Central to all our conservation efforts is the partnership with local communities in sustainable resource use management. The Community Development and Livelihoods Program operates under the central tenet that humans and nature can coexist. The program serves –in collaboration with partners – to develop and support alternative livelihoods that reduce destructive or unsustainable exploitative practices, and identify and address community development needs.

In Komodo, Raja Ampat, Wakatobi and Berau, TNC is directly (or through partners) involved in the development of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Marine National Parks, and at each of these places there is a deep commitment to respect the livelihoods of local communities by developing ways to conserve biological diversity while at the same time enabling humans and communities to live in harmony with their cultural traditions, productively and sustainably in the landscape.

Community development is defined broadly and includes a number of inter-connected dimensions important to achieve and improve human and community wellbeing in harmony with environmental conservation. Therefore these programs include a wide range of activities such as training schemes, development grants, alternative livelihood programs through micro-financing and direct provision of work opportunities.

Incorporating social development issues and goals into conservation program strategies is complex and challenging on a range of levels. Such an undertaking offers considerable opportunity for enabling holistic sustainable development approaches, which in turn promotes long-term support for conservation goals. These joint environment and development activity approaches are a critical element of gaining the support and motivation of the resource users and community stakeholders in an area, thereby underpinning the conservation efforts underway.

In the coming months and years we will be further exploring collaboration with partners from various sectors such as CARE Indonesia, Konsorsium Mitra Bahari Sulawesi Selatan, and others, tapping into their experience and expertise to design community development and sustainable livelihoods tailored to the needs and conditions of the places where we work.

Examples of activities supported by TNC

Supporting Alternative Livelihoods
All field sites run community-centered activities to directly benefit local needs. The TNC-WWF Joint Marine Program in Berau, for example, supports community groups in the production of virgin coconut oil, fish-based processed food, fish packaging and fish grow-out, as well as in the use of simple bamboo rafts that serve as fish aggregating devices, cutting the average fisherman’s fuel consumption in half. To promote ecotourism revenue, the Joint Program also supported a glass-bottom tour boat. In Komodo, our joint venture enterprise with International Finance Corporation (IFC), PT Putri Naga Komodo (PNK) has allocated more than $1 million to train and assist park residents to develop legal and reliable sources of income, such as woodcarving and textile weaving.

Microfinancing Alternative Livelihood Ventures
Developing alternative livelihood ventures often relies on availability of capital and expertise to begin and manage new activities. TNC researches the options for effective microfinancing schemes, undergoing studies in market analysis and training on writing small-business plans, applying for a micro loan and maintaining accounting records for small enterprises and loan repayment. In Berau, the TNC-WWF Joint Program runs a microcredit program for four fishing cooperatives and one fishing organization. PNK in Komodo is implementing a revolving microcredit program through community-based Financial Management Units to provide incentives to develop sustainable alternative livelihoods.

Community Development
TNC’s field sites are in predominantly low-income areas, where the “poverty of opportunity” is a key obstacle to sustainable development. TNC supports communities to address their development needs through a range of activities. In Wakatobi, for example, the TNC-WWF Joint Program facilitated various trainings on business development and financial management to fisher and women’s groups. In Komodo, the Park Authority, district government and PNK started a free medical service for villagers, facilitating regular visits by health care practitioners to the park’s islands, from where citizens would otherwise have to make a long and expensive boat journey to the district capital for medical assistance.