The Mosaik Initiative is an ambitious landscape initiative in Kalimantan, Indonesia, that works to protect and regenerate nature in a major commodity-producing region. The initiative supports local and indigenous communities to adopt regenerative agriculture, restore degraded lands, and protect their existing forests, by providing them incentives. By protecting and restoring critical ecosystems across the landscape, the initiative ensures that commodities intended for global markets, such as palm oil and timber, are produced sustainably and responsibly.

Through the Mosaik Initiative, we are trying to find a model for a large-scale transition toward sustainability at the district level. The Mosaik initiative aims to make the production of commodities more sustainable and inclusive so that districts can generate revenue to protect and restore landscapes while improving the welfare of farmers and indigenous people.

The Mosaik Initiative has two main flagship programs for protecting and restoring ecosystems: jurisdictional approaches and district-wide, sustainable village development programs.

Jurisdictional Approaches

The jurisdictional approach to certification seeks to apply the principles and criteria of a supply chain certification scheme, such as Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) or Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), to all producers of that commodity within a governmental, administrative area such as a state or district.

In contrast to typical supply chain certification schemes, the jurisdictional approach allows certain principles and criteria to be “upwardly delegated”, with the responsibility for implementing these criteria resting with local governments. It will assist in reducing costs, increasing the coverage of certification to all producers, simplifying the certification process, and improving social and ecological outcomes. For instance, the identification, protection, and management of areas of high conservation value such as forests and other ecosystems will take place at the jurisdictional scale. This will ensure that forests and other ecosystems are protected through laws and regulations rather than voluntary commitments. There will be protection of human rights, similar to the benefits received from land rights and labor rights.

There are many different types of jurisdictional approaches to commodity production. However, we follow several basic principles.

• Multi-stakeholder governance is essential for implementing the jurisdictional approach to certification, and more broadly, sustainable and inclusive commodity production.

• Specific targets and the work plan to achieve the targets are agreed upon by all stakeholders in the jurisdiction.

• The progress is monitored against the set targets.

• Incentives are provided for local communities and producers to change their commodity production system and support ecosystem protection and restoration.

Sustainable Village Development: Gawi Bahaum and Gawi Bapakat

In 2022, with support from consumer goods companies, Kaleka, together with Kotawaringin Barat and Seruyan district governments, launched the district-wide village program. The program is called “Gawi Bahaum” in Kotawaringin Barat and “Gawi Bapakat” in Seruyan district. In the local language, “Gawi Bahaum/Gawi Bapakat” means to work together, and the initiative invites all communities to work together to achieve the common dream of building a prosperous society while ensuring that both nature and the environment are preserved.

As part of the program, villages will be provided with support for improving their livelihoods in four main areas: smallholder certification, restoration, community forestry, and regenerative agriculture. In return for this support, villages must:

• provide a statement of commitment including nominating an implementing unit,

• identify land uses at the village level and issue regulations for protecting forests and preventing fires,

• create a local monitoring system for deforestation and fires,

• establish a village paralegal to support legal document processing and access to justice, and a registrar to resolve social conflict.

Villages will be provided with support and training to meet these requirements, after submitting their statement of commitment. This approach will ensure that farm-level interventions, including regenerative agriculture, are not implemented in isolation but complement other activities for forest protection, restoration, and certification. At present, the village development program is implemented directly by Kaleka in collaboration with the local government.