Situated in southern Borneo, the Sintang region of West Kalimantan—an area of 1.5 million hectares—is one of the main oil palm-growing regions in Indonesia. While Sintang’s oil palm plantations are important to Indonesia’s economy, they also pose serious threats to West Kalimantan’s remaining rainforest—some of the most biodiverse on the planet.
Without strong market links or access to resources, many smallholder oil palm farmers struggle to earn a profit and resort to harmful practices that drive deforestation, such as slash and burn agriculture and timber extraction. Since 2019, the Rainforest Alliance has worked in Sintang with the District Sustainable Oil Palm Platform, Lingkar Temu Kabupaten Lestari (LTKL – Sustainable Districts Platform), and local farmers to tackle deforestation, boost incomes, and promote more sustainable land use.
Building on this experience, we have developed a suite of tools that will be deployed throughout this initiative. As members of the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition of Action, we have collaboratively designed this initiative to implement the Coalition’s vision of removing deforestation and forest degradation from palm oil supply chains. It will engage both government and landscape stakeholders and will help to conserve and restore forests.
Official project name
A Multi-stakeholder Approach to Tackling Deforestation and Improving Farmers’ Livelihoods in Indonesia
Location
Sintang, West Kalimantan province, Indonesia
Project period
2022-2023
Key commodity
Palm oil
Priority issues
- Deforestation
- Climate resilience
- Livelihoods, responsible business
Partner communities
The Rainforest Alliance is training 13 government representatives and 22 representatives of independent smallholder farmer groups to prepare Sintang’s oil palm farmers for ISPO (Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil) certification. Ultimately, these trainers will support 5,357 farmers across Sintang.
Project objectives
Outcome 1: Strengthening High Conservation Value (HCV) area management initiatives for oil palm plantation companies in the Sintang landscape.
Outcome 2: Strengthening capacity of the Sintang Government on requirements for enabling sustainability practices across the district.
Outcome 3: Increase awareness on environmental degradation and sustainability practices for independent oil palm smallholders, as well as other stakeholders including companies, farmers, and their communities.
Outcome 4: Mapping parts of the palm oil supply chain for Metro AG (an international food wholesaler) and Sainsbury’s (a leading UK supermarket).
Funders
Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition of Action, with specific donors for this initiative being:
- Sainsbury’s Supermarkets LTD
- Metro AG
Rainforest Alliance contact
Project Manager: Tri Padukan Purba, Palm Oil Team Manager tpurba@ra.org