EbA-enhanced Climate Field Schools for Climate Resilience (EECCLiRe) Implemented by The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) & SU-RE.CO

About

EECCLiRe responds to the need for sustainable intensification and climate-smart coffee production in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) and Bali in Indonesia. Both areas are climate risk hotspots and critical coffee production areas in the country. The project integrates ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) principles in conducting climate field schools among farmers involved in producing coffee. Coffee is an essential export commodity and a lynchpin of rural livelihoods in these two provinces. Outcomes will be achieved by redesigning and integrating EbA principles, agroforestry techniques, local and traditional knowledge, and climate-smart technologies in the climate field schools being conducted by the BMKG (Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika), the Indonesian Met Bureau, and civil society actors such as su-re.co. To ensure uptake and deepen impacts of the project, EECCLiRe will integrate alternative technologies to help farmers reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their farms through the use of biogas digesters, exploration of ecolabelling mechanisms to promote sustainable coffee production, and by assisting BMKG in developing proactive policies that improve the conduct of the field schools and expand them into other commodities. In the long term, the project will enhance the adaptive capacities and strengthen the social, environmental, and economic resilience of rural communities dependent on coffee through ecosystem-based adaptation.

Project Status

The EbA-enhanced climate field school (CFS) for climate resilience (EECCLiRe) is officially underway. Beginning in 2023, an appropriate action plan tailored to the geographical and cultural context of the beneficiaries was created and shaped. Officers of Indonesia’s Meteorological Bureau (BMKG) from Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, and Jakarta, grassroots NGOs working directly with coffee producers, and experts in Indonesian coffee production and agroforestry participated in the inception workshop. The initial activity of EECCLiRe was a nationwide online training for BMKG officers on EbA, gender inclusion, and climate projections. In Wanagiri and Sukawana, Bali, and in Manggarai and Bajawa, East Nusa Tenggara, the first climate field schools were conducted, where specific requirements and experiences were identified, which will help shape future training and actions. A second round of CFS has been conducted in Wanagiri and Sukawana, Bali. Alongside the CFS, agriculture extension employees in these villages were trained to become trainers.

Agroforestry has been highlighted and introduced in the CFS as an appropriate EbA action. An EbA-enhanced agroforestry manual has been drafted and is nearing the review stage. Once the draft is finalized it will be tested with participating farmers from the CFS.

During the CFS programme, biogas digesters were introduced as an innovative climate-smart solution to farmers and educators. Eighteen biogas digesters have been installed on farms in both Bali and East Nusa Tenggara villages. Through this initiative, farmers and trainers have acquired valuable insight into the contribution of biogas to ecosystem-based adaptation by reducing the use of biomass, which in turn prevents deforestation and preserves the vital ecosystem services provided by forest ecosystems. In addition, farmers and trainers have realised that biogas production generates bio-slurry, a valuable alternative to chemical fertilisers. This application of bio-slurry improves soil quality and promotes soil biodiversity, thereby ensuring the availability of essential nutrients for plant growth.

In addition, a study on the role of eco-labelling and sustainability standards in facilitating ecosystem-based adaptation has begun. A literature review has been conducted, and primary data collection through focus group discussions with farmers and interviews with various stakeholders is currently ongoing.

An outline of a roadmap on how to integrate EbA into future climate field schools, together with climate-smart practices such as coffee agroforestry, biogas production, and the use of sustainability standards is already produced, and plans are prepared to complete each chapter of the roadmap before the end of the project.