Restoring natural balance
biodiversity
Biodiversity is vitally important. We depend on it for our long-term food supply. It is good for our mental health and makes us more resilient to the effects of climate change. Biodiversity also represents enormous economic value worldwide.
Growing variety of flora & fauna
At Gula Gula Forest Projects, species diversity is therefore central to restoring severely degraded (agro)ecosystems in Indonesia. On West Sumatra, for example, together with local farmers, we imitate and accelerate the natural regeneration of a forest ecosystem. We protect native species and allow them to grow. We provide them company in the form of fruit and spice trees (also native) and species that yield wood. This mixed food forest develops over five years into the habitat of a growing variety of flora and fauna.
Litter worms, soil cultivators and deep diggers
Underground, too, teems with life. This is important for the quality of the soil and thus for growing crops sustainably. Worms are the architects of the soil. They can be divided into litterworms, soil-diggers and deep-diggers. During the three phases in which the food forest develops, we regularly determine which species occur in what quantities. From this we can deduce the quality of the soil.
Restoration of biodiversity in 3 phases

Phase 1. Degraded soils.
This is the starting point. Due to inappropriate forms of tillage, only tough tallgrass thrives in this area. This vegetation provides little protection for plants and animals. Pasture burns occur regularly, destroying the remaining seed in the soil. Without human intervention, the acreage will not develop. ANR offers a solution.
Phase 2. Young food forest
Longitudinal cultivation of remaining and planted native tree species ensure that insects, monkeys and deer come to feed on the first fruits and succulent young greenery. The soil is becoming more moist, wild boar love to root in it. The young forest is attractive to owl, eagle and Asian leopard.


Phase 3. Fully grown food forest
After about eight years, the forest is home to a wide variety of plants and animals that live, play, hunt and gather food. It is a sought-after habitat. Even the pickiest wild bees settle there, which is quite an honor. That the Sumatran tiger found its way there is a spectacular highlight.
To measure is to know
What can be seen with the naked eye, we at Gula Gula Forest Project also like to back up with solid scientific research. Together with our partner biometrio.earth, we monitor the above-ground change in biodiversity in our project areas. Biometrio.earth specializes in biodiversity measurements based on bio acoustics and wildlife cameras. For research on below-ground changes, we collaborate with staff and students from the Faculty of Soil Science at Malang University, East Java. The focus of this research is on (agro)biodiversity. This is the biodiversity that improves soil quality for sustainable crop production.
Both above-ground and below-ground research is taking place in the three phases of food forest development. Because we have been restoring new patches of degraded land for 12 years, it is possible to compare newly restored land with the oldest patches of land, where mature food forest cover has been found for several years. We have divided the acreage into three phases.
