The Mosaik Initiative: Finding new models of small-scale rural production systems for nature and society
We have heard many success stories of protecting and restoring the environment. However, these are often small-scale projects. We must work at a larger scale or the landscape level to protect and restore biodiversity and critical ecosystems.
In practice, what does a landscape look like, and how can we work at that scale?
In Indonesia, the district level is big enough to protect and restore the environment at the landscape scale while being small enough to effectively deliver the changes on the ground level.
“The landscapes where buyers source their raw materials are places where nature and society interact. These interactions are visible through the mosaics of different land uses and natural features across the landscape. Consumers want to buy from a sustainable and inclusive landscape.”
What needs to be done to protect and restore the environment at the district or jurisdictional scale?
- The local government should issue regulations that are necessary to apply sustainability principles and criteria throughout the district.
- People should understand the value of sustainable commodity production and demand that their government implement sustainability regulations. The private sector should create incentives for sustainable commodity production through price premiums and guaranteed market access for farmers and local communities.
- Local communities living in or near critical ecosystems should receive incentives to protect and restore these ecosystems.
The important commodities produced by the districts such as oil palm, rubber, coconut, and timber can be claimed as sustainably produced commodities because an entire district applies sustainable principles and criteria in the production of these commodities. Responsible buyers, who source products from these districts, will invest more in the landscape, and some of these investments can be allocated for restoring and conserving critical ecosystems.
The Mosaik Initiative: An Introduction
The Mosaik Initiative is an ambitious landscape initiative in Kalimantan, Indonesia, that works to protect and regenerate nature in a major commodity-producing region. The initiative supports local and indigenous communities to adopt regenerative agriculture, restore degraded lands, and protect their existing forests, by providing them incentives. By protecting and restoring critical ecosystems across the landscape, the initiative ensures that commodities intended for global markets, such as palm oil and timber, are produced sustainably and responsibly.
Through the Mosaik Initiative, we are trying to find a model for a large-scale transition toward sustainability at the district level. The Mosaik initiative aims to make the production of commodities more sustainable and inclusive so that districts can generate revenue to protect and restore landscapes while improving the welfare of farmers and indigenous people.
The Mosaik Initiative has two main flagship programs for protecting and restoring ecosystems: jurisdictional approaches and district-wide, sustainable village development programs.
- Jurisdictional Approaches
The jurisdictional approach to certification seeks to apply the principles and criteria of a supply chain certification scheme, such as Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) or Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), to all producers of that commodity within a governmental, administrative area such as a state or district.
In contrast to typical supply chain certification schemes, the jurisdictional approach allows certain principles and criteria to be “upwardly delegated”, with the responsibility for implementing these criteria resting with local governments. It will assist in reducing costs, increasing the coverage of certification to all producers, simplifying the certification process, and improving social and ecological outcomes. For instance, the identification, protection, and management of areas of high conservation value such as forests and other ecosystems will take place at the jurisdictional scale. This will ensure that forests and other ecosystems are protected through laws and regulations rather than voluntary commitments. There will be protection of human rights, similar to the benefits received from land rights and labor rights.
There are many different types of jurisdictional approaches to commodity production. However, we follow several basic principles.
- Multi-stakeholder governance is essential for implementing the jurisdictional approach to certification, and more broadly, sustainable and inclusive commodity production.
- Specific targets and the work plan to achieve the targets are agreed upon by all stakeholders in the jurisdiction.
- The progress is monitored against the set targets.
- Incentives are provided for local communities and producers to change their commodity production system and support ecosystem protection and restoration.
- Sustainable Village Development and Gawi Bahaum
In 2022, with support from consumer goods companies, Kaleka, together with Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan district governments, launched the district-wide village program. The program is called “Gawi Bahaum” in Kotawaringin Barat and “Gawi Bapakat” in Seruyan district. In the local language, “Gawi Bahaum/Gawi Bapakat” means to work together, and the initiative invites all communities to work together to achieve the common dream of building a prosperous society while ensuring that both nature and the environment are preserved.
As part of the program, villages will be provided with support for improving their livelihoods in four main areas: smallholder certification, restoration, community forestry, and regenerative agriculture. In return for this support, villages must:
- provide a statement of commitment including nominating an implementing unit,
- identify land uses at the village level and issue regulations for protecting forests and preventing fires,
- create a local monitoring system for deforestation and fires,
- establish a village paralegal to support legal document processing and access to justice, and a registrar to resolve social conflict.
Villages will be provided with support and training to meet these requirements, after submitting their statement of commitment. This approach will ensure that farm-level interventions, including regenerative agriculture, are not implemented in isolation but complement other activities for forest protection, restoration, and certification. At present, the village development program is implemented directly by Kaleka in collaboration with the local government.
The Landscape
The districts of Seruyan, Kotawaringin Barat, Sukamara, and Ketapang are contiguous, forested, coastal districts in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), which encompass part of the peat dome, and they are major palm oil-producing districts. The districts are home to rare and endangered wildlife species such as orangutans, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, and sun bears. These areas are also sourcing areas for multinational, consumer goods companies and manufacturers of commodities such as palm oil, coconut, and rubber.
Kalimantan is home to the indigenous Dayak people, with the largest ethnic Dayak populations concentrated in West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
Progress:
- Seruyan and Kotawaringin Barat districts are at Stage 2 of the RSPO Jurisdictional Certification Process. Meanwhile, Ketapang and Sukamara are starting a jurisdictional approach to sustainable palm oil certification by establishing a multi-stakeholder platform in 2023.
- 17 district regulations were issued by the governments to apply the sustainability principles and criteria at the district level.
- 9.454 oil palm farmers were mapped and registered.
- 2 jurisdictional entities for smallholder RSPO certification were established to expedite the certification of oil palm-independent smallholders at scale.
- 1.2 million hectares were identified for indicative forest protection (HCV, Perhutsos) and restoration.
Impacts:
- In Seruyan and Kotawaringin Barat, around 3781 oil palm smallholders have been RSPO certified, while an additional 610 farmers are in the process of getting certified. The certified farmers have already received financial benefits from certification.
- A single village can receive up to USD 100,000, or around 50 percent of the village's annual budget, from selling certified sustainable palm oil credits.
- 261 hectares of land were restored through community-based approaches.