Rejoso Kita

The Rejoso watershed, located on the eastern part of Java Island, is a crucial source of water for 1.3 million people in Indonesia.

However, over the years the watershed has faced challenges from land use change and overexploitation of ground water, especially from numerous illegal community wells. Additional landscape challenges and complexity come from conventional horticulture, which causes increased rainfall runoff and worsens the risk of landslides; poor governance of lakes; and over-irrigation of rice fields from self-flowing wells.

These environmental challenges have led to a 30% decrease in the flow rate into Umbulan, the main reservoir supporting the East Java area.

The program covers all parts of the watershed, including upstream, midstream, and downstream, by building a shared responsibility among the water users.

Upstream and midstream:

The Rejoso Kita initiative aids farmers through two main strategies: (1) protecting trees in the upstream areas and reforesting in the midstream areas, and (2) promoting the adoption of sustainable farming practices. Ultimately, these efforts contribute to the protection and preservation of watersheds.

To achieve this, the coalition has developed a system of payments to farmers who adopt and maintain regenerative practices on their land. This approach, known as “Payment for Ecosystem Services,” has proven to be effective. Funding for the initiative comes from both private and public entities that benefit from the collective protection of watersheds.

Downstream

On the other hand, the downstream approach is different. It involves two key components: (1) implementing a sustainable rice cultivation program, and (2) ensuring proper installation of wells to facilitate the adoption of climate-smart practices by rice paddy farmers.

Benefits for the Whole Ecosystem [2023 project impact]

Upstream and midstream, the implementation of best practices has resulted in the preservation of regenerative practices on approximately 106.6 hectares of land, which is equivalent to 152 football fields, as well as the preservation and replanting of over 47,000 trees.