value of Tripa and updated map sets have already been published. Also, the research station in Kluet has been strengthened.

• PanEco runs a local campaign to raise public awareness and improve the level of education and understanding regarding the unique value of peat swamp ecosystems. The campaign mainly relies on mobile units, i.e. two teams with equipped vehicles visiting schools and villages. Other tools such as outreach material and radio are used as well.

• We support the Leuser Ecosystem Management Authority in Aceh BPKEL in raising local institutional capacity to implement policies and laws to protect the Leuser Ecosystem and its peat swamp forests. PanEco helps the local government in improving local land use planning according to the Aceh Green Vision and the National Indonesian Government priorities.

• We initiated an international media campaign exposing the situation in Tripa. As a result, press releases and documentaries such as the World Bank awarded «Dark side of a Green Fuel», «Tripa burning in the name of Palm Oil» and «The REDD ape» were published.

• PanEco started a four-year pilot study to develop palm-oil plantations on fallow (i.e. degraded) land. It started in May 2009 with the support of the Biodiversity Agriculture Commodities Programme BACP. We are working with 60 small-holders on around 100 hectares and using organic production only. The programme seeks to demonstrate that it is possible to re-habilitate fallow land according to RSPO and to boost local economy for small holders. The study will furthermore provide solid argumentation to save Tripa, raise general public awareness on RSPO and generate additional support for the regulation of plam-oil industry expansion.

• PanEco is also developing ecotourism in the Singkil area, namely on the islands of Pulau Banyak. We support the foundation Yayasan Pulau Banyak and offer unique donor trips to the peat swamp forest.

Our partners
The Tripa programme is fully supported by the local District Government and is implemented on a broad basis of stakeholders. Among them are the private company PT Socfin, The World Agroforestry Centre ICRAF, the University of Syiah Kuala at Banda Aceh, the Leuser International Foundation LIF and BACP from the International Finance Cooperation (World Bank group). Other people and institutions, such as the Governor of Aceh, the Provincial Senators, IUCN, UNEP and UNESCO have provided letters supporting our programme.