Greetings from Indonesia
The "Green Wall" project has entered its second term! Our first step in this phase is to select a new 100 hectares of land where we restore forests with local communities.
In the first term, we built a 200-hectare of 'Green Wall' using native tree species and fruit trees along the outermost border of the buffer zone of the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. The Green Wall encourages local residents to recognize and to respect the boundaries of the national park, and to protect the front line of surviving natural forests.
The land we will replant in the second term will connect the 200 hectares of reforested land with the natural forest. We hope that the planted forest and the remaining biodiversity-rich natural forest will become as one connected forest and to foster stewardship within the communities to continue protecting these forests beyond the project.
Progress in the reforestation project
We have collected information about current land use from the local government and communities, and through discussions regarding park management with the National Park Service, we selected 100 hectares of land as a candidate for additional reforestation area. Some 90 farmers from three villages use these area to cultivate crops, mainly cassava. We look forward to welcoming these 90 farmers into the Green Wall partnership in order to work together towards sustainable land use of the buffer zone of the Gunun Gede Pangrango National Park.
Progress in the reforestation project
··· Daikin's Forest Block 200 ha already
··· Additional 100 ha proposed
Some of the trees we planted in the first term have grown several times taller than us. Once a tree has grown large enough, it can keep growing on its own.
Small saplings, however, need to be maintained until they develop strong root systems and canopies with thick leaves. Indonesia entered dry season in July–a tough season for small saplings. Through monitoring activities, we found that 35% of the saplings we planted in the first term needed to be replaced. Many of them were planted last year. We are waiting for the rainy season to replace the saplings.
Progress in the reforestation project
In this remote area, many villages still have no access to electricity or safe drinking water. As part of the project, we plan to install a pico-hydro power generator that does not obstruct the river flow, and set up water delivery pipes and storage tanks in such villages. The village of Tenge was identified as one of the first beneficiaries.
The Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park is an important watershed which supports the livelihood of many people. However, it is sometimes not obvious for local people what kinds of benefits they are receiving from forests. Providing electricity and safe drinking water will deliver benefits from the healthy forest of the Gunung Gede Pangrang National Park to people of Tange village in visible form.
Pico-hydro power generator and safe water supply
In Japan, rice farmers generally use tractors to till the land and prepare it for planting. Here in Indonesia, they rely on water buffalos. Water buffalos work in pairs to pull the plow back and forth across the paddy field. They are important members of the farming workforce.
Local community life
