FMU in Biak Shaping Up the Basic Concept of Forests Development Partnership

The establishment of Eco-Tourism Management Body in Sebse – Village of Eastern Biak, Papua Province of Indonesia has shown how FMU in Biak gradually developed a good pathway on creating partnership scheme with customary community whose claim the rights over land, forests and resource inside the FMU designated areas. Founding of partnership scheme is an effort to acknowledging the specific Papua natural resources management problem in the appropriately positioning community rights in the official natural resources governance.

Making forests benefit to people and government within good governance are the main objective of the FMU Biak establishment. “Through KPH, I have vision to turn the current public paradigm that forests governance in Indonesia are far from good because it full of conflict, not sustainable, lack of community participation and lack of contribution to local economic development.” said Mr. Ariestoteles Ap – the Head of Forests Management Unit (KPHL) Biak Numfor on his welcoming words to the NORAD and Samdhana team visited KPH on January 2016. Holding the responsibilities to manage 206,016 ha of forests in Biak and Numfor Island he acknowledged that community are the main actors since customary right claim are strong in the islands.  

Eco-Tourism management body in Sebse with assisting by FMU and MNUKWAR (local Ngo based in Manokwari) will working on technical, social, business and legal components on managing the potency in the east coast of the Biak Island. From the full forests inventory that the FMU and Papua State University did in 2015, it’s found that this region is the home of 18 species of birds - 3 of which are the endemic paradise bird, 114 species of plants from 43 order, 10 different orchids and 8 mammals. The forest has also preserve the water and in harmony with karts stone creates beautiful lake “Opersnondi” that has high value for eco-tourism. Community and government on the Inauguration ceremony of the eco-tourism management body are welcoming this initiative and commits to move forward with concrete social-business concept/action of eco-tourism development.

Sharpening the partnership concept of legal management of eco-tourism within FMU has been putting as the priority intervention. Testing effective institutional development and professional community based business development that enable the creation of good benefit sharing mechanism are another big output that the supports in Sebse targeted by Biak FMU and MNUKWAR. Andi Saragih, the Director of MNUKWAR realized that this is just the beginning and there are a lot of challenges are waiting to be dealing to achieve what been built. Making sure that the communities are actively engage and lead the managerial activities until control and running the business are the attention that MNUKWAR is putting. Because he acknowledges that the pure partnership concepts of forests development partnership will working then the community are ready to engage and lead the process. But he believes that FMU and the community in Sebse has on track to get it. Emphasize this, the head of FMU noted that the works in Sebse are valuable for them to implement the long term management plan they have within an appropriate local partnership approaches.