Carbon Accounting

The concept of forest carbon offsets, initially known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), was first introduced on the international policy stage during the Bali COP in 2007. REDD enables developed countries' polluters or investors (corporations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals) to compensate developing countries for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through market mechanisms (Gifford, 2020). These markets allow for the trading of carbon credits in and through digital numbers since, unlike many other commodities, they do not require physical delivery.

Bujang Raba is one of the first community projects in Indonesia that aims to reduce emissions from deforestation. The project was proposed by KKI Warsi, a non-government organisation established in 27 December 1991, to prevent approximately 630,000 tCO2 emissions by protecting a primary forest spanning 5,336 hectares from 2014 to 2023. The project area covers five villages including Lubuk Beringin, Senamat Ulu, Sungai Mengkuang, Sangi Letung Buat, and Sungai Telang. By preserving this forest habitat, the project was expected to protect a valuable ecosystem home to endangered plants and animals, including the Sumatran Tiger, Malaysian Sun Bear, Tapir, and sacred hornbills.

Under the project, KKI Warsi and the participating communities followed a monitoring plan to assess the impact of forest loss mitigation activities based on the Plan Vivo standard . This involved monitoring carbon stocks, socio-economic factors, biodiversity, other environmental services, and the drivers of deforestation using remote sensing of the project area, fixed point photography taken by community members, camera traps, and forest patrols. To prevent the loss of important data, the monitoring data collected quarterly and annually were stored both at the village project office and by WARSI.

While the carbon project relied on digital data and monitoring to produce carbon markets , the communities' engagement with the digital forest began with a question about their livelihood. Famila Juniarti, KKI Warsi facilitator for Sungai Telang, described that when Warsi conducted a forest patrol training, they started with a question about what the forest means for the locals and how the use of digital technologies such as Avenza and GPS can help them in monitoring the forest (Interview, 23 Aug 2023).