Demystifying Nature based Solution (Forest Carbon) to the Climate Crisis among Indigenous Communities in Marudi, Baram, Sarawak
Written by: Professor Doctor Poline Bala
The impacts of climate change on environmental degradation and bio-diversity loss are most severe in the vulnerable environments mostly occupied by indigenous peoples. This is despite the fact that indigenous communities of these areas contribute the least to the causes of global warming. Yet most solutions to climate change outlined in international agreements and through global frameworks such as Montreal Protocol, 1987 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992 Kyoto Protocol, 2005 Paris Agreement, 2015 and recently OP26 - Glasgow Climate Pact remain as abstract constructs to many indigenous peoples worldwide. One of the solutions proposed under these global-based arrangements is Forest Carbon, a nature based solution to the climate crisis.
A multidisciplinary team based at the Institute of Borneo Studies, UNIMAS is developing a tool to demystify Forest Carbon among 60 indigenous village communities in the Marudi Forest Conservation and Restoration project by SaraCarbon Sdn. Bhd. The Marudi Project is the first of its kind in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. As a nature based solution through forest protection, conservation and restoration, the project was designed in accordance with UNFCCC's REDD+ guidelines and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme. The framework allows certified projects to turn their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and removals into tradable carbon credits.
A multidisciplinary team based at the Institute of Borneo Studies, UNIMAS is developing a tool to demystify Forest Carbon among 60 indigenous village communities in the Marudi Forest Conservation and Restoration project by SaraCarbon Sdn. Bhd. The Marudi Project is the first of its kind in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. As a nature based solution through forest protection, conservation and restoration, the project was designed in accordance with UNFCCC's REDD+ guidelines and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme. The framework allows certified projects to turn their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and removals into tradable carbon credits.
The main challenge was to translate the idea to about 2,800 households with a total population of about 22,700 people from 7 different ethnic communities, some who inhabit the riverbanks while others in the mountains. A participative seasonal calendar mapping was reformulated as a tool to translate local experiences and strategies into the VCS program parameters and design. At the local level, the study enable the formulation of community-based strategies for climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation that can be propagated among wider audiences. Contribute towards policy formulation, implementation and development practices with respect to the achievement of SDGs #13 and #15 for nations on the island of Borneo and beyond.
