COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
BIOCLIME assists partner institutions in identifying and developing alternative sources of income for communities living in and around protected areas in South Sumatra. These activities aim to strengthen the capacities of rural community groups by developing and implementing locally adapted and designed Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) and agroforestry concepts. Local forest management units (FMUs) play a key role and BIOCLIME supports them by providing assistance to help local people improve their livelihoods and to integrate community needs and rights in forest ecosystem management concepts
BIOCLIME’s project area comprises four main ecosystems and five pilot villages in and around threatened forest areas, which were identified through socioeconomic studies. The CBFM concept encompasses conservation and the sustainable use of forest ecosystems as elements of the local economy. Activities in pilot areas always begin with participatory land tenure assessments and the mapping of claims (rights holder and stakeholder analyses). Studies on economic value and mapping of selected non-timber forest products (NTFPs) including an FMU-related inventory of forest resources - timber, non-timber, biodiversity - form the basis for value chain improvement and enhancing the capacity of district stakeholders (producer groups, district agencies) to develop marketing strategies and investment planning.
The project emphasizes the development of community-based timber and forest product enterprises by using tools like community livelihood appraisals and product scanning, as well as market analyses. In order to develop income generating activities, the project supports user groups through the identification of income generating measures, and introduces them to sustainable financing mechanisms. Special attention is paid to supporting regional governments and local communities to increase the number of acknowledged village and community forest management. (Village Forest/Hutan Desa and Community Forest/Hutan Kemasyarakatan).
