Since 2018, Walmart Foundation has supported the Coalition for Sustainable Livelihoods (CSL) – a platform focused on driving economic development, reducing poverty and improving natural resource management in the Indonesian provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh.
North Sumatra and Aceh are rich in biodiversity and forests which help sustain approximately 20 million people and provide habitat for key species like the Tapanuli orangutan, Sumatran rhinoceros, Sumatran elephant and the Sumatran tiger.
The forested landscapes of North Sumatra and Aceh also support the production of globally traded goods such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa and rubber. As global demand for these commodities grows, it’s critical that governments, companies and communities work together to protect and restore these areas — while also helping smallholder farmers improve their agricultural practices, boost yields, adapt to climate change and access markets.
The Coalition for Sustainable Livelihoods (CSL) was first convened in 2018 to bring together stakeholders across sectors – government, private sector, civil society and communities – to align goals, coordinate investments, and scale impact.
CSL has achieved a lot since then. Together, we brought partners to the table to agree on shared goals, identify priorities for action and investment, and build a common vision for the Coalition’s impact. Through partnerships with district governments and local organizations, CSL is supporting initiatives in places like Aceh Tamiang and Tapanuli Selatan, where partners are taking collective action to accelerate and scale successful solutions to protect nature and build sustainable livelihoods.
CSL and its members have focused on exchanging ideas and solutions across these two districts. These district initiatives, driven by CSL members and their partners, have made significant progress in two key areas: strengthening local governance by establishing multi-stakeholder platforms, creating district action plans, and developing systems for collective monitoring; and building technical capacity by equipping key partners with the skills and tools to implement these plans, track progress, and develop high-quality projects that support both nature and livelihoods.
CSL has facilitated exchanges and dialogues between the two districts – bringing together stakeholders to identify common challenges and share lessons and successes on a range of topics from establishing strong multi-stakeholder platforms, to accelerating processes like smallholder permitting and developing business models that support regenerative agriculture. There is interest from stakeholders in other districts to join CSL’s community of practice, so that they can learn from and replicate good models. And there is growing interest from supply chain actors to invest in these approaches and jurisdictions.
In 2025, with the generous support of Walmart Foundation, CSL will be able to expand its activities and impacts in new districts, with new partners, and across more commodities. This means more farmers adopting good practices, more forests protected and restored through effective management and monitoring, and more responsible supply chains for key commodities. The grant from Walmart Foundation will help CSL convene partners and stakeholders to develop a 2030 Roadmap that will establish long-term targets and guide priority activities and workstreams across North Sumatra and Aceh. CSL will invite new districts into the process, while identifying the resources and capacity needed to grow our collective impacts.
To complement the efforts with CSL, Walmart Foundation’s funding is also supporting work with Konservasi Indonesia and partners to help protect more than 300,000 acres in the Tapanuli Tengah district of North Sumatra through improved forest management and monitoring, including the establishment of a multi-stakeholder deforestation task force and a district-wide deforestation monitoring and response system to better identify and respond to risks.
Walmart Foundation’s support for CSL and the interventions in Tapanuli Tengah aim to benefit local communities and help make Indonesia’s palm oil supply chains more sustainable.
We invite you to join us – Learn more about the CSL and how you can get involved.