Malinau Regent, Dr. Marthin Billa (2nd left), was awarded the Kalpataru prize for his efforts to make Malinau a conservation district. Accompanying Dr. Billa at the Presidential awards ceremony were CIFOR’s Kresno Dwi Santosa, Mrs. Yuari Itun Billa, and Ir. Junus Poddala from Indonesia’s Environmental Impact Agency (BAPEDALDA)
Malinau Regency head, Dr Marthin Billa, has been awarded Indonesia’s highest environmental prize in recognition of his efforts to establish Malinau as a conservation district.
The Kalpataru environmental prize was presented by the President of Indonesia President, Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in conjunction with World Environment Day, June 6. Each year the Government of Indonesia awards the Kalpataru to communities and individuals who show leadership in protecting and preserving the environment.
Malinau holds the largest area of Borneo’s remaining prime forests and is home to the 302,000 hectare Malinau research forest in north-east Kalimantan where CIFOR has pioneered a range of multidisciplinary research activities since 1996.
Dr. Billa said the award would be of little use if the environmental damage seen in other parts of the archipelago started happening in Malinau. However, he also acknowledged that his vision of Malinau remaining a conservation district would ultimately fail if people are unconvinced of its value.
“We have to be sure that as a conservation district, Malinau will benefit the community,” Dr. Billa said, “Even if we do not experience the benefits ourselves, we must be sure future generations do.”
Dr. Billa said receiving the award would not lead to complacency, as the honor of the conservation award put an onus on the Malinau Government's to improve people’s welfare and develop the community.
Conservation principles will be fundamental to Malinau’s future. For example, now Malinau has firmly established its conservation credentials, it is hoped community welfare will benefit from environmental service and carbon trading schemes.
Malinau’s conservation status is also expected to make it easier for villagers to use the district’s vast non-timber forest products in supplementing their small-scale livelihoods.
Ever since the district government declared Malinau a conservation regency in 2005, it has emphasized the role of partnerships and stakeholder participation in achieving its goals. Accordingly Dr. Bila and his government colleagues have worked with organizations such as WWF and Tropenbos. They have also supported CIFOR efforts to build the capacity of villagers to engage in multistakeholder land use and spatial planning processes.
CIFOR and the Malinau government’s cooperation extends back to and beyond 2002, the year when both parties formalized their working arrangements through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Partnerships and cooperation will continue to be crucial for the future of Malinau’s conservation status. It is likely Malinau will soon be presented to the international community as an example of East Kalimantan and Indonesia’s commitment to the environment. If this does happen, then the provincial and central governments will need to do more than merely support Malinau’s conservation initiative. They will also need to encourage other districts to follow Malinau’s example.
In raising the level of its commitment to the environment, Malinau’s success will also see an increase in the level of nationwide environmental commitment expected by forestry and environmental stakeholders in Indonesia and overseas.
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