The Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA) in Papua and the Wasur National Park in conjunction with FORCLIME facilitated a number of Forest Farmers Groups (KTH) from the villages of Tablasupa, Dosai, Maribu, Pasir 6, Yanggandur and Wasur to attend the 2022 National Nature Conservation Day (HKAN) celebration. This annual event is organized by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and was this year held in West Bali National Park from 31 August to 2 September 2022 under the theme Amertha Taksu Abhinaya, which means restoring nature for a prosperous society. The event was opened by the Minister of Environment and Forestry and encompassed a wide agenda which included talk shows and exhibitions in which national parks and conservation centers from all over Indonesia participated.

At the Wasur National Park booth, the attending KTH displayed various non-timber forest products (NTFPs) produced in the villages of Wasur and Yanggandur. Among the products on display were teh sarang semut (herbal tea made from Myrmecodia pendans), trigona bee honey, minyak buah merah (oil made from Pandanus conoideus), virgin coconut oil, eucalyptus oil, candlenut oil, shredded snakehead fish and snakehead fish crackers. In addition, orchids cultivated by community groups from the villages of Wasur and Dosai were also on display. Various types of orchids were exhibited at the Wasur National Park booth, including leopard orchids (Grammatophyllum sp), frizzy orchids (Dendrobium spectabile), Dendrobium johannis and Antenantum orchids, among other species on show. The representative from the village of Dosai, Ms. Agustina Kwano, handed over the Dendrobium spectabile to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK), Dr. Bambang Hendroyono.

During the HKAN celebration, representatives of community groups also participated in talk shows and gained insights and inspiration from conservation activists who acted as resource staff during the event. Ms. Ida Ayu Rusmarini, a 2020 Kalpataru awardee, was one of these staff members and shared information and inspirational tales of how she first started to engage in the cultivation of medicinal plants and rare plants. In addition, the assisted community groups present at the event also shared information and experiences with other exhibitors who are also engaging in the development of NTFP products and environmental services.

Representatives from the assisted community groups also participated in various field trips as part of a series of events that were organized in order to celebrate this year's HKAN. The locations visited during these trips are breeding grounds for the Bali Starling (Leucopsar rothschildi) in West Bali National Park. The community group representatives also visited a number of ecotourism sites on the islands of Menjangan and Menjangan Plataran, which are being managed by the private sector. During these visits, community representatives, particularly those from the villages of Tablasupa, Pasir 6 and Wasur who are currently engaged in the development of ecotourism, offered their enthusiastic participation and engaged in productive discussions with ecotourism managers and community facilitators from West Bali National Park.

“I would like to thank FORCLIME because through this visit I was able to check out NTFP products produced by other groups from various regions and could also engage these groups in helpful discussions. This has increased my level of motivation and I’m now keen to develop products other than the orchids that I have been working on to date,” enthused Ms. Agustina Kwano, a representative from the village of Dosai.

For more information, please contact:
Theodora F. Resubun, Advisor for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua Province
Mohammad Sidiq, Strategic Area Manager for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua and West Papua Provinces

Created: 14 September 2022

With its extensive tropical forests, Indonesia has huge biodiversity and bioeconomy potential and the country’s forest bioeconomy has the potential to contribute significantly to other sectors of the economy, such as energy, food and pharmaceuticals. However, awareness of various stakeholders and research relating to the forest bioeconomy remains limited. As a result, the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas has initiated a study aimed at optimizing the forest bioeconomy for long-term use.

Against this background, FORCLIME facilitated a kick-off meeting for the study, which was held on 19 August 2022 in Sentul, West Java. The meeting was opened by Dr. Nur Hygiawati Rahayu, ST, MSc, the Director of Forestry and Water Resources Conservation at Bappenas, and continued with a number of presentations made by experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology. During the discussion, various bioeconomy potentials that will be capable of supporting the transition from a fossil-based economy to a bio-resource-based economy were discussed. Research and the use of technological innovations in order to increase the added value of forest products are seen as important areas of exploration. In addition, the availability of comprehensive data relating to Non-Timber Forest Products, both upstream to downstream, is also seen as critical.

In September, a series of discussions with related parties will be held and will involve participation from academics, related ministries/institutions, state-owned enterprises, NGOs and the private sector.

“We hope that this study can provide an overview of how to utilize the potentials of Indonesia's forests through an analysis of the current situation in Indonesia, including conditions at the site level, regulations and funding. We will draw up a projection of requirements for the next 20 years and hopefully, the results of this study can provide input for the National Long-Term Development Plan 2026 - 2045,” Mrs. Nur Hygiawati Rahayu explained.

For more information, please contact:
Nurdita Rahmadani, Junior Advisor for Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting
Pipin Permadi, Senior Advisor and Liaison Officer
Wandojo Siswanto, Strategic Area Manager for Forest Policy and Climate Change

Created: 02 September 2022

With the aim of accelerating the social forestry programme within the province of West Papua, the Papua Provincial Forestry Service, supported by FORCLIME, held a coordination meeting on 8 - 9 August 2022 in Sorong City. The meeting was opened by the Governor’s Expert Member of Staff for Development Economics, Dr. Niko U. Tike, SE.MM, and the 100 attendees included representatives from various government agencies, NGOs and local partners of West Papua Province, as well as a number of academics. During the meeting, the Head of the West Papua Province Forestry Service, Ir. Runaweri F.H, MM., announced that the purpose of the coordination meeting was to coordinate and synergize recent developments in social forestry within the province of West Papua, as well as to affirm the support its local partners regarding the implementation of the Social Forestry Work Programme in West Papua.

During the meeting, various issues were discussed, including the permit schemes that have already been introduced. In West Papua Province, only two social forestry permit schemes have been introduced, specifically the village forest scheme (73 permits issued) and the community forestry scheme (nine permits issued). Also discussed during the meeting was the availability of facilitators. In this regard, of the 22 facilitators that have already been approved, only 17 are currently available out in the field. Said facilitators have been drawn from various communities and some of them have been unable to work at full capacity as a result of other responsibilities, while capacities themselves differ. In addition, the meeting also discussed the involvement of relevant agencies in the development of social forestry, for example, through Forest Management Units.

Various suggestions emerged during the discussions that took place during the meeting, including the seeking of synergy between agencies and facilitators, as well as other facilitators from other ministries (e.g. the Ministry for the Acceleration of Village Development).

Another suggestion that was made during the meeting was a proposal to increase the capacities of facilitators so that they all possess more or less the same competencies. As a result of this suggestion, FORCLIME is planning to hold a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) session for facilitators in order to create a training concept that best fits their needs.

For more information, please contact:
Nita Yohana, Adviser for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for West Papua Province
Mohammad Sidiq, Strategic Area Manager for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua and West Papua Provinces

Created: 19 August 2022