By: Olla Dorothea

In December 2016, the Regional Development Agency (Bappeda) of North Kalimantan Province together with WWF Indonesia Project Kayan Mentarang Landscape conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and training on identifying biodiversity values aimed at relevant agencies (SKPD and PDAM) in several districts in North Kalimantan, namely Malinau, Nunukan and Bulungan Regencies and the Tarakan Protected Forest Management Unit (KPH). The FGD and training, which was held in Tarakan from December 14-16, 2016, was attended by approximately 12 participants.

The Head of North Kalimantan Bappeda, Fredrick Ellia Gukkang, in his opening remarks said that ecosystem services itself can be defined as the benefits that people get from ecosystems. All natural ecosystems provide services that are economically valuable. "Ecosystem services are vital for human survival, and also vital for social and economic development," Fredrick Ellia emphasized in his opening remarks.

To strengthen the importance of environmental services in regional development planning, on the first day of the FGD on ecosystem services, the material presented was about the Challenges of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in development in North Kalimantan by WWF Indonesia and Introduction to the Tarakan Protected Forest Area delivered by the Head of KPHL Tarakan. The activity was then continued with a discussion on identifying the Potential of Ecosystem Services (Bulungan, Malinau, Nunukan) in the form of groups divided based on their respective regions.

In addition to the delivery of material on the second day, an economic valuation simulation of the Tarakan Island Protected Forest area was carried out. The participants of the activity were invited to visit the Tarakan Island Protected Forest area precisely in the Binalatung reservoir area to simulate the economic valuation of protected forest areas and then become discussion material in each group. And on the last day the participants presented the results of their field visits and also developed an action plan for each region.

Arman, Forest Governance Coordinator of WWF Indonesia in North Kalimantan said that the purpose of this activity is to increase the capacity of district and provincial government technical personnel in integrating ecosystem services in development planning with the hope that the government can understand the dependence and impact of society on ecosystem services, identify ecosystem services and ecosystem-related services that determine the success of the development process, assess the conditions and trends of ecosystem services and the resulting risks and opportunities for development plans, develop strategies and steps to address the risks and opportunities that have been identified and develop a work plan for integrating ecosystem services in development planning. This activity is part of WWF Indonesia's commitment and cooperation with the North Kalimantan Provincial Government in this case the North Kalimantan Bappeda.