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ASRI's Reforestation Program

Photo by Kinari Webb

Reduce your carbon footprint with tall, green, oxygen producing trees via a contribution to help Project ASRI reforest the lowlands of Indonesia's Gunung Palung National Park!

With help from Health In Harmony, Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI), the Gunung Palung park office, and local communities are working together to revitalize forest land that has been degraded by illegal logging and fire.

When you make a donation to offset your carbon footprint you're helping HIH to support these partners in stocking seedlings, preparing planting sites, and replanting rainforest. In addition to absorbing carbon, the project will:
  • help maintain sources of clean water for the 60,000 people who rely on the Gunung Palung watershed;
  • offer villagers alternative livelihoods or the opportunity to trade work for health care at the ASRI health clinic;
  • help protect orangutans, for whom Gunung Palung represents a haven for as much as a tenth of the species;
  • restore biodiversity to low-diversity grasslands;
  • and contribute to maintaining healthy air quality around the globe.
How does it work?
When you calculate your carbon footprint, and make a donation to offset that footprint, Health In Harmony will use those funds to support Project ASRI's reforestation pilot project on two sites in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Please see below for more information about the details of our reforestation program.

You have the power to improve the lives of people living around Gunung Palung, expand orangutan habitat, and decrease the greenhouse gases that threaten our health - your donation to Health In Harmony will do a world of good!

STEP 1: Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
We like the carbon usage calculator at Carbon Footprint as it is comprehensive and easy to use. If you are in the US, the Inconvenient Truth calculator is very quick. You can, of course, offset your carbon debt directly at these links, but we hope you will return to this site and go to Step 2 and then to Step 3 to donate to support reforestation in Gunung Palung.

STEP 2: Calculate your suggested donation

Enter your desired carbon offset (in metric tonnes of CO2, or tCe) here: . At our unit cost of USD 19.21 per metric tonne of CO2, your suggested donation is USD . You will be paying for the planting of ca. square metres of rain forest. Our calculations are based on increasing the carbon stock of the land by 750 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent per hectare, over the long-term duration of restoring mature rain forest to the site.

Your offset donation will be based on your trust in ASRI to follow through on its commitment to replanting and caring for your trees, as formal carbon certification is a process that is prohibitively expensive for ASRI and the small-scale reforestation efforts it is currently initiating. HIH and ASRI welcome you to visit your trees at any time, and you can also keep abreast of activities through our wiki.

With your help, we hope to support expansion of the project in upcoming years to a much greater area.

STEP 3: Choose Your Method of Donation

To donate with a credit card:
DonateNow


Seedlings in the ASRI nursery



Seedlings being planted at the Lamon Satong reforestation site.
Checks can be sent to:
Health In Harmony
4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, #246
Portland, OR 97214
USA

By whatever method, your donations are greatly appreciated!

More Information:

In 2009, ASRI has replanted four hectares (10 acres) of degraded land within the borders of Gunung Palung National Park. The planting was done in an experimental design to test various site preparation methods, species compositions, and fertilizing methods. Almost 18,000 seedlings were planted! We will use the results from these trials to develop reforestation strategies that will be used to replant larger areas in years to come. ASRI is maintaining a wiki that includes photos of seedlings in its nursery and reforestation activities to keep you up to date. All donations will be used for replanting more rainfores in 2010 and keeping the current seedlings safe from fire.

The project offers immediate benefits for local livelihoods and local health, as all of the labor is provided by villagers. Many of the seedlings planted in 2009 were obtained through trades with community members who in return received treated bed-nets that help fight malaria. Deforestation tends to increase rates of malaria, and it is ASRI's aim that the mosquito nets and reforestation will, in combination, drive rates back down.

Health In Harmony Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax-exempt in the USA. Health In Harmony's DLN # is 17053363046035 and the federal tax ID number is 20-3741107.

All contributions made to HIH Inc. will be used under the discretion and control of the board of directors. In the interest of transparency and fiscal accountability, Health In Harmony's financial statements are available online. Health In Harmony respects your privacy as a donor. Learn more by reading our privacy policy.