Bahenap Village Forest

Project background

Bahenap Village Forest sits inside the protected forest rich with natural resources. The people get their daily needs from the forests and Kalis river which runs through the forest. Current land use practices by the Bahenap community only cause a small amount of deforestation. But without forest management and options for alternative livelihoods, unsustainable agriculture practices, illegal mining, and forest encroachment all threaten the biodiversity and ecosystem of the area.

To prevent these things from happening, the Rimba Collective is working with Bentang Kalimantan Tangguh – an association that builds sustainable business models that balance tropical forest conservation and economic development at a local level.

But without forest management and options for alternative livelihoods, unsustainable agriculture practices, illegal mining, and forest encroachment threaten the biodiversity and ecosystem of the area. 

Location & total area

Bahenap Village Forest is located in Kalis Sub-district, Kapuas Hulu District, West Kalimantan Province. The Bahenap Village Forest consists of three sub-villages: Beberuk, Bahenap, and Sepan-Padang, with a total forest area of 10,915 hectares. 

On a clear day, it is a 45-minute drive from Putussibau Regency to Kensuray, the nearest village approachable by car, followed by a one-hour drive by motorcycle to Bahenap Village Forest, which sits deep inside the protected forest area.

What is special about this project

The location of Bahenap village within the protected forest is a blessing in disguise. Its remoteness helps keep the rich nature relatively untouched by irresponsible parties. There are 232 types of animal and plant at Bahenap Village Forest, of which 78 species of plant and 19 species of animal are categorized as endemic and listed on the IUCN Red List.

But being disconnected from other places, problems in transportation and an inability to sell their produce easily to other places make Bahenap village categorized as disadvantaged.

Professional forest and people management are needed to grow the livelihood of the community while keeping the richness of the nature.

How we add value to this project 

The Rimba Collective, with its long-term funding and performance-based payments, aims to prevent the area's loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and forest degradation. Together with Bentang Kalimantan Tangguh, we will help the Bahenap community to:

• Strengthen village forest governance and its management
• Protect and conserve forests and biodiversity within the village forest concession from deforestation and forest degradation
• Improve community prosperity by improving forest-based economic values and sustainable agriculture practices. 

Activities

There are a few main activities designed for Bahenap village forest to address the specific threats of deforestation and forest degradation while also addressing community livelihood and advanced forest governance and its management: 

• Support development of the LPHD (Village Forest Management Institution) office, training, operation, and coordination with stakeholders
• Legal recognition for RKT (annual work plan), RPHD (village forest management plan), boundary, and forest utilization permits
• Patrol and monitoring for forest and biodiversity, including forest and land fires
• Rehabilitation of degraded areas within and outside the village forest using an agroforestry approach
• Conservation plan development for key endangered flora and fauna species
• Biodiversity enrichment for key fauna species
• Support the community in developing NTFP and ecosystem services business and products in the village
• Support sustainable and low-emission agriculture development 
• Community resilience capacity development.