THE CONSERVANCY

Jepara Forest Conservancy

Currently, with strong support from the local community, Tropical Salvage is helping to fund and implement a conservation, education and reforestation project in Jepara. In this effort, Tropical Salvage is collaborating with The Institute for Culture and Ecology, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve human and environmental conditions through applied research, education, and community improvement projects. We have purchased land near our production facility in Jepara and begun to reforest the land with native species representing the area s indigenous forests. To date, about five-hundred trees have been planted, representing thirty-five species. On the site, guided by IFCAE's experience and expertise, we re creating a public forest park and environmental education facility.

Click here to make a contribution to the Jepara Forest Conservancy via our partner, Global Giving.

Objectives in developing the park include:

1. Provide a much-needed community benefit in the form of a public forest park.

2. Establish an environmental education program to empower Indonesian youth with the knowledge and skills needed to address critical cultural and ecological challenges.

3. Structure reforestation to enhance ecosystem services such as reestablishing some of the area s former biological diversity and increasing the area s carbon sequestration profile. Indeed, the park is being shaped to qualify as a tradable carbon offset value as defined by the Kyoto Protocol s Clean Development Mechanism.

4. Help to preserve the rich traditional forest knowledge and practices in this area of Java through the cultivation and study of native Non-Timber Forest Products.

5. Generate additional local job opportunities by creating and expanding markets for native Non-Timber Forest Products.



Specific Objectives

  • Land Purchase and Tree and Plant Cultivation: To purchase land for the environmental park with interpretive trails and facilities near the Tropical Salvage production facility. Then, to plant the land with species approximating the areas indigenous primary forests.
  • Building Infrastructure: Building many of the park's structures with salvaged wood and artisan labor contributed by Tropical Salvage in order to demonstrate the useful and beautiful results that can come from artfully applying salvaged and recycled materials and to emphasize principles of eliminating waste from and increasing responsibility for consequences of natural resource exploitation.
  • Local Leadership: Facilitating the creation of a local steering committee which includes leaders representing the community's businesses, schools, civil servants, military personnel and political power. Their interactive advocacy of common community action and education goals might elicit conversations among the group of leaders that enables more awareness of and sensitivity to the range of issues involving stakeholders in the area's natural environment.
  • Establish Partnerships: Build solid relationships and partnerships with conservation advocates on the local, Indonesian national and international levels. Local partners will include local schools and community organizations as well as individuals with knowledge of traditional forest practices.
  • Environmental Education: To conduct environmental education field trips in collaboration with Jepara area schools. Further environmental education plans will be guided by research conducted by IFCAE based on experiences gained during the first phase. Possibilities include building a facility for forest immersion multi-day education programs and establishing a full-curriculum educational facility in which the curriculum is organized around environmental themes.
  • Establish a Model: Creating an innovative model of cooperation between business, socio-cultural and conservation interests.
  • Building Environmental Awareness: Using the park's creation to expand awareness, locally and in the areas of the developed world where Tropical Salvage products are sold, of environmental and socio-cultural matters and challenges which affect Indonesia today.
  • Expanding the Project: Using the park's creation to generate additional grant-funding to expand its profile and, possibly, replicate it in other areas of Indonesia or elsewhere.
  • Research and Evaluation: Through the park's education facility and grant or other funding it might generate, create positions for graduate school researchers which can provide valuable experience and information toward realizing their degree aims and, in the process, enable them to contribute to refining the park's effectiveness at pursuing its organizational and education goals.

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