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Our approach

Three complementary approaches in every programme: ecological data as the basis for decisions, solutions that use ecosystem functions, and attention to the social system that sustains the ecosystem.

Wildlife observation in the field
Wildlife observation in the field

Ecology-based

Every intervention starts from field data. Before choosing an intervention, we establish a baseline of biodiversity and of the site’s physical conditions, such as elevation, hydrology, substrate and water quality. Periodic monitoring against indicators set at the outset is used to judge whether an intervention is meeting its objectives, and to adjust it when it is not (adaptive management).

In practice

  • Biodiversity studies and monitoring: flora, fauna, coral reefs and water quality
  • Site-suitability assessment before restoration
  • Post-intervention monitoring and design adjustment
  • Scientific publication of study results, with the data owner’s permission

Programme examples

Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Reserve Lembung Paseser →Coral Transplantation, Gili Genting →Miyawaki Forest PEPC JTB →

Installed oyster castles at low tide
Installed oyster castles at low tide

Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, manage and restore ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, such as coastal erosion, while benefiting biodiversity and human well-being (IUCN, 2020). Our designs are fitted to site characteristics, and their effectiveness is assessed through monitoring rather than assumed.

In practice

  • POSH (Pervious Oyster Shell Habitat) oyster reef structures made from waste oyster shells in the intertidal zone
  • Oyster castles, another form of oyster reef structure adopted from practice abroad
  • Permeable structures (hybrid engineering) of bamboo poles and brushwood to dampen waves and trap sediment ahead of mangrove planting
  • Mangrove restoration based on site-suitability assessment

Programme examples

ORCCA — Oyster Reef Mengare →Mengare Discovery →PRPM Mengare →

Building beehives with residents
Building beehives with residents

Social-Ecological Systems

Ecosystems cannot be separated from the people who use and manage them. We analyse resource systems, users and governance together as a social-ecological system, following Ostrom’s framework (2009). The focus is on local institutions, use rules and collective action, which determine whether outcomes last after a programme ends.

In practice

  • Supporting the Lembung Paseser village regulation on coastal and marine area management
  • Forming a tourism awareness group (Pokdarwis) and a stakeholder monitoring forum at Kali Lamong
  • Oyster and cockle farming with Pokmaswas Tanjung Widoro
  • Study of Mengare residents’ perceptions of coastal ecosystems

Programme examples

Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Reserve Lembung Paseser →Kalam Mangrove →Mengare Discovery →

References: IUCN (2020). IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. Gland: IUCN. · Ostrom, E. (2009). A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325: 419–422.