Chairman of the Multi Party Institution (IMP), the fund's management body, Lalu Syaiful Arifin, said the plan would copy the environment fee collection model imposed on 58,000 tap water customers in the region.

"The collection from tap water customers began in December last year with a fee of Rp 1,000 for each household," said Syaiful, who is also head of the regency's forestry office.

"We're tailoring the plan to hotels and businesses to help contribute in paying the environment service fee."

He added it would be a sliding fee capped at Rp 500,000 a month.

West Lombok is home to 18 star-rated hotels, 170 non-star-rated ones, 202 restaurants and two drinking water producers.

"The fee may be high but we will introduce it in stages," he said, adding it may be brought into effect this year.

Tap water company PDAM Menang-Mataram collects some Rp 60 million a month from tap water customers. The money is used to restore springs and forests and improve the welfare of residents living in forested areas.

"With additional contribution from the hotel and business, we hope to further empower those living near forests," Syaiful said.

The plan was warmly greeted by sales manager of Senggigi Beach Hotel, Ida Bagus Okayana, especially since the administration plans to revitalize the Senggigi resort area with part of the fund.

"As long as the plan has a positive impact on the people, I think everyone will happily support it," Okayana told The Jakarta Post.

The fee collection is regulated in a 2007 regency bylaw, which requires contributions from residents to better the community.

"The core issue is water supply. The bylaw regulates how downstream community can contribute something to the upstream ones," head of West Lombok administration's public relation division, Ispan Junaedi, told the Post on Monday.

West Lombok is the first region in the country to implement such a bylaw.

Ispan, however, said it took a long way before the bylaw was finally implemented in 2009 following the issuance of a regental decree, which regulates the composition of the IMP.

The IMP has representatives from the administration, environmental groups and the community.

Of the funds collected, 75 percent is reinvested in restoring water resources, reforestation and forest community empowerment.

The remaining 25 percent goes to the IMP for its operational costs, including supervision, monitoring and evaluation.

Thanks to the fee, the forest community in Sesaot and Lebah Suren forests, which have been the tap water company's main water resources, have started replanting seedlings on some of the critical fields in the area. The forest is part of the water catchment area for West and Central Lombok as well as Mataram regions.

Separately, M. Ridha Hakim of the WWF Nusa Tenggara said his office, together with the IMP, has supervised 30 community groups in Sesaot become involved in reforestation and community economic empowerment programs.

"The program creates joint responsibility between communities."

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