CIFOR building capacity: Training partners from West Papua

CIFOR conducts a two week training workshop for a range of forestry stakeholders from West Papua.

The September workshop, “Exploring Biological Diversity, Environment and Local's People Perspectives in Forest Landscape” involved CIFOR partners from a range of institutions, including the University of Cendrawasih, Papua State University, Environmental Management Office for Papua (BAPEDALDA), and Natural Resources Conservation Office for Papua (BKSDA).

Sponsored by the European and Union and international NGO, Conservation International (CI), the workshop participants received advice and training from CIFOR in using Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment (MLA) methods for checking, analyzing and summarizing data collected in the Mamberamo basin Papua area in July 2004 in the earlier field phase of the training .

Scott Frazier from Conservation International’s Indonesia Papua Program said CI was delighted to work with CIFOR in conducting the MLA training program. According to Frazier, using an MLA approach helps conservationists better understand the unique ways in which local people value and use their forests. “MLA is an excellent vehicle for building the trust that is necessary for implementing conservation among different stakeholders. Through the MLA approach we seek to gain insight into what is important to local communities in terms of their landscapes, plants, animals, ecosystem services and sacred places,” Frazier said.

MLA’s ultimate aim is to facilitate land use decisions that balance the forest needs of local people while ensuring the forest’s long-term survival. It helps achieve this aim by recognizing the local services and benefits available from tropical landscapes and by helping to identify the costs of bad management policies and management strategies.

CIFOR’s Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment method was first developed in East Kalimantan with support from the International Tropical Timber Organization. The knowledge gained in Indonesia is now being used to improve forest management around the world, including Mozambique, Bolivia and Cameroon. GC.

USAID and the Moore Foundation fund the Mamberamo Project, making it possible for CIFOR to implement MLA activities in the region.