In 2009, UNCTAD and UNDP conducted an assessment and initial scoping mission
which recognized that complementary programmes on reintegration and BioTrade
were ongoing in Colombia, and that the potential existed for BioTrade to be
introduced as a reintegration option in Uganda and Aceh, Indonesia. This work
has been further incorporated as part of a UNDP–UNEP Joint Initiative on
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration and Natural Resource Management,
also launched in 2009, which seeks to reintegrate ex-combatants in post-conflict
areas through better understanding of the linkages between reintegration and
natural resources.
A pilot project in Aceh Selatan, on the coast of Aceh
Province, is the first funded joint project to officially link BioTrade with
social and economic reintegration and peace-building programmes in communities
affected by the conflict between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of
Indonesia that ended in 2005.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Indonesia was famous for sought-after
spices such as cloves, cinnamon, chilli, lemon grass, ginger, turmeric and
nutmeg that sold for high prices on the European market. The topographic
condition is particularly suitable for growing nutmeg trees and, as such, it is
has been a historical and cultural commodity that has long generated an income
for communities in the region.
The cultivation of nutmeg continues to be especially important in Aceh
Selatan as it forms part of the biologically diverse forest gardens that have
been tended by communities for generations. Today, nine of the 16 subdistricts
in the area grow nutmeg, producing several products made from the nutmeg fruit
and seed including sugared candies and syrup, spice and essential oil. Each of
these products forms part of the overall value chain and is important to the
economic livelihood of specific groups in the communities.
By supporting multiple aspects of the value chain through a
holistic approach, the UN partnership with the local government hopes to target
marginalized groups, including women, and to provide much-needed resources and
technical assistance to strengthen the overall value chain through improved
processing practices, quality standards and linkages to national and
international markets. The UNDP team in Aceh Selatan is working through the
local government to ensure that efforts to strengthen value-chain linkages are
sustainable and integrated into governmental planning budgets in the coming
years. Through the programme, UNDP also works with the local government to help
communities solve issues such as replanting nutmeg in fields that have been
affected by pests and disease in some parts of Aceh Selatan.
In line with the BioTrade principles and criteria, the Nutmeg Forum Aceh has
been established to help increase nutmeg productivity and strengthen market
demand. It will also help create social cohesion and synergy among local
communities through partnerships between farmers, traders, government, community
support officers and researchers.
Nutmeg Value Chains:
A Gender-Responsive Process In Aceh Selatan, the production of nutmeg candies and syrups provides an
income for women-headed households including widows and female ex-combatants who
are otherwise marginalized from economic activities. These women often work from
home and sell their products to local markets. Nutmeg seeds are processed into
spice or essential oil depending on their maturity and quality. For the women
engaged in food processing and making beverages from nutmeg, the programme will
provide skills training in modifying the shape and taste to better suit market
demand.
Although both women and men often harvest and collect the nutmeg together,
the distillation and selling of essential oils in Aceh Selatan is mostly done by
men. Each point of the value chain (from collection, transformation and
processing to packaging, marketing and distribution) will be addressed by the
BioTrade programme to identify what is needed to improve the final product and
maximize economic and social benefits for the producers and processors.
The UNDP, UNEP and UNCTAD partnership hopes to help communities in Aceh
Selatan take part in an environmentally and economically feasible activity that
contributes to improved livelihoods and provides much-needed support, especially
for marginalized women. By working in accordance with the principles and
criteria of UNCTAD’s BioTrade initiative, it is also hoped that growth in the
nutmeg value chain will be sustainable from environmental, social and economic
perspectives and will ultimately even support the protection of native
biodiversity in Aceh Selatan.
It is anticipated that by the end of 2011, this model of working with natural
resources through a value chain approach will be scaled up and applied to other
conflict-affected districts in Aceh.
For more information about UNEP’s
Biodiversity programmes and activities visit www.unep.org/themes/biodiversity/ and
http://www.undp.or.id.