Forest restoration and preservation on the island of Flores, Indonesia

The island of Flores is located in Indonesia’s Sunda archipelago. The island’s highlands are covered with abundant tropical vegetation, which fades into rather dry vegetation along the coastline. Every year, Flores is severely affected by slash-and-burn farming practices, which lead to a loss of forest and a deterioration in water resources. These fires are mainly started by livestock farmers who want to create pastureland, and by farmers who take inadequate care when clearing their land. Furthermore, the low-income level from the few local products does not offer sufficient prospects for young people, while knowledge of the traditional pharmacopoeia and local traditions is disappearing from one generation to the next.

Against this backdrop, the "Forest restoration and preservation on the island of Flores, Indonesia" project, launched in 2014, aims to preserve existing forest areas and support the development of income-generating activities for farmers. Each year, the project includes an awareness arousal programme aimed at the local population, support for local producers and the creation of fair trade channels (vanilla, essential oils, etc.), as well as a planting campaign in the villages to reforest degraded hills, preserve water sources and diversify agro-ecological crops.

A new technique for restoring forest ecosystems has been available since 2016. This technique has already enabled almost 190 hectares of forest affected by recurring fires to be replanted by direct seeding with more than 20 species and 340,000 macro-cuttings of Gliricidia sepium. Improved gradually over the years, the method has also been supplemented by forestry diagnostics aimed at analysing the typology and composition of forest areas, investigating the relationship between local populations and the forest, and finding alternatives to the use of fire by livestock farmers.