Long Isun community prioritises forests over carbon funds
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The Long Isun community in Mahakam Ulu Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, declined funds from the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility-Carbon Fund (FCPF-CF) to preserve their forests and traditions.
Bonaventura Bayau, the customary leader of the Umaq Suling Dayak people, explained that his community has long protected the forest through traditional farming practices. The FCPF-CF is a World Bank and Indonesian government project intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, a program known as REDD+.
The program offered US$100 million (approximately Rp1.6 trillion) to Indonesia through 2028 if the country reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 22 million tons of CO2e. Funds were distributed to villages, communities, and Indigenous groups for activities supporting forest protection and livelihoods. East Kalimantan was selected as a pilot region for this performance-based carbon funding in Asia-Pacific because of its dense forest cover.
However, the Long Isun community chose to maintain their traditional way of life and forest management rather than accept the carbon funds, believing their existing practices already protect the forest. They continue farming as they have for generations, predating concepts like “carbon” and “deforestation.”
