When local villagers in Perigi Talang Nangka, South Sumatra asked researchers from CIFOR and South Korea’s National Institute of Forest Science what to grow on degraded and marginal peatlands, the scientists drew on their success with earlier trials of bioenergy crops, and set up a demonstration plot in partnership with Sriwijaya University to test which plants did best near the community.
By using paludiculture – wetland agroforestry – researchers showed how local trees such as nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum), bintaro (Cerbera manghas), and jelutong (Dyera lowii) can grow among rice paddy and pineapple in the degraded peatlands.
After 3–5 years, the oilseeds can be harvested without cutting down the trees, and some of the trees can also be used for timber. The trees survive the six months of flooding, when villagers traditionally supplement their diets with fish. The mixed-cropping system retains moisture and, because farmers value and protect these plots, helps prevent the spread of wildfires. And since bintaro is unpalatable to Sumatran elephants, it can help lower the risk of human-wildlife conflict.
Oil from the trees can be used in cosmetics or, if grown on a larger scale, as biofuel. Scientists are in discussion with private sector representatives to determine whether it can also be used as aviation biofuel.
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Project info
Project
Socioeconomic and environmental outcomes of bioenergy production from degraded land (Bioenergy project)
Country
Indonesia
Funding partners
South Korea National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), CGIAR-FTA
Project partners
Biotechnology Research Center — Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry (FOERDIA), Sriwijaya University, University of Muhammadiyah Palangkaraya, University of Mulawarman
CIFOR focal point
Himlal Baral, Senior Scientist; Yustina Artati, Senior Research Officer, Yusuf Bahtimi Samsudin, Consultant