On 15 October, CIFOR and the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Japan (FFPRI), with support from the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), hosted the inaugural CIFOR Japan Day, at CIFOR’s headquarters in Bogor.
The purpose of the event was to create momentum for a more flexible and multi-faceted relationship between Japanese and CIFOR scientists by introducing relevant Japanese activities in forestry research and technical cooperation. The event also included a number of posters on display, which enabled interested parties to learn about specific initiatives and to discuss opportunities for potential collaboration.
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"Forests are hugely important for sustainable development, which is closely linked to addressing deforestation and degradation."
Kojiro Shiojiri
Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia |
“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Japan for the significant financial support provided during CIFOR’s formative years, and we continue to value ongoing scientific and policy-oriented partnerships,” said Frances Seymour, CIFOR Director General, in her welcoming remarks. “This workshop builds on discussions that came out of a seminar in Tokyo in June on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). We are here today to set a platform for future collaboration.”
His Excellency Mr. Kojiro Shiojiri, Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, echoed these remarks. “Forests are hugely important for sustainable development, which is closely linked to addressing deforestation and degradation,” he said. “Japan greatly appreciates the activities of CIFOR for protecting and managing our forests and we look forward to ongoing collaboration and exchange.”
Speakers included Professor Masahiro Amano, from Waseda University, a key advisor to the Japanese Government on climate change, Kenji Fukuyama, Principal Research Coordinator for FFPRI, Yasuhisa Tanaka, Chief Advisor for JICA, and Professor Toshihisa Honma, Hokkaido University. They were joined by a broad range of experts on issues including timber product trade, participatory management, biodiversity and climate change.
Participants stressed the complementarity between the expertise of Japanese scientists on biophysical research methods, and CIFOR’s strengths in socio-economic and policy-oriented research approaches.
“Future collaboration should combine these to enhance the ‘human dimension’ of forestry research,” said Gen Takao, Task Manager, CIFOR-Japan Project. “In this complicated world, with a lot of competing interests, today we clearly recognised that collaboration was the key to achieving genuine impact through our research.”
Collaborative efforts between CIFOR and Japan have included a long-term project on “rehabilitation of degraded tropical forest ecosystems (1996-2005)” and an ongoing project on “sustainable utilisation of diverse forest environmental benefits,” which promotes sustainable forest management in Indonesia through the use of satellite imagery and geographic information systems.
Story by Widya Prajanthi and Tim Cronin, CIFOR