The project was endorsed by Mrs. Ir. Erna Rosdiana, AWG-SF Leader of Indonesia and Director of the Directorate of Social Forestry Area Preparation, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and will be implemented by the National Council on Forestry Indonesia headed by Dr. Ir. Didik Suharjito. It aims to improve the capacity and knowledge of local community groups in developing ecotourism program and on sustainable forest management. The project is expected to develop a Mangrove Forest Environmental Education Program, which will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders in Belitung District, namely, Tourism Board, Education and Culture Agency, Environmental Agency, Youth and Sports Agency, among others.
ASRF under the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) aims to enable the AMS Leaders and Focal Points to quickly respond to emerging issues and challenges and articulate policy recommendations and directions on social forestry as it relates to climate change, food security, and poverty alleviation. It is designed to provide AMS Leaders and Focal Points seed fund to respond to immediate needs or catalyze strategic action to address emerging issues, opportunities, or other situations that may not have been anticipated, but to which the AMS and AWG-SF's response is critical.
The new grant brings to 28 the number of projects in the ASEAN region supported by SDC through the SEARCA-ASRF program. (Xyrus Godfrey B. Capiña)