Wild honey is among the most highly demanded non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in Indonesia. However, in recent years the production of wild honey has declined steadily. Behind this background, an initiative to develop Trigona sp bee farming in the Forest Management Unit (FMU) West Berau has been established. The Trigona sp bee, which is similar in size as flies, has no sting. To defend themselves, the bees produce a kind of sap called propolis, an additional marketable product besides honey.

The benefits of marketing this bee include: no special maintenance needed, no special equipment required, no stings, easy for colony development, higher propolis productivity than other species, pest resistance, possibility to harvest all year long. Therefore, the FMU West Berau in East Kalimantan, supported by FORCLIME, conducted an inventory and information campaign from 23-28 of June 2014 about the advantages of Trigona sp bee among the communities bordering the FMU West Berau area. The purpose of this activity was to identify and conduct research on the medical benefits of honey as well as its potential to improve the livelihood of communities living in and near the surrounding forests. Hence in the long-term, promotion of Trigona sp bee farming it is expected to increase the value of forests and so reduce the negative impacts such as deforestation and forest degradation for economic interests.

During the event participants learned how to make 'stubs' (bee hive boxes) and fill them with bee eggs and natural nests. Afterwards the stubs were distributed to the villages of Muara Lesan, Long Beliu, Sidobangen, Merasa, which are all located in the surroundings of the FMU West Berau.

Also the Head of the FMU West Berau, Mr. Hamzah, highly appreciated the initiative of Trigona sp bee farming as it can reduce the (health) risks compared to traditional wild honey harvesting. For that reason, FMU West Barat will be ready to support similar activities in other villages.
 
For further information, please contact:
Ali Mustofa, Thematic Leader of Community Empowerment

Created: 11 July 2014

With the aim of improving the education quality of Forestry Vocational Schools (SMK Kehutanan), the Center of Forestry Education and Training (CFET) of the Ministry of Forestry (MoFor) in collaboration with FORCLIME conducted a training on “enhancing the capacities of auditor candidates to conduct competency tests for SMKK”. The event took place at the CFET premises in Bogor from June 30 to July 5, 2014. The objective of the training was to provide the candidates with the ability to carry out “competency tests” for students who will have to complete the national examination on forestry vocational practices. In the Indonesian education system, forestry vocational students have to pass this examination, which also includes knowledge application in practice, to show their competencies in forestry.

The training was facilitated by senor lecturers from CFET and attended by 60 participants, such as forestry vocational teachers, lecturers of CFET and other forestry training centers. During the opening, a representative from FORCLIME, Mathias Bertram, explained that the MoFor has already recruited several SMKK graduates to work at Forest Management Units (FMUs) and, as over or the next five years the MoFor is planning to establish 600 FMUs, the demand for skilled human resources will be large. Graduated SMKK students, with intermediate-level technical skills, will therefore play an important role in supporting the FMU activities in the future. He also emphasized important issues in managing an FMU that need to be considered for curriculum development, including: (1) there are still tenure conflicts within FMU areas that require solutions; (2) parts of forest boundary demarcation still unclear; (3) need to develop entrepreneurship in the forestry sector; (4) still lacking focus on rehabilitation and conservation areas; and (5) strengthening of FMU institutions. Mathias Bertram put forward that lessons learnt from the FMU development process in Germany as well as other practical experiences from the field should be more emphasized in SMKK teaching than mere theory.

For more information, please contact:
Edy Marbyanto, Strategic Area Manager Human Capacity Development

Created: 11 July 2014

As part of  FORCLIME‘s support to set up forest management unit (FMU) operationalization, the Directorate of Area Management and Preparation of Forest Area Utilization (WP3H) together with FORCLIME held a training workshop for forestry academicians to become advisors for FMU development in Region I (Sumatera). The event took place in Medan from 16th to 18th of June 2014 and was attended by lecturers from various universities in Sumatera, local and central government representatives, FMUs, and NGOs/ CSOs in North Sumatera. Further support was provided by the FMU National Secretariat (Seknas KPH) and the North Sumatera University.

The participation of NGO/ CSO members in the training in Medan was a new element compared to previous workshops in Kalimantan or Sulawesi to which only academicians had been invited. This new strategy is part oft the efforts to develop a common understanding about the concept of FMUs and identify the role of every party in supporting FMU development and its operations. Additionally, the workshop also explored the Conservation FMU (KPHK) concept, as well as lessons learnt from resort-based management challenges and strategies that have already been implemented at the Gunung Leuser National Park.

The participants in the workshop gave positive feedback about the training and stated that they had gained a lot of knowledge which they can later use in their work. In particular, the importance of having a handbook to support forestry academicians with FMU development facilitation has been highlighted. In response to various inputs and suggestions from participants, the Directorate of WP3H stated its readiness to facilitate the process of coordination between its technical units at the regional level and the forestry academicians.

For more details, please contact:
Gatot Moeryanto, Senior Adviser for FMU development

Created: 30 June 2014