Biography
Following in the footsteps of his mother, Linda Garland, a pioneer in the global development of the bamboo industry, Arief’s connection with bamboo started at an early age and deepened as he became involved in Linda’s projects. Over the past two decades, Arief has established himself as an environmental scientist specializing in bamboo forest management and the bamboo-based industry.
Energetic, strategic, persistent, and an adept coalition builder, Arief is equally at home getting his hands dirty helping local producers on the ground as he is working with corporate leaders in the boardroom and politicians in national capitals.
As the director of Indonesia’s Environmental Bamboo Foundation, Arief initiated the 1000 Bamboo Villages project. It seeks to create a forest-to-factory system by establishing village-level bamboo nurseries, standardizing agroforestry practices, and creating economic incentives to expand bamboo markets and the restoration economy.
In 2019, Arief was selected into the Climate Breakthrough Award program as the first awardee focused on land use, supporting the expansion of his visionary agroforestry work. This is particularly significant as Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer and exporter, has seen the palm oil sector drive deforestation for the past 20 years.
His commitment to bamboo forestry and environmental restoration complements his strong leadership in promoting sustainable land use and community-driven conservation.
Breakthrough Program
Arief was selected for the Climate Breakthrough Award program in 2019.
In Indonesia, degraded land is a major environmental issue. As the world’s biggest palm oil producer and exporter, the country has seen the palm oil sector drive deforestation for the past 20 years. bamboo agroforestry, an undertapped climate change solution, Arief proposes an initiative to pilot bamboo villages (Bamboo Village Initiative) that provides local communities economic incentives not only to restore degraded land but also create a sustainable source of bamboo for a massive national market.
By 2023, Arief has launched a new platform called the Bamboo Village Trust as a charity to absorb donor and philanthropic contributions toward bamboo villages. This new work will create a cluster of bamboo ambassadors—respected community members who motivate their fellow villagers to develop social forestry assets and form bamboo cooperatives.
“Our experience has shown that champions like them are essential in turning bamboo villages from a vision into a successful landscape restoration enterprise,” said Arief.
To further strengthen his effort, he is partnering with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, where he serves as an Advisory Board member. Through this collaboration, he aims to enable the establishment of 200 bamboo villages across the equatorial belt by 2029, including 100 in Indonesia.