Pangrango-Halimun-Salak (PAHALA) watershed project

In PAHALA project, SNV in collaboration with Danone AQUA, Danone Ecosystem and local partner, Rekonvasi Bhumi, aims to contribute to integrated water resource management in the watershed area by implementing regenerative practices to maintain soil and water quality and help achieve sustainable water resources. The project takes places in Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia for 2 years since November 2022 – December 2024 for phase 1.

The Cisadane Hulu watershed in western Java is a national priority area facing significant ecological challenges and is urgently designated for restoration. National Planning Agency data (2018) shows that 21.52% of the land is designated for forest conservation to protect water and soil. However, in recent years, there has been a rapid green land conversion for infrastructure development, including tourism and road construction.

Amplifying these environmental pressures is the lack of knowledge and technical skills among local farmers and small community businesses in managing water resources effectively. Additionally, limited understanding of sustainable agricultural practices further threatens both water quality and the long-term viability of the watershed. Addressing these issues presents a unique opportunity to support restoration efforts, empower local communities, and safeguard vital water resources for the future.

Building on our expertise in advocacy for systems change, capacity building, and technical assistance on sustainable agriculture practice, we develop holistic approach that aim to ensure multistakeholder accountability to preserve watershed area that will enhance the quality of life and well-being of the farmers and its community.

We support the establishment of a multi-stakeholder watershed forum. The involvement of multiple stakeholders aims to promote integrated watershed management through policy and regulation advocacy processes. the multi-stakeholder watershed forum, consisting of the government, farmers, the private sector, and academics, to have a positive impact on the socio-economic improvement of the community.

Besides, the PAHALA project also fostering the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices including promoting agroforestry model, compost utilisation, applying cover crop and building trenches within the landscape. The recommended practice creates a synergy between sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation, ensuring long-term productivity and ecological balance. Additionally, we encourage the initiative of a payment mechanism for environmental services between users (companies) and providers (farmers or landowners). The payment for environmental service schemes is crucial to ensure that farmers as service providers dedicate their efforts to delivering environmental services or managing natural resources effectively.

We also provide capacity building and technical assistance to local farmer institutions to strengthen governance at the farmer group level, as well as capacity building for business initiative development. Ultimately, local farmer institutions are expected to enhance market access and improve input access for farmers. This way, the business products of local farmer institutions can help open up market access for farmers and improving their value chain to enable them provide affordable inputs for other farmers. Further, this practice will support the implementation of regenerative agriculture and agroforestry.