Posted on October, 31 2011

Culture and art of the indigenous people of the Heart of the Borneo formed a colourful back drop to the fifth Heart of Borneo (HoB) Trilateral Meeting, held in Balikpapan on September 21- 22, 2011.

Alongside the tri-partite, high level government annual meeting there were a range of grass roots events and presentations including a Photovoices Community Photo Exhibition, book launch and handicraft display. Adding further spice to the gathering was a ‘talk show’ by Photovoices, community photographers and a National Geographic representative.

This year’s annual meeting, attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as invited international and local observers, took the theme of ‘Sustainable Tourism: When Nature and Culture blends’. A theme supported during the week by the launch of a new Central Kalimantan Travel Guide Book (Buku Destinasi Wisata di Kalteng).

A Trilateral meeting with song

The official two-day forum, focused on reviewing progress made under the HoB programs in the respective countries, but started with a song.

“Let’s stand up and put our hands together, as the guardians to protect our land through generations.” These words – forming part of ‘The Heart of Borneo’ song, composed and written by Edwin Leo Mokodompit and conceptualised by the Governor of East Kalimantan Province, Bpk. Dr H. Awang Faroek Ishak – are key to highlighting the spirit of the HoB Initiative.

Opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony featured addresses from each delegation. In his speech, Mr Haji Saidin Bin Salleh from Brunei Darussalam highlighted the uniqueness of the initiative, attributing this to the scale of the forest area, richness of its biodiversity, and the commitment and willingness of the three countries to work together.

Malaysian head delegate, Mr. Frederick Kugan, emphasized sustainable forest management as the key agenda in pursuing conservation goals and further reiterated the importance of mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable management of its biodiversity and forests in socio-economic development agendas. Indonesian representative, Dr Andi Novianto, said the sustainability of the HoB area not only ensures the availability of water in the three countries but also guarantees the existence of the biodiversity of Borneo Island.

The meeting

Chaired by Dr I. Nyoman Yuliarsana, Director of the Center for Forestry Development Control for Regional Planning III (Kalimantan), Ministry of Forestry Indonesia, the two-day meeting predominantly involved discussing National Reports on the implementation of the HoB Initiative; the implementation of trans-boundary protected area management and its possible link to ecotourism development; and the consideration of the implementation of the institution and modalities for the HoB.

National reports

Brunei Darussalam detailed projects on biodiversity research, forest protection and peatlands research. Indonesia detailed the new National Strategic Area designation for Kalimantan’s portion of HoB; updates on use of Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT); as well ecotourism, capacity building and development of partnerships to deliver a Green Economy. Malaysia highlighted progress on projects including maintenance of forest connectivity, sustainable forest management and trans-boundary cooperation

Improving Transboundary Cooperation

In order to improve trilateral impacts, the members discussed proposals for creation of different technical committees. A focus was made on needs and opportunities to improve the implementation of trans-boundary protected area management and its link to ecotourism development. The 3 countries agreed to establish a Technical Committee on Trans-boundary Protected Areas (TbPA) and will meet again in November to advance the cooperation.

Side Events and Exhibition

Photovoices

Before the official opening on Wednesday 21 September, a photographic exhibition, featuring photos taken by people living in remote areas of Borneo, was launched. Entitled, ‘Voices from the Heart of Borneo’, the exhibition, a joint project of Photovoices International and WWF Indonesia, aimed to transport viewers to Kalimantan villages and forests to see the world through the eyes of local people.

“If we’re going to save our planet we need to combine science with local knowledge,” said Anne Norton, Director of Photovoices International. “In this way, photography can be used as a conservation tool.”

Media, local government, businesses and school groups visited the exhibition during the course of the meeting. WWF staff and some of the photographers were at hand to lead viewers through the display, speaking about the images and Photovoices initiative.

HoB Partners Forum

Following the official inter-governmental meeting, a multisectoral group of partners were invited to attend a dialogue on the role of HoB’s natural resources and ecosystems in the future economic development. The intention was to foster stronger and more coordinated engagement in support of green growth in the Heart of Borneo.
The opening session was led by Prof. (Hon.) Rachmat Witoelar – President’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Executive Chair on the National Council on Climate Change Indonesia. The dialogue concluded with an agreement that the HoB is a “natural priority” for developing a green economy approach and therefore would be a focus of collaborative efforts in the lead up to the Rio+20 Summit in 2012.