Dayat Hidayat supports his three sons by growing chilis and long beans on a 1-acre (0.4-ha) plot within Indonesia's Mount Halimun Salak National Park, the largest rainforest on the island of Java, where farms, endangered species and Chevron's expansive Salak geothermal operations coexist. Our ability to work with the community to balance environmental stewardship, energy development and the community's needs demonstrates how our partnerships help protect the environment and sustain livelihoods.
Indonesia faces constant challenges to produce more crops on limited arable land without encroaching further on forestland. In areas in and around Mount Halimun Salak National Park, timber was harvested to clear new land for farming and for wood for other businesses. In Hidayat's village, three-quarters of the 2,000 residents are farmers. Hidayat and 107 farmers like him are working with us and our partners on a community-based environmental conservation program to improve farming practices near the park and protect forests. We are also working with the farmers to preserve traditional techniques such as crop rotation and natural pest control, which are critical to sustaining crop production rates.
For Hidayat, the conservation program helps improve his business. "The farming training has widened my perspective and provided me with knowledge about environmental protection and better agricultural practices," he said. "Understanding organic farming by using available resources in the environment is part of this work, like using sheep's dung for fertilizer and learning good cattle-breeding practices." He said Chevron's assistance in establishing farming cooperatives helps him pool resources and stabilize his income.
Business and the Environment
Our ability to operate safely in unique environments such as Mount Halimun Salak National Park demonstrates our commitment to environmental performance and helps us expand our business in Indonesia. We understand that people, the natural environment and our operations are interdependent. In all our major capital projects, we integrate biodiversity into our business decisions by using the environmental stewardship component of our Operational Excellence Management System (OEMS). We work closely with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and community groups to manage our operational footprint in order to protect the unique environments where we are developing energy.
Mount Halimun Salak National Park is home to endangered species such as the Javan leopard, gibbon and hawk-eagle. These animals are often spotted inside Chevron's Salak geothermal operations areas. We partner with the national park and local, national and international wildlife groups to protect wildlife habitats and maintain nurseries to restore trees that were used to support local businesses.
In our day-to-day operations, we follow strict policies to leave wildlife undisturbed, and we design pipelines to accommodate animal crossings. We collaborated with government authorities to minimize tree removal during pipe and well installation that was completed before the start of commercial operation in 1994. We also planted 3,000 trees inside our Salak operations area as part of a regreening effort.
Building a Conservation Ethic
We have a long-term commitment to community-based environmental conservation programs in Indonesia. In 2002, we launched our partnership with the nonprofits Peduli Konservasi Alam Indonesia (PEKA Indonesia) and the Wildlife Trust to protect Salak Mountain's ecosystem. PEKA's work focused in part on environmental education and protection. At that time, PEKA reported that the illegal poaching and sale of several beetle species in and around our Salak geothermal area were destroying forests and threatening biodiversity and nearby communities' agricultural water supply.
“Chevron makes environmental protection and community their priority.”
— Gita Gemilang, Yayasan Bina Usaha Lingkungan
We continue to build upon conservation programs in areas near our Salak operations, including the rural farming communities in Bogor and Sukabumi. Unemployment is high in those communities, where 60 percent of the population in the Salak area are women and youth. We partner with the nonprofit Yayasan Bina Usaha Lingkungan (YBUL) to educate farmers like Hidayat about rabbit and goat breeding as well as other
alternatives that will not degrade forests or deplete the communities' agricultural supply. Also, YBUL encourages traders and craftspeople to switch from making furniture from park timber to environmentally friendly, income-generating work such as cultivating vegetables and fruits—a program that contributes to local food supplies. In 2011, these programs benefited more than 1,500 people.
"Chevron makes environmental protection and community their priority," said Gita Gemilang of YBUL. "Shifting the community's dependency from forest products to other sources of income generation that could become their alternative pillar of livelihood becomes crucial in this program. Chevron's initiative is a path to sustainability for farmers."
In late 2011, we continued our support of conservation efforts by launching the Green Corridor Initiative, with a goal of planting 250,000 trees over five years. This effort helps restore the degraded forest that connects more than 1,200 acres (486 ha) of the ecological zone of the Mount Halimun Salak National Park forest corridor. The initiative involves more than 1,500 people, the Mount Halimun Salak National Park, foundations, universities and local nongovernmental organizations. In December 2011, our employees, Mount Halimun Salak National Park representatives and community members planted the first 5,000 trees. This effort is part of a much larger one by the Indonesian government to rehabilitate the country's damaged forests and replant barren lands.
In addition to our Green Corridor Initiative, in 2011 we worked with local schools, government agencies and nongovernmental agencies to plant 22,200 trees outside of the park but near our operations in Bogor and Sukabumi and in the Jayanegara tea plantation.
In 2011, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment honored Chevron Geothermal Salak and Chevron Geothermal Indonesia with the PROPER Gold and Green awards, respectively. The PROPER award is regarded as the most prestigious award in environmental stewardship in Indonesia.
Updated: May 2012