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Project Title

Save Critical Habitat for Sumatran Tigers in Indonesia

Executive Summary

Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati, in strategic partnership with Rainforest Trust, is implementing a landscape-scale conservation initiative to protect approximately 35,800 acres of lowland tropical rainforest in Solok District, West Sumatra. This initiative safeguards one of Sumatra’s most critical wildlife habitats while empowering local communities to become long-term stewards of their forests through a Social Forestry (Perhutanan Sosial) approach. By combining legal forest protection, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable livelihoods, the project contributes to both ecological resilience and community well-being.

Background and Urgency

The Batanghari Landscape lies adjacent to Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS) and functions as a vital ecological corridor connecting major conservation areas in central Sumatra. This connectivity is essential for the survival of wide-ranging species such as the Sumatran Tiger. However, the landscape is under increasing pressure from plantation expansion, unregulated logging, habitat fragmentation, and escalating human–wildlife conflict. Without immediate and coordinated intervention, one of Sumatra’s remaining biodiversity strongholds faces irreversible degradation.
Our Objectives
As the on-the-ground implementing partner, Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati leads the project with the following core objectives:

Legalizing Village Forests

Facilitate the formal designation of 35,800 acres of forest as Village Forests (Hutan Desa) in close collaboration with the West Sumatra Provincial Forestry Service and the Solok Protected Forest Management Unit (KPHL).

Strengthening Habitat Connectivity

Maintain and enhance ecological corridors linking Kerinci Seblat National Park with surrounding forest areas, ensuring safe movement and genetic exchange for key species, particularly the Sumatran Tiger, whose population in this landscape is estimated at approximately 128 individuals.

Climate Change Mitigation

Protect forest areas that store an estimated 7.15 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent, contributing meaningfully to climate change mitigation and global emission reduction efforts.
Biodiversity Protection

The project area supports a high diversity of threatened wildlife, including species classified as Critically Endangered (CR) and Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, such as: Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi), Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) etc.

Protecting this habitat is essential for preventing further population decline and ensuring long-term species survival.
Community Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods
Effective conservation must be rooted in local participation and benefit-sharing. Through the Social Forestry scheme, Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati works to:

Secure legal land tenure and customary access rights for indigenous and local communities.

Develop sustainable, forest-based livelihoods, including non-timber forest product (NTFP) utilization and nature-based ecotourism.

Strengthen community-based forest patrols to reduce illegal logging, commercial hunting, and land conversion while mitigating human–wildlife conflict.
Partnership

This initiative is made possible through funding support and close collaboration with Rainforest Trust. Together, we share a commitment to safeguarding Indonesia’s natural heritage, strengthening community resilience, and delivering measurable conservation outcomes at the landscape scale.

For updates on project progress or opportunities for collaboration, please contact our team via the Contact page.

Project Title

Forest Governance and Landscape Restoration in the RIMBA Corridor

Executive Summary

Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati, as a member of Konsorsium Wahana Alam Hayati, is implementing a strategic forest governance and landscape restoration initiative in the RIMBA Corridor (Cluster III Jambi). In collaboration with the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN) and with support from GEF–UNEP, this project focuses on improving the sustainable management of production forests bordering Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS). By strengthening planning instruments, restoring ecological corridors, and resolving tenure-related conflicts, the project aims to secure landscape connectivity while laying the foundation for inclusive green economic growth.

Background and Urgency

The RIMBA Corridor, spanning Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra, is one of Indonesia’s most important ecological networks and a stronghold for Sumatra’s remaining megafauna. In Cluster III Jambi, the ecological connectivity between Kerinci Seblat National Park and surrounding production forests is increasingly threatened by habitat fragmentation, encroachment, and weak alignment between spatial plans and on-the-ground realities. Without immediate corrective action, degraded corridors and unresolved conflicts risk permanently severing ecological linkages essential for wildlife movement, watershed integrity, and long-term forest sustainability.
Our Objectives
As the implementing partner for Package 11A (Swakelola Tipe III), Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati leads the following key interventions:

Optimizing Forest Planning and Governance

Conduct an in depth review and analysis of the Long Term Forest Management Plans (RPHJP) for KPHP Kerinci Unit I and KPHP Merangin Units IV, V, and VI, ensuring alignment with Sustainable Forest Management, spatial planning policies, and landscape scale conservation priorities.

Restoring Landscape Connectivity

Develop a strategic Restoration and Rehabilitation Action Plan to recover degraded wildlife corridors, strengthen ecosystem connectivity, and maintain critical watershed functions in the Batanghari upland landscape.

Securing Protected Areas and Reducing Conflict

Facilitate conflict resolution processes and negotiated agreements with local communities to prevent further illegal encroachment into Kerinci Seblat National Park, while promoting collaborative approaches to forest protection.
Biodiversity Protection

The project focuses on Cluster III of the RIMBA Corridor, a montane and sub-montane forest landscape that provides essential habitat and movement pathways for: Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and other forest dependent species reliant on connectivity between Kerinci Seblat National Park and adjacent production forests

Maintaining this connectivity is critical for reducing human wildlife conflict and ensuring the long term viability of these species.
Community Empowerment and Sustainable Livelihoods
Long-term conservation outcomes depend on social legitimacy and economic alternatives. Through this project, Yayasan Palka Agra Hayati aims to:

Identify green economy potential within Forest Management Units (KPH), including restoration based livelihoods, ecosystem services, and sustainable forest enterprises that can attract responsible investment.

Resolve land use and tenure conflicts through participatory dialogue and consensus-building, positioning village communities as partners in protecting the National Park rather than drivers of encroachment.
Partnership

This initiative forms part of the Sustainable Management of Peatland Ecosystems in Indonesia (SMPEI) program, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The project is executed under the supervision of the Directorate of National Spatial Planning, Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN), and in coordination with relevant forestry and landscape level stakeholders.

Our Projects

Save Critical Habitat for Sumatran Tigers in Indonesia

Forest Governance and Landscape Restoration in the RIMBA Corridor

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