The importance of CIFOR’s research was given the Presidential seal of approval during CIFOR’s Anniversary celebrations at the Indonesian Presidential Palace in Bogor on September 8, 2003.
The ceremony commemorated CIFOR’s tenth year in Indonesia and was attended by 200 people, including the Indonesian President, Ibu Megawati Soekarnoputri, Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, Ambassadors, donor representatives and key CIFOR partners.
In her speech President Megawati Soekarnoputri congratulated CIFOR on its success and for the role its research plays in assisting Indonesian efforts to meet the challenges in the country’s forest sector.
“I wish CIFOR a happy anniversary (and) success and progress in its endeavours to achieve its noble objectives,” President Megawati said.
The President said her Government’s forestry programs require extensive support, including research and development programs undertaken by organizations such as CIFOR.
As a symbolic gesture of the importance of Indonesia’s forests to the future of the environment in both Indonesia and around the world, the President presented small trees to students from local primary schools.
Dr. Muhammad Prakosa, Indonesia’s Minister of Forestry, also complimented CIFOR on its achievements, saying he was “pleased to see that in the 10 years since it was established in 1993, CIFOR has become a leading international research institution in forestry.”
He particularly thanked CIFOR for helping to build the capacity of the Ministry of Forestry and for its willingness to examine difficult issues. Dr. Prakosa also expressed his appreciation for CIFOR’s close work with the Ministry in its five priority areas of industry restructuring, Illegal logging, forest fires, decentralization, and forest plantations.
“We, at the Ministry of Forestry, have also obtained benefits from CIFOR’s presence here in Indonesia with collaborative programs to improve the capacity and capability of our research institution. A number of our staff have worked with international researchers at CIFOR to gain experience and knowledge through joint research programs.”
“CIFOR has also made a significant contribution to us by generating new ideas, provoking dialogue and providing high quality analyses about the relationship between forest and people.
“I am confident that CIFOR will continue to make an important contribution to both international and national dialogue on forest policy by helping to shape the debate and providing crucial analyses of complex and often politically sensitive issues,” Prakosa said.
CIFOR was established following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, at a time when there was a great deal of global concern about tropical forests. Although the need for a center such as CIFOR had been discussed for several years, Rio was the catalyst that moved CIFOR from the drawing board to full implementation.
During the years since Rio, CIFOR has received considerable support from some thirty governments and international agencies. These include Indonesia, Japan, the World Bank, the European Commission, the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Australia, and Brazil, among others.
In his speech to the international audience, CIFOR’s Director General expressed his sincere gratitude to donors for their crucial support and to the many individuals who played key roles in establishing CIFOR.
“CIFOR thanks all its supporters for recognizing the importance of forest research in reducing poverty and protecting the environment. Indeed, using forest research to reduce poverty and protect the environment is really what CIFOR is all about. Put simply, CIFOR’s mission is to find ways for rural people to use forests sustainably to earn a living,” Kaimowitz said.
Both Kaimowitz and the Minister highlighted the close cooperation between the Government and CIFOR in the Malinau Research Forest in East Kalimantan.
“In December 1995 the Government of Indonesia designated 300,000 hectares of forest in East Kalimantan, to be developed as a model of exemplary forest management. This is an example how the Government of Indonesia (has supported) CIFOR research activities. And now we see, with the support from all partners, CIFOR at the global cutting edge of the forestry research,” Prakosa said.
David Kaimowitz described the Malinau Research Forest as “a living laboratory of all the social, economic, and biological changes taking place in the world’s tropical forests”.
“Undoubtedly it is one of the world’s most exciting forest projects. And for that we need to thank the national government, the Bupati of Malinau, Pak Marthin Billa, the Ministry of Forestry, and local villagers. We also need to thank important donors such as the ITTO, the Macarthur Foundation and the governments of the United Kingdom and Germany,” Kaimowitz said.
In addition to the 200 Indonesian and international guests at CIFOR’s 10th Anniversary, some thirty journalists covered the events, with stories appearing on the front page of Indonesia’s major daily Kompas, other major newspapers and in several TV news broadcasts. (GC)