With control of Indonesia's forest resources being increasingly handed over to local authorities and institutions, training local stakeholders in SFM is particularly timely. Supported by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and conducted in April at the CIFOR research station at Seturan, Malinau, East Kalimantan, the workshop focused on participatory approaches in district forest management.

"The main objective of the training was to ensure that, with increased local government control of forests, local communities, companies and government officials have a good understanding of SFM practices," CIFOR scientist, Petrus Gunarso said.

The workshop also provided a useful forum for different stakeholders to share their different perceptions on how to approach decentralised forestry management. The twenty-two participants included representatives from the Malinau district government, concession holders, village heads and forestry students. Training materials were drawn from the Ministry of Forestry's guidelines on sustainable forestry production and SFM criteria and indicator guidelines from the ITTO, CIFOR and the Forest Stewardship Council. The training also explored participant's perceptions of small forest concession companies, illegal logging and illegal mining in forest areas. Presenters at the workshop included representatives from FORDA, the Malinau District Government and CIFOR.

According to Gunarso, the workshop was not all theory and big talk. It was also very practical and 'hands-on'. For example, a field trip to various sites within the Malinau Research Forest allowed participants to see and explain first hand their own needs and understandings of how forests can be best managed. One of these visits was to a large area of forest that had been logged over using reduced impact logging (RIL) techniques.

"Rather than sit in a room and talk about RIL in theory, it was far better to actually take people to an RIL site so they could see the real thing. People had a good look at skid trails and permanent plots and got a good idea of how forests regenerate using reduced-impact techniques," Gunarso said. "Company representatives also added to the practical elements of the workshop by looking at a range of technical aspects such as preparing tactical logging maps, contour mapping, directional felling and opening up skid trails."

Back in the classroom, different stakeholders worked in small groups to develop their owns sets of criteria and indicators that took into account each member of the group's different needs and perspectives. An important element of the discussion was evaluating the practical feasibility of implementing different interpretations of SFM.

"The feedback from all those who attended was very encouraging. Most of the participants felt they increased their general understanding of SFM. They also gained an appreciation of how participatory planning enhances understanding of stakeholders' different views of SFM. Everyone remarked on the quality of the instructors and the materials and how the workshop provided an excellent forum for some very useful and vigorous discussion," Gunarso said. It is hoped this will be only the first of many similar workshops, with future training sessions embracing a wider range of issues and including more field trips.