Aceh Singkil District Government has High Expectations for its Landscape Approach

The Singkil district government was struggling to balance the demand for local economic development, for which oil palm planting was the main driver, with its commitment to protect the environment, forest, and communities’ customary land rights. It was also facing mounting pressure from the national government to implement the Regional Action Plan for Sustainable Palm Oil (RAP-SPO), which is part of the National Governments commitment to sustainable palm oil development.

Given Singkil’s proximity to the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve — a vital ecosystem threatened by palm oil expansion and illegal logging — the district was at a critical juncture. It became essential to gain inputs and consensus from a diverse group of stakeholders, but the District Government lacked a participatory platform to reconcile the conflicting interests around land-use.

The Leuser Alas-Singkil River-basin (LASR) Project responded by advocating to the District Planning Board (Bappeda) of Singkil to foster and empower the newly established Multi Stakeholder Forum (MSF) as a safe space for its members to deliberate and synchronize the governments agenda with the private sector, civil society, and farmer groups.

To illustrate, LASR activated a Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF) that was initiated by Earthworm Foundation (EF), Earthqualizer, and World Conservation Society. The forum, formally legalized under the coordination of Regional Development and Planning Agency (Bappeda), aims to integrate and harness the diverse interests for a sustainable landscape management. Remarkably, within nine months, the district Government of Singkil recognized the immediate benefits of this forum and proceeded to launch  a dedicated building for the MSF in September 2023.

With its formal establishment and physical presence on Bappeda’s campus, the MSF quickly garnered participation of the Protection, Production, and Inclusion (PPI) Compact facilitated by IDH.  Through LASR’s support, MSF and PPI Compact’s consortium members developed a comprehensive strategy for the district’s sustainable palm oil development, known as Visi Lanskap. This initiative outlines collective actions and targets aimed at achieving sustainable palm oil production while prioritizing forest protection and the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the district.

The Visi Lanskap is anchored in the Regional Action Plan for the Sustainable Palm Oil (RAP-SPO). LASR, in collaboration with MSF stakeholders, assisted the government in developing a RAP-SPO workplan that includes baseline measurements and targets. The indicators established in the RAP-SPO largely shaped the targets for Visi Lanskap. To monitor these indicators, LASR supported Singkil’s government in creating a Digital Dashboard for the MSF.

Moving forward with the sustainability plan of the collaboration

LASR continues to foster the growth of MSF Singkil by developing Standard Operational Procedures for the MSF Secretariat, covering protocols such as membership, communications, monitoring, reporting, and financial management. LASR is also enhancing the resources and skills of the MSF Secretariat to facilitate effective collaboration and achieve the targets outlined in the Visi Lanskap and RAP-SPO.