Jakarta - Today (30/4), nine NGOs from Jakarta, Bogor, Pontianak and Samarinda, signed the Kalimantan Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) Cycle 1 Grant Disbursement Agreement, worth nearly IDR 40 billion. This agreement is one of the stages of the follow-up process of cooperation between the Government of the United States and the Government of Indonesia, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and WWF-Indonesia Foundation. The agreement was signed on September 29, 2011, and addresses a US$28.5 million debt transfer scheme to fund tropical forest conservation programs in Indonesia, particularly in Kalimantan.

The TFCA Kalimantan Program facilitates the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of tropical forests in Indonesia, by supporting the Berau Forest Carbon Program (PKHB) and the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Program in 4 target districts, namely Kapuas Hulu District in West Kalimantan; West Kutai District, Mahakam Ulu and Berau District in East Kalimantan. This program is planned to be run until 2019, through the distribution of grant funds by the KEHATI Foundation, as administrator, to institutions that meet technical and administrative requirements, and get approval from the Board of Trustees (Oversight Committee) - which consists of 4 permanent members, namely representatives of the Government of Indonesia, the US Government, TNC and WWF-Indonesia; and 1 non-permanent member from an institution appointed by members.

In accordance with the policies and procedures of TFCA Kalimantan grant distribution, the Board of Trustees has approved nine institutions that will receive TFCA Kalimantan cycle 1 grants. The institutions are Operation Wallacea Trust (Bogor), Yayasan PEKA Indonesia (Bogor), Yayasan BIOMA (Samarinda), Center of Social Forestry Mulawarman University (Samarinda), Alliance of Indonesian Organists (Bogor), FORINA (Bogor), Yayasan PRCF Indonesia (Pontianak), Lembaga Gemawan, (Pontianak) and Yayasan Penabulu (Jakarta). These nine institutions will carry out activities that include the development of forest management with the community through strengthening the management of protected areas and corridors; management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs); improving the quality of organic forest honey; ecotourism and productive economy; increasing forest carbon sequestration in partnership; village forest development; utilization and protection of traditional rubber plantations; orangutan conservation; strengthening the community economy; and strengthening the institutional capacity of NGOs and CBOs in sustainable natural resource / forest management in 4 target districts.

"In its implementation, it is expected to achieve harmony between the TFCA Kalimantan program and the district program, as well as other ongoing programs, strengthen the role of conservation-mandated parties with development-mandated parties, improve natural resource management and biodiversity conservation efforts in all area functions, develop environmental services and non-timber forest products, so as to provide concrete benefits to the community, and build sustainable natural resource management strategies to be replicated in other locations," said Dr. Ir. Bambang Supriyanto, Director of Environmental Services Utilization of Conservation Areas and Protected Forests (PJLK2HL), Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia, who also serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of this program. "And last but not least, there is a need for continuous strengthening of local institutions, so that they can participate more in the TFCA Kalimantan program," he continued.

Since 2011, PKHB has started a pilot program that includes various strategies to reduce carbon emissions from forests and land. Some of these strategies include community involvement in forest management that also improves the welfare of the community through the development of livelihood sources that are in line with forest protection efforts, improving the governance of protected forests, production forests, and oil palm plantations, improving spatial planning and strengthening various other enabling conditions. "TFCA Kalimantan cycle 1 funds are channeled to NGOs that will support community involvement in PKHB, protected forest management, particularly Sungai Lesan Protection Forest, and institutional capacity building of NGOs and community groups in Berau. We hope that TFCA Kalimantan funds can really support the implementation of the PKHB so that Berau can become a model of how a district can carry out development with low carbon emissions while still preserving its forests," said Dr. Herlina Hartanto, Director of TNC Indonesia's Terrestrial Program.

""WWF welcomes the signing of the grant agreement today. Some of which are implemented in Kapuas Hulu, West Kutai and Mahakam Ulu districts will complement the Heart of Borneo (HoB) work programs that have been planned by each district."" said Budi Wardhana, Director of Policy, Sustainability and Transformation WWF Indonesia. Budi continued ""We believe that the support to NGOs through TFCA Kalimantan will strengthen civil society components and encourage synergy with local district governments in supporting conservation efforts in the Heart of Borneo (HoB). The programs funded by TFCA Kalimantan are expected to produce outputs whose impact is felt both in terms of ecosystem protection and conservation benefits for the community."

Further information, please contact:

• Administrator of TFCA Kalimantan - Yayasan KEHATI
  Address: Jl. Bangka VIII no.3B, Pela Mampang, Jakarta 12720
• Administrator TFCA Kalimantan - KEHATI Foundation Address.
  E-mail: tfca.kalimantan@kehati.or.id, Tel: 021-71793492-93, Fax: 021-71793492
• Tri Soekirman, Marketing & Communications Director, TNC Indonesia
  Email: tsoekirman@tnc.org, Hp: +62 812 3850155+62 812 3850155
• Nyoman Iswarayoga, Director of Communication & Advocacy, WWF-Indonesia
  E-mail: niswarayoga@wwf.or.id, Hp: +62 811 1284868+62 811 1284868

Editor's Note: Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) Kalimantan is a cooperation program between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Government of the United States in the framework of debt transfer for forest conservation activities (Debt for Nature Swap), especially in Kalimantan and in partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Indonesia and WWF-Indonesia Foundation as swap partner. The program will run until 2019 with a total funding amount of US$28.5 million and is implemented through the distribution of grants by Yayasan KEHATI as the administrator.

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