Maintain the sustainability of PES program: Lessons learnt from PES implementation in Sumberjaya, Way Besay Watershed, Indonesia

Sumberjaya is an area located in the upstream of Way Besay Watershed, one of the main watersheds in West Lampung District, Lampung Province of Sumatra, Indonesia. About 40% of the 44,700 ha area of Sumberjaya is declared as the protected forest area. Since 2001, astate-owned Way Besay Hydroelectric plant (PLN-PLTA Way Besay) that provides electricity for Lampung Province and surrounding area in Southern Sumatra, has been operating in Way Besay Watershed.

Since the 1970s to 2000, Sumberjaya experienced a massive land-use conversion, particularly from forest into coffee plantations owned by smallholder migrants from Java. This coffee-farming activity was perceived to cause the sedimentation and erosion problems that worsen the watershed condition. Based on that perception and triggered by the plan to build a new hydropower plant in the area, in the period of 1990-1996 the government then evicted thousands of coffee smallholders from their land. The eviction had escalated a huge social conflict between the farmers and government. In 1998-2004, the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) collaborated with several NGO and donors (comprise of Watala, Ford Foundation, and the UK’s Department of International Development) to resolve the conflict by facilitating negotiation based on scientific evidence and promoting sound land-use management through the improvement of coffee agroforestry system.