The policy brief, titled “Co-existence of people and orangutan in Sumatra: Stabilising gradients for landscape multifunctionality,” calls on policy makers to consider economic incentives, including REDD+, to maintain stable forest and agriculture gradients.
8 November 2011: The ASB Partnership for Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) has produced a policy brief titled “Co-existence of people and orangutan in Sumatra: Stabilising gradients for landscape multifunctionality,” which examines the role of forest-agroforest-agricultural landscapes in orangutan habitat in Sumatra.
The brief highlights continued threats to habitat and suggests that formal protected areas may result in conflict and loss of conservation values. The brief calls on policy makers to consider economic incentives, including REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks), to maintain stable forest and agriculture gradients. It acknowledges the relatively high opportunity costs facing local populations, but suggests that REDD+ activities may result in co-benefits. The brief notes the need for considering landscapes outside of forests in REDD+ systems. ASB is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Co-existence of People and Orangutan in Sumatra: Stabilising gradients for landscape multifunctionality]