By: Tira Maya Maisesa
PALANGKARAYA, CALTENG (17/07) - WWF-Indonesia, which fully supports forest conservation programs in Indonesia, in collaboration with the Central Kalimantan Environment Agency and the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, facilitated a workshop on "Forest Management in the Heart of Borneo" with the Asian Development Bank. The Asian Development Bank's commitment to the Heart of Borneo initiative was presented to the 35 participants of the workshop in Palangka Raya, which was attended by central and local government agencies, NGOs, communities, and the private sector. American Development Bank (ADB) is the largest bank in the world.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) proposed a program to support the Government of Indonesia in managing forest management issues and challenges in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) region. It includes strategies to address unsustainable resource use, efforts to improve management capacity at the national and local levels, coordination of multi-sector programs, and donor support to participate in HoB protection and funding. ADB is supporting activities for two provinces in Indonesia, Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. The Central Kalimantan region will focus on Gunung Mas and Katingan districts.
Andi Novianto, Chairman of the National HoB Working Group, hopes that the management of the Heart of Borneo can realize sustainable development based on scientific principles and local wisdom for the improvement of community welfare through the implementation of sustainable management, protection, education and training, as well as other activities relevant to transboundary management, conservation and regional development within the HoB area. The day-long event will be held in Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.
This one-day activity will begin the process of developing a forest management program design in Gunung Mas and Katingan Districts. The results of the discussions that gather information, identify expectations and cooperation of the parties, will be used by the team to develop the program design. "This is ADB's first program in Indonesia. Hopefully this activity will really have positive results for local communities in Central Kalimantan," said Maria Lourders L. Drilon, ADB's deputy natural resources economist.
Workshop which seeks to bring together the thoughts of the implementers and donors is expected to produce a program design based on the concept of sustainable development, which does not forget to continue to rely on local wisdom that has been running in the community.