Indigenous culture and art of the indigenous people of the Heart of the Borneo will form a colorful back drop to the fifth Heart of Borneo (HoB) Trilateral Meeting, to be held in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, from September 21 to 22, 2011.

The 5th Heart of Borneo (HoB) Trilateral Meeting

The Heart of Borneo is a trilateral initiative of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia to deliver ecologically and economically viable solutions to conserve and sustainably develop a 220,000 km2 mosaic of tropical rainforest on the island of Borneo. The vision of green economic development behind this endeavour is reflected in the Heart of Borneo Trilateral Declaration signed in February 2007.

Alongside the tri-partite, high level government deliberations will be a range of grass roots events and presentations including a Photovoices Community Photo Exhibition (some images on the right side) and handicraft display as well as the launch of a Photovoices book (Buku Potret Diri Labian-Leboyan). Adding further spice to the gathering will be a ‘talk show’ on community photography by Photovoices, community photographers and a National Geographic representative.

This year’s annual meeting, attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as invited international and local observers, will take the theme of ‘Sustainable Tourism: When Nature and Culture blends’. A theme supported during the week by the launch of a new Central Kalimantan Travel Guide Book (Buku Destinasi Wisata di Kalteng).

The official two day forum will review progress made under the HoB Initiative and the implementation of the HoB Strategic Plan of Action. Other issues to be discussed include the possibility of developing a Permanent HoB Secretariat and opportunities for developing sustainable financing mechanisms for the HoB. The Indonesian government will also use the occasion to launch its HoB Indonesian website – a window to the world to showcase the latest developments in the Heart of Borneo.

Heart of Borneo Partners’ forum
Following the meeting’s formal schedule, an invitational HoB Partners Forum will be hosted by the Government of Indonesia and Indonesian National Working Group on Friday morning, September 23. This half day dialogue will help foster more coordinated engagement for green growth in the HoB and bring together stakeholders and partners who play a role in the economic development and management of natural resources, to work towards a green economy.

Significant progress has already been made with all governments embracing the green economy concept. Each recognizes the importance of roles played by institutions, civil society partners and businesses whose representatives will attend this session. The discussion will centre on the premise that the current ‘business as usual’ economy does not deliver a long term prosperous local economy for people, nor does it take into account the depletion of natural capital and loss of valuable ecosystem services which occur today. A field trip and tree planting ceremony at Sungai Wain Protected Forest will follow the Partner’s Forum on Friday afternoon.

For more information on the Tri-lateral, contact
Christopher Greenwood
International Communications Manager,
Heart of Borneo Initaitive, WWF
Tel: +60 128281214, E-mail: cgreenwood@wwf.org.my