Climate Change Mitigation through Synergy between Community Forest Conservation and Economic Improvement, and Solar PV Installation
Situbondo, March 29, 2022 – PT Paiton Energy (PE) – PT Paiton Operation & Maintenance Indonesia (POMI) have been continuously conducting the community forest conservation which is synergized with economic improvement in Selobanteng Village, East Java. This activity has been providing benefits in the form of environmental sustainability, improving the people's economy, and mitigating climate change through reducing and absorbing carbon emissions.
The conservation program is in collaboration with the Selobanteng Village Farmers Group and the Situbondo District Environmental Service (DLH). The program has been running since 2009, and involving 599 beneficiary farmers.
Conservation efforts are carried out by routinely planting 20,000 Teak and Gmelina tree seedlings every year, with a total target of planting 100,000 trees.
From the results of research conducted by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and BKT Purwodadi Botanical Gardens, this program is estimated to be able to absorb 3,852 tons of carbon. Meanwhile, from an economic perspective, conservation efforts have succeeded in increasing people's income by an average of 20% per month.
Selobanteng Village is a center for quality furnitures production, and this conservation program supports the availability of the raw materials. This program also opens up opportunities for residents to get additional working capital from the Delayed Cutting Credit (KTT) program.
In 2017 the community received a Summit worth Rp1,127 billion. In 2019, residents received Rp1.3 billion from the Phase 2 of KTT, with a total of 10,216 trees as collateral.
Chief Financial Officer of PT Paiton Energy, Bayu Widyanto said that this conservation activity is the Company's real effort to carry out sustainable business practices and participate in climate change mitigation. These conservation efforts are synergized with improving the economy of the surrounding community.
“Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change are urgent. Therefore, it is very important to ensure collaborative work with various parties, both from the community, local government, academics, and research institutions so that this program runs in a sustainable manner," added Bayu.
This community forest conservation program is an effort to absorb carbon dioxide emissions by increasing the number of plant populations. The results of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis in the Selobanteng and Banyuglugur villages in the five years (2014 – 2019) showed that there was a fairly high increase in vegetation density. Vegetation density in Selobanteng Village in 2014 was dominated by rare to moderate classes, while in 2019 it was dominated by vegetation with high density classes.
The Community Forest Conservation Program in Selobanteng Village has received positive appreciation from various parties. In 2013, Selobanteng Village managed to get an award as a FOREST CARE VILLAGE at the Situbondo Regency level. Meanwhile, in 2016, Paiton Energy won the Indonesia Green Awards in the category of developing biodiversity with the title “Development of Community Forest Conservation Villages to Support Environmental Quality and Community Economic Welfare in Selobanteng Village.
In addition to conserving community forests to reduce carbon emissions, Paiton Energy also installs Solar Power Plants (PLTS) to support the provision of renewable energy sources. The company built PLTS from Photovoltaic (PV) stations for self-consumption with a total installed capacity of 1,013 kW with an on-Grid Solar Power System.
The PLTS projects were installed in the Paiton power plant area (689KW), the roof of the administration building (65KW), and the roof of the recreation hall in the Paiton housing estate (289KW). The electricity generated is also used to charge the e-Bus which serves as the daily transportation of employees. In addition, the Company also has built the PLTS for the surrounding community, namely at PP An Nuqayah Sumenep (35KWP) and at SMAN 8 Malang (15 KWP).
Paiton Energy has implemented its CSR program since 2000 which was designed annually and monitored by the Community Development Committee. The programs are categorized into three focuses, namely supporting the sustainability of Companies (power plant), socio-economic sustainability, and energy and environmental sustainability.
For more details, please click the media links below :
Desa Selobanteng & Solar PV Project:
- Republika: https://www.republika.co.id/berita/r9ihsw457/paiton-energy-berkomitmen-mengurangi-emisi-karbon
- Hutan Indonesia: https://hutanindonesia.com/mitigasi-perubahan-iklim-melalui-sinergi-konservasi-hutan-rakyat-dan-peningkatan-ekonomi-serta-instalasi-plts/
- Bisnis Indonesia: https://m.bisnis.com/amp/read/20220330/44/1516884/kikis-emisi-karbon-paiton-bangun-plts
- IDXchannel: https://www.idxchannel.com/foto-1/foto/melihat-pembangkit-listrik-tenaga-surya-di-paiton
- Liputan TV One: TV One Jatim coverage, March 31, 2022: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pDIaCfMAxvP-ykwSoLMC82abfSFiiP9T/view?usp=sharing
- Koran Kompas: "(Berita Foto) Paiton Energy Bangun Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Surya", Pg. 10, Ch. Ekonomi-Bisnis, 30 March 2022
- Koran Radar Bromo: "Kurangi Emisi, Manfaatkan Tata Surya", Pg. 17, Ch. Radar Kraksaan, 31 March 2022
- Koran Duta Masyarakat: "Paiton Energy Bangun PLTS di PLTU", Pg. 6, Ch. Bisnis, 31 March 2022
- Koran Kompas: "Menanam Jati, Memanen Kesegaran", Pg. 15, Ch. Umum, 13 April 2022
