Large-scale HCV-HCS mapping advances in Aceh; But More investment needed to map rainforests needing protection
After decades of hard-fought international pressure campaigns by local organizations, international NGOs and consumers, an auspicious new global standard has been established for implementing ‘No Deforestation’ commitments and identifying, assessing and protecting tropical forests from industrial commodity expansion. The High Carbon Stock and High Conservation Value approaches are tools used to identify forests and lands which are off limits for development. Scaling up the use of these tools in Intact Forest Landscapes and on the frontlines of commodity expansion will be a gamechanger in the fight against deforestation and Indigenous rights violations. Recent developments in the Indonesian province of Aceh provide reason for cautious optimism and highlight the need for major brands and commodity traders to provide the support and investments needed to undertake large-scale mapping of HCV areas and High Carbon Stock forests in their supply chains.
Aceh Province in Indonesia, is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse tropical rainforests, including the world-renowned Leuser Ecosystem. It is the last place where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhinos and sun bears all roam the same habitat. The Leuser Ecosystem provides livelihoods and water for millions of people who depend on its forests and peatlands. These peatlands also play a substantial role in regulating the global climate by storing massive amounts of carbon. When these peatlands are drained or set on fire, thousands of years of stored carbon is suddenly released into the atmosphere. Apart from that, deforestation and drying of peat swamps destroys the economic resources of Indigenous communities who live by catching limbat fish (Clarias nieuhofii) in peat waters. But now the fate of the Leuser Ecosystem is at a crossroads.
Map: Aceh Province, Indonesia
Deforestation for palm oil, new roads, illegal logging, and mining are major threats. Despite being protected under Indonesian national law, lowland rainforests in the Leuser Ecosystem have been an epicenter of destruction for palm oil. Well-known global brands like Mondelēz, Nestlé, Kao, and Nissin Foods are driving the destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem through their use of Conflict Palm Oil.
After years of being exposed for their role in driving the destruction of rainforests, major brands and palm oil traders like Wilmar International, Musim Mas, and Golden Agri Resources have set a new standard for responsible palm oil production. This standard requires the protection of areas that have High Conservation Values and High Carbon Stock forests. If implemented by all traders and global brands that use palm oil to manufacture consumer goods products, this standard called No Deforestation, No Peatland and No Exploitation (or in short NDPE) could end deforestation for palm oil in Aceh and the Leuser Ecosystem.
This moment offers hope during a rapidly escalating global climate and biodiversity crisis.
In response to the implementation of NDPE policies by global buyers, the Government of Aceh has announced a Sustainable Palm Oil Roadmap that commits to the protection for HCV areas and HCS forests. District governments in Aceh Tamiang, Aceh Timur, and Aceh Singkil have partnered with PepsiCo, Unilever, Musim Mas, and Apical to undertake desktop HCV-HCS Assessments in their jurisdictions with the help of trained practitioners and civil society organizations.
The collective action that is being taken by civil society organizations, communities, and governments to identify High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests in Aceh that require protection is a major breakthrough. Now what is needed is more resources and support to scale up these efforts across the province, including through the involvement of communities whose customary forests are located inside or surrounding the Leuser Ecosystem.
Watch our new video that showcases action that is being taken by civil society organizations and communities to identify High Conservation Value areas and High Carbon Stock forests that deserve protection.
Local organizations have been trained to use the tools created by the High Carbon Stock Approach to identify High Carbon Stock forests. By documenting the age and diversity of trees in the forest, they can determine if the vegetation is a viable forest that needs to be protected from deforestation for palm oil development.
Diagram showing how viable forests are identified for protection using the High Carbon Stock Approach.
Identifying High Conservation Value (HCV) areas with biological, ecological, social, or cultural values considered critically important is an integral part of the approach. HCV areas include areas with high biodiversity, rare or threatened ecosystems (HCV 1), intact forest landscapes (HCV 2), rare ecosystems or habitats (HCV 3), or areas that provide critical services like water catchments (HCV 4). Cultural sites, sacred customary forests, and sites and resources that are fundamental to meeting the basic needs of Indigenous or local communities are known as HCV 5 or 6 areas. HCV 5 and 6 areas must be identified through engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The HCV concept was developed nearly 20 years ago by the HCV Network.
The mapping of HCV areas and HCS forests requires field-level engagement with Indigenous communities––like those in the villages of Bunin and Jambo Reuhat in the district of Aceh Timur––to identify areas of customary forests, community gardens, ancestral grave sites, places of worship in former old villages and village customary lands to ensure governments and the palm oil sector recognize these areas. This is an important step towards legal recognition of their territories. Field-level engagement at the village or Mukim level is also needed to validate large-scale HCV-HCS maps that have been developed through desktop assessments.
As global recognition of the importance of forests grows, there is also greater importance for increasing the capacity of local communities and organizations to protect and manage the rainforests of the Leuser Ecosystem. That is why Rainforest Action Network is calling on major brands that are responsible for driving palm oil expansion in the Leuser Ecosystem to invest in new programs that train communities, local civil society organizations, and governments in the mapping of High Carbon Stock forests and High Conservation Value forests across Aceh.
Join us as we call on brands like Mondelēz, Nestlé, Kao, Nissin Foods––and their palm oil suppliers Wilmar, Golden Agri Resources, Royal Golden Eagle, Musim Mas, and Permata Hijau Group––to invest in efforts to identify rainforests and customary forests that must be protected from exploitation in the Leuser Ecosystem and across Aceh.