Sustainable Palm Oil and Local Wisdom-Based Water Conservation Program of South Tapanuli Won SDGs Action Awards 2023

The Government of South Tapanuli, in collaboration with Konservasi Indonesia, has been actively involved in transforming the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices for smallholders.

YOGYAKARTA, November 6, 2023 – South Tapanuli Regency in North Sumatra has successfully won the Integrated Sustainability Indonesia Movements (I-SIM) for Regencies award at Indonesia’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) Action Awards 2023 held today. I-SIM is an initiative to enhance sustainable development in Indonesia. Competing with 103 other regencies, South Tapanuli, through Hatabosi and FoKSBI programs, was selected as the Best Regency, followed by Temanggung Regency and Bandung Regency. 

Indonesia’s SDGs Action Awards 2023 is organized by the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency in collaboration with PT. Surveyor Indonesia, Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), and the Association of All Indonesian Regency Governments (APKASI). The awards aim to enhance the integration and collaboration among various stakeholders in achieving sustainable development goals. The program has been participated by over 400 regencies across Indonesia. 

After undergoing the assessment and field verification stages since last October, South Tapanuli has secured a position in the top 10, showcasing a water conservation program based on local wisdom and sustainable palm oil development. Both programs represent a comprehensive management approach from the upstream to downstream areas of the Batang Toru River. 

Water preservation through Hatabosi, an acronym for Haunatas, Tanjung Rompa, Bonan Dolok, and Siranap village, represents local wisdom that has been practiced for over a century by the local community. The water conservation efforts have significant impacts on the community, particularly in the irrigation of a 300-hectare rice field. The community is actively involved in protecting the Sibual-buali Nature Reserve, which shows off high biodiversity. 

Meanwhile, downstream of the Batang Toru River, the Sustainable Palm Oil Forum of South Tapanuli (FoKSBI) strives to manage sustainable palm oil while restoring crucial ecosystems degraded due to oil palm. In 2018, the FoKSBI program was initiated by the South Tapanuli Government in collaboration with Conservation International Indonesia (CI-I). The program was later continued by Konservasi Indonesia (KI), which is a main partner of CI in Indonesia after CI-I ceased its operations in the country. 

"This award is an appreciation for all stakeholders in South Tapanuli. The success of South Tapanuli in the Hatabosi and sustainable palm oil programs is a collective effort involving the government, private sector, universities, communities, media, and NGOs, including Konservasi Indonesia. It is our responsibility to maintain what has been achieved. All stakeholders must work even more eagerly so this achievement can be further enhanced and beneficial for the wider community," expressed H. Dolly Pasaribu, S.Pt, M.M, the Regent of South Tapanuli, at Ambarukmo Hotel, Yogyakarta. 

Meizani Irmadhiany, the Executive Chair of Konservasi Indonesia, stated that the victory of South Tapanuli in this SDGs Action Award is a great milestone and a real example of the collaboration impact between the government and NGOs in building a sustainable regency. Furthermore, based on Conservation International Indonesia's research in 2018 on High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock, it was revealed that South Tapanuli has a landscape with extensive high conservation value.

"Our program focuses on supporting this regency to realize a dignified and intelligent community in managing its rich and extensive ecology. The sustainable palm oil program, which we are implementing together with the South Tapanuli Government, is aimed at transforming more than 1,000 oil palm smallholders and communities living in peat ecosystems, into sustainability. It is intended to serve as an inspiration and a model for sustainable development in Indonesia," expressed Meizani.

At the same event, Isner Manalu, the Field Program Manager for North Sumatra at Konservasi Indonesia, explained that South Tapanuli's victory through FoKSBI was a form of success for palm oil smallholders who participated in the Sustainable Palm Oil Field School program.

"The South Tapanuli Government, in collaboration with CI Indonesia, began forming FoKSBI in 2018 through the UNDP’s Good Growth Partnership (GGP) program. In 2019, FoKSBI South Tapanuli became the first palm oil forum to have a District Action Plan for sustainable palm oil. Continuing CI Indonesia's work, KI hopes that this initiative can contribute to national achievements in palm oil certification, namely ISPO and RSPO," Isner stated.

Through FoKSBI, as mentioned by Isner, the Sustainable Palm Oil Field School program for palm oil smallholders is conducted in four districts. Farmers gain an understanding of sustainable agricultural practices provided by extension workers from the Department of Agriculture.

Moreover, the sustainable palm oil program is also implemented in peat ecosystems. Farmers restore peatlands through the construction of canal blocks and the planting of jelutung trees, an endemic plant in peatlands.

As of this year, Konservasi Indonesia, along with FoKSBI, has trained 1,155 oil palm smallholders, and 597 of them have received RSPO certification for sustainably managed oil palm plantations covering an area of 859.51 hectares. "The downstream palm oil program by FoKSBI, and the upstream Hatabosi program has become an inseparable unit with the Batang Toru River," says Isner.