By: Olla Dorothea Bartho
Communication Officer in Malinau, North Kalimantan, WWF-Indonesia

This year's Heart of Borneo Trilateral Meeting was held in Indonesia, in Tarakan, North Kalimantan. The activity, also called "The Heart of Borneo Week", lasted for 4 days on October 10-13, 2017 at several locations, namely, the University of Borneo, the Multipurpose Building of the Tarakan Mayor's Office and Swissbell Hotel. The Heart of Borneo initiative - a cross-border collaboration of three countries namely, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia - to conserve and sustainably manage biodiversity, ecosystems and natural resources in the Heart of Borneo region. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the HoB initiative since the agreement was signed by the three countries in 2007.

The series of events that began on October 10 began with an Expert Dialogue with the theme "Conserving Natural Resources for Sustainability and Prosperity of the Heart of Borneo Region". There were 10 resource persons from 3 countries present in this dialog, they are Ani Mardiastuti, Daddy Ruhiyat, Faizah Metali, Gusti Hardiansyah, Idrus bin Shafie, Jayl Langub, Lau Seng, Lim Hin Fui, Simon Devung, and Yusurum Jagau. Some of the topics raised in this dialog are: 1. biodiversity and environment in the HoB region, 2. climate change, energy and transboundary watershed management, 3. social forestry, 4. agriculture: Tradition and Innovation to protect HoB biodiversity, 5. Education and Culture: tradition for a sustainable future. In addition to the presentation of speakers and discussions, another agenda that was also part of this expert dialog was the launch of the book "Borneo Environmental Status Report" by the CEO of WWF - Indonesia and the CEO of WWF - Malaysia.

On October 11-12, it was followed by a Trilateral meeting which was opened directly by the Governor of North Kalimantan. In his speech he said that stepping on the age of 10 years of the HoB initiative and with the spirit of togetherness, it is hoped that we can advance science, economy, culture, defense and security and environmental sustainability for the prosperity of the people of Borneo and the world. After officially opening the trilateral meeting, the Governor of North Kalimantan accompanied by other participants walked to see the exhibition held during this Trilateral meeting. The exhibition showcases the work of government agencies and related institutions in the North Kalimantan region. WWF - Indonesia and WWF - Malaysia held a photo exhibition featuring 50 photos of WWF's work in the HoB region, as well as several other additional events, namely photography tours and photography classes aimed at students and photography communities in Tarakan.

On the same day as the opening of the Trilateral Meeting, the launch of Visit the Heart of Borneo, a multi-year campaign to promote HoB as an ecotourism destination was held in the evening at the multipurpose building of the Tarakan Mayor's office. The launch of Visit heart of Borneo began with remarks from the head of delegation from each country and the Governor of North Kalimantan represented by the Head of Bappeda of North Kalimantan Province then continued with the screening of the Visit Heart of Borneo teaser as a sign of the launch of Visit Heart of Borneo which also introduced the Visit Heart of Borneo logo. Several traditional dances were also featured in this event including traditional dances from North Kalimantan followed by traditional dances from Malaysia then ended with a welcoming dance from Central Kalimantan. Apart from several series of activities carried out after the second day of the trilateral meeting was completed on October 12, the afternoon of the business meeting with the theme ""Finding Sustainable Funding for Green Economic Development in the Heart of Borneo region"" was held at the Swissbell Hotel.

And to close the whole series of activities "The Heart of Borneo Week" a field trip was held to the museum and mangrove forest in Tarakan.