Support from the ASRI Conservation Stimulus Program in Helping Partners Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic
The current situation is a difficult time for everyone. The Covid-19 outbreak is not only a health problem, but also greatly affects the economy of lower middle class communities. For example, farmers are experiencing the challenge of falling demand for rice which causes prices to fall. Then ASRI's MSME partners (former loggers) who own basic food stores and grocery businesses are having difficulty obtaining supplies of goods to sell or there is reduced demand for goods.
Through the Conservation Stimulus Program which will run for six months, ASRI is helping and supporting the families of conservation partners to be able to get through and deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this program is more than just helping partners to survive in a pandemic situation, but also preventing partners from entering forest areas to cut down, because they are pressed for daily needs because their business is not running smoothly due to Covid-19.
The support provided is in the form of purchasing chainsaws and exchanging them for business assistance to start other sustainable livelihood alternatives for former illegal loggers around the Gunung Palung National Park area. Then for partners who have joined the chainsaw exchange program and are experiencing difficulties running their new business due to the impact of Covid-19, ASRI invites them to carry out tree planting of 500 seedlings, a mixture of hardwood tree seedlings and fruit tree seedlings. For their efforts in this nursery activity, ASRI provided assistance of 1 million rupiah per month. With this cash support, it is hoped that partners will be helped not to cut back into the forest.
Meanwhile, farmers assisted by ASRI receive assistance in the form of purchasing agricultural products at normal prices. Products that have been purchased or processed are then distributed to the people who need them most. It is targeted that as many as 70 former illegal loggers and 50 farmers will benefit from this program.
So that this assistance can be distributed properly, the role of ASRI's Forest Friends (Sahut), which is an extension of ASRI, is very necessary. Sahut's role is to help identify people who want to exchange chainsaws for other, more sustainable businesses. Then gather chainsaw exchange partners who are interested in breeding trees. Providing training on how to properly seed tree plants, and also monitoring chainsaw exchange partner plant seeds in the field.
It is hoped that this conservation stimulus fund can help ASRI partners survive during the pandemic. Apart from that, it further increases Sahut's capacity in plant breeding. What is no less important is that the Gunung Palung National Park area is protected from the activities of people who return to logging, and the availability of 35,000 seedlings which have been collected by partners for ASRI's reforestation activities in collaboration with the Gunung Palung National Park Office.
