The Forestry and Environment Service of Papua Province (DKLH Papua) and FORCLIME recently agreed to designate Babrongko Village in Distrik Ebugfauw, Jayapura Regency as a joint target village. In line with this decision, DKLH Papua and FORCLIME held an online meeting on 15 February 2022 in order to discuss the various joint activities that will be carried out in the village. The meeting was opened by the Head of Forestry Planning Division of the Forestry and Environment Service of Papua Province, Dr Estiko Tri Wiradyo, SH. M.Si. During the meeting, after Babrongko had been designated as a target village, a follow-up plan was discussed which included the following elements:
- Field visits in order to collect potential data and socio-economic-cultural data as a basis for program development.
- Recruitment of village facilitators.
- Support from FORCLIME relating to group organizational development, group capacity building for potential product development and ecotourism-related promotions.

The village of Babrongko has been assisted by DKLH Papua since 2012. During the intervening years, a number of programmes have been implemented in conjunction with the local community, including the mapping of an 18 ha sago forest covering the villages of Bhaborongko and Simporo, and the production of Kombo wood, which is used to produce bark for carving. In addition, DKLH Papua has also mapped several customary areas, including customary forests in Babrongko.

The village of Babrongko has various development potentials, including ecotourism. In this regard, the village is host to the playing ground of the famous Cenderawasih bird (the bird of paradise), has a natural sago forest that can be developed for trekking, as well as a lake landscape that boasts views of the Cyclops Mountains. In addition, the area is also home to fascinating traditional arts and culture. Babrongko also has freshwater fish potential and is particularly suited to the snakehead fish, an endemic biota of Lake Sentani which can be farmed.

This coordination meeting will be followed up by a field visit during which potential data and socio-economic-cultural data will be collected and the recruitment process for village facilitators will be implemented.

For more information, please contact:
Theodora F. Resubun, Advisor for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua Province
Mohammad Sidiq, Strategic Area Manager for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua and West Papua Provinces

Created: 21 February 2022

In order to commemorate World Wetlands Day 2022, which takes place on 2 February, the Papuan Provincial Government organized various events that ran from 21 January to 2 February 2022. This year, World Wetlands Day ran under a theme of 'Wetland Action for People and Nature’. This celebration of World Wetlands Day was the perfect occasion on which to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands in terms of the conservation of biodiversity and climate change. On the agenda during this year’s celebration were the dissemination of information to students and nature lovers about the Ramsar site, migratory bird watching and a drawing competition for elementary school students.

The main celebration of World Wetlands Day was held on 2 February in Wasur National Park’s camping ground in Merauke Regency, Papua Province and was attended by the Deputy Regent of Merauke Regency, H. Riduan, S.Sos., M.Pd. The event featured various activities, including the planting of eucalyptus trees and releases of wild animals by the Papua Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA) in Rawa Biru. Among the animals released were 300 Irian Arowanas (Scleropages jardinii) from the provision for the 2021 catch quota, nine long-necked Papuan tortoises (Chelodina novaeguineae) which had been translocated from Jakarta in 2021, three Soa Payung (Chlamydosaurus kingii) and eight blue-tongued lizards (Tiliqua gigas), which had been translocated from South Sumatra in 2021.

During the main event, the Deputy Regent of Merauke pledged the commitment of the Merauke Regency Government to building synergies with Wasur National Park as regards the development of nature-based tourism and products within the Wasur National Park area. This commitment was formalised through the signing of a commitment document by stakeholders expressing support for the management and protection of wetlands within Wasur National Park.

Wasur National Park features the largest wetlands in Papua Province, which span an area that plays a vital role in protecting the sustainability and function of wetlands and that also plays an important role as a stopover and migration destination for migratory birds. Through the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 48 of 1991, Wasur National Park officially became part of the Ramsar site (International Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands of Important Value) on March 16, 2006.

During the event, Wasur National Park also engaged in the promotion of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) developed by various customary communities that are partnering up with the national park. The development of NTFPs and the environmental services carried out by these community groups have become a driving force and motivating factor as a source of creative economic activities that provide economic benefits for supported community groups.

For more information, please contact:
Ruben Yogi, Junior Adviser for GIS and Forest Mapping
Theodora F. Resubun, Advisor for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua Province
Mohammad Sidiq, Strategic Area Manager for Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua and West Papua Provinces

Created: 10 February 2022

With the goal of preparing an annual programme for 2022, FORCLIME 4.0 held a Planning Workshop on January 24 – 27, 2022 in Bogor, West Java. The workshop was attended by technical staff from each Strategic Area (SA), specifically: SA1 - Forestry Policy Framework at the National and Regional Levels; SA2 - Sustainable Forest Management (SFM); SA3 - Human Capacity Development; and SA4 - Integrated Management of Biodiversity Conservation and Watersheds Within the Lore Lindu Biosphere Reserve landscape. The workshop was also attended by various administrative and financial staff, as well as a number of interns from Papua (Unipa), Cenderawasih (Uncen) and IPB Universities.

The planning workshop aimed to synchronize the 2022 work programme at the national, provincial and site levels internally within FORCLIME. The materials presented included the following, among others:
1. Forestry policy framework at the national and local levels.
2. Facilitating the process of preparing a Green Climate Fund proposal for West Kalimantan.
3. Encouraging the inclusion of gender issues in the management plan (RPJP) for the Wasur National Park for the 2022 - 2031 period.
4. Supporting discussions on FMU development within Papua and West Papua at the national level.
5. Discussions on the implementation of forestry development in relation to special autonomy and other related regulations, including climate change

In addition to the presentation, the event was designed to be both attractive and engaging and included question-and-answer sessions, personal discussions, group work, poster displays and games. All of these methods were implemented as part of efforts aimed at building teamwork. Ultimately, the aim is to direct said teamwork towards a jointly formulated vision, commitment and strategy.

During the event, Mr. Jumtani conveyed a stimulating message regarding the building of a network of partners. According to Desi Barangkea – an intern from UNIPA, Mr. Jumtani talked of the need, “to be able to map problems well and to build networks with working partners so that we can comprehensively and objectively map problems that arise in the field.”

This workshop left a distinct impression on the interns in attendance, including Desi Barangkea. “During this activity, I gained a lot of knowledge and had a number of new experiences. Specifically, I learned how to complete assigned tasks, how to work as part of a team and how to get along with technical, administrative and financial staff, as well as interns from other universities. Moreover, and not necessarily found everywhere, there was the sense of kinship that I experienced. This sense of kinship did not differentiate between employees working in high and low positions and thus a comfortable atmosphere was created.”

Meanwhile, Jumrio Nakul, an intern from Unipa, stated that he, “felt proud to be able to sit with great people at GIZ”. Jumrio also expressed his hope that his group would not be the last batch from the Unipa Faculty of Forestry to take part in an internship at GIZ.
Meanwhile, Rewandy Winel Engeline Peday (Unipa) explained that, “Our interns learned a lot and enjoyed a variety of experiences during this event, including how to implement inter-team work programmes. We would like to thank our coordinators and mentors who have always guided and directed us as interns.”

For information on student internship activities in West Papua, please contact:
Melanesia Brigite Boseren, Junior Advisor, Rural Livelihoods, Forest Management and Conservation
Mohammad Sidiq, Strategic Area Manager, Sustainable Forest Management and Coordinator for Papua and West Papua Provinces

Created: 09 February 2022