PALMOILMAGAZINE, KETAPANG — The Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil Farmers Forum (FORTASBI) has once again partnered with the public fundraising platform BenihBaik.com to support environmental conservation efforts. Following a successful initiative supporting a women-led seedling group in Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi, the latest collaboration focuses on forest conservation in Manismata and Airupas sub-districts, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan.
This initiative involves Demung Rimba Manismata — a respected local customary leader, also known as Robertus Mamang — alongside the Perkumpulan Petani Mitra Harapan (PPMH) farming group, a FORTASBI member. Together, they have pledged to safeguard a high conservation value (HCV) area spanning approximately 100 hectares.
The plan includes cultivating 12,000 forestry seedlings to be planted across three customary forest zones: Hutan Larangan Brupis, Tam-Tam, and Purang. The reforestation effort aims to protect vital water sources, restore ecological balance, and serve as a green buffer that benefits both local communities and the broader global climate.
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“This is our way of preserving the forest—not just for today, but for future generations,” said Robertus Mamang in a written statement received by Palmoilmagazine.com on Friday (May 9, 2025). He emphasized the need to maintain biodiversity and combat the growing risks of climate change.
The program is fully supported by BenihBaik, a donation platform founded by journalist Andi F. Noya. Through its “Taman Kebaikan” (Garden of Goodness) initiative, BenihBaik encourages public participation in tree-planting as a natural solution to address the climate crisis and mitigate ecological disasters like erosion and landslides.
“Planting a tree is not just about greening the earth — it’s about saving lives,” stated the BenihBaik team in their campaign message. The program invites the public to sponsor seedlings, including species like rain trees (trembesi), mahogany, teak, jabon, sengon, as well as fruit-bearing and local economic trees such as durian, mango, petai, and jengkol, to be planted across Indonesia.
This activity is part of an ongoing push to preserve vulnerable environments, especially in regions facing increasing pressure from plantation expansion and climate change. By fostering collaboration between farmers, indigenous leaders, environmental groups, and the public, FORTASBI and BenihBaik hope to establish a robust, community-based conservation model that is sustainable in the long term. (P2)
