Forest and Habitat Restoration

The John Hardy Bamboo Agro Forestry Pilot Project

The project is an afforestation initiative on the island of Nusa Penida funded by the John Hardy Company of Bali. The project began in early 2007 as a way for the John Hardy Company to offset a calculated amount of carbon dioxide equivalent green house gas (GHG) emissions. The present focus of the project is community-based bamboo agroforestry, but may in the future consider hardwoods and other species as well. The company is keenly interested in pursuing external support for the project in this regard. Indonesia is also the world’s third largest GHG polluter, behind the United States and China, mainly due to the carbon dioxide emissions associated with deforestation. Nusa Penida was once thickly forested, but now the island retains only small tracts of primary forest, mainly around its series of ancient Hindu temple complexes.

The project’s primary objective is to offset carbon dioxide equivalent green house gas (GHG) emissions associated with the John Hardy Company and its advertising. The aim of the project is to fill this emissions offset need, particularly as the company moves toward carbon neutrality and a commitment to offsetting hundreds of metric tons of emissions per year. In pursuing this objective, the project is also designed to provide several additional ecological and social deliverables; among them are a habitat for the highly endangered Bali starling songbird (Leucopsar rothschildi), and the promotion of local micro-economic development through trainings in sustainable cultivation of bamboo.

The Friends of the National Parks Foundation (FNPF), provides expertise and experience in administering on-the-ground matters in Nusa Penida, including outreach to five participating farmers’ cooperatives, assisting in transportation logistics for shipments of bamboo seedlings from Bali to its nursery, and data tracking.

The Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC) assists in tracking and calculating the company’s carbon emissions. Offset requirements are expressed in hectares of bamboo in Nusa Penida per year. GHG emissions associated with the company are calculated and verified by the ISC. These calculations prescribe a certain emissions offset requirement particular to bamboo and the climate of Nusa Penida.

Bamboo seedlings of various species are transported by truck and ferry from Bali to Nusa Penida, and brought to the bamboo nursery at FNPF. The seedlings are watered and stored in the nursery until they are collected by one of several local farmers’ cooperatives participating in the project. The seedlings are then transported from FNPF to the farmers’ land and planted with a variety of soil conditioners to provide for optimal growth in Nusa Penida’s arid and dry climate. The farmers then report to FNPF the location and quantity of seedlings planted and provide feedback and reports on mortality periodically throughout the rainy and dry seasons.

he project to date has exceeded capacity for the 4.2 hectares required by the company’s declared offset commitments. The project may also expand its participating local base to include more farmers’ cooperatives and hence diversify and increase its arable land exposure.

As it is the company’s express wish and hope to move toward total carbon neutrality, the importance of and on this pilot project will only increase. The project will begin to actively consider seeking international emissions offset certification, although the framework for this expansion and certification is not yet certain. Courtesy of PT. Jewelry Design Services