Development Incentive Program at Carbon Trading Activity in KPHP Tasik Besar Serkap

Abstract: REDD+ mechanism has been considered as an effective way to mitigate climate change in developing countries since it targets to remove carbon emissions and compensate the local communities for their conservation efforts. Incentive programs of REDD+ projects should be tailored carefully because they can cause both positive and negative effects to local communities. This research was conducted to suggest incentive program options for a peat land REDD+ project in Riau Provincial. Frequently adopted incentive pr ograms were identified from literature review, and few more options were added based on previous local survey. Seven incentive options were finalized for the survey through discussion with KPH Tasik Besar Serkap. To figure out preference on and importance of the incentive options for local communities, questionnaire survey was conducted on 40 respondent in 2 villages around the project area. Local livelihoods activities in forest were also investigated. Collected data was used for frequency analysis and AHP analysis. Although gap between preference and importance of the options was found, the difference was minor. Among the incentive options, the respondents preferred provision of ‘goods for agriculture and fishery’, ‘electricity generator’, ‘establishment o f community forest’ and ‘job creation’. Diverse local livelihood activities in forests were confirmed, though intensity of dependence was different among the villages. It is concluded that a set of small incentive programs would lead to better results than ‘one-big’ incentive program, since it can provide more opportunities for local people to participate in. To develop an effective incentive program for REDD+ project, local preference, importance for local community, and impacts on local livelihood should be considered simultaneously.