The PRESA project began in 2007 from the lessons and experiences of an older, similar project in Asia. That project is called RUPES (Rewarding the Upland Poor for Environmental Services).

Farmers worked together to build terracing and ridging in their coffee farms. PHOTO: Rachman Pasha

Since 2002, RUPES has been working with communities, researchers and policy makers in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Vietnam.

RUPES sees rewards for environmental services as an approach that can alleviate rural poverty while protecting the natural environment.

An example of RUPES’ work has just been featured in the New Agriculturist magazine. The article describes how RUPES helped coffee farmers at the island of Sumatra get conditional land tenure. In exchange, the farmers are expected to practice soil and water conservation measures that ensure that soil sediments do not clog a local hydroelectric dam.

“We are very happy with this scheme because it gave us a legal certainty in managing our land as well as providing us with additional income from the fruit trees,” enthuses Eddy Purwanto, a community group member.

You can read the article by clicking here.