Social Forestry Task Forces of West Papua Province, Established

One day workshop on Social Forestry in Billy Jaya Hotel Manokwari, 8 November 2016 has established the Provincial Task Forces to works facilitating the Social Forestry program in the Province. As confirmed by Mr Sahala Simanjutak - the Head of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership Maluku and Papua Regional Body – following the national indicative maps they targeting to reach 254,581 ha of social forestry areas by the end of 2019. The social forestry program here are cover 5 programs: village forests (Hutan Desa), Community Plantation Forests (Hutan Tanaman Rakyat), Community Forestry (Hutan Kemasyarakatan), Customary Forests (Hutan Adat) and Partnership forests management scheme (Kemitraan) though empowerment block in the Forests Management Units (KPH). On his opening remarks he then noted that the task force (pokja) that designed as multi-stakeholder and cross actor forum to works with the responsibility since preparation, verification, capacity building until other technical supports that relevant to the business development of social forestry program. The establishment of this task force is legally regulated on the Regulation of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership director no P.01/PKPS/PP/PSKL.0/5/2016 about the Implementation Guidance of Social Forestry Task Force.

In further, Mr Runaweri Hendrik – The head of West Papua Province Forestry Department emphasized that we have to seriously push this task forces and make it works to facilitate the target on Social Forestry. All forester in Papua been challenging to show forests are still exist and contribute a lot to development growth and the positive increasing of community livelihood changes. “Our role is to protect and manage the forests sustainably. In the relation to climate changes, forests hold crucial role counting by it covers. The social forestry program should also able to works under this clear targets in maintaining the forests reserve and covers” he added before formally opened the event.

There is no clear information about number of units that targeted to be built in West Papua Province but the social forestry units on its indicative maps has putting targets 254,581 ha spreads in 10 district. Of which about 14,550 of units has got the villages forests licenses. In detail the following matrix show the overall targets of Social forests sites in West Papua Province until the end of 2019:

No	District	Area (Ha)	Legal Approval (ha)	Village/Units
1	Fak Fak	27.062	-
2	Kaimana	35.788	11,005	Esania
3	Manokwari	23.037	-
4	Manokwari Selatan	2.727	-
5	Maybrat	1.840	-
6	Sorong	333	-
7	Sorong Selatan	18.901	3,545	Sira and Manggroholo
8	Tambrauw	12.403	-
9	Teluk Bintuni	122.045	-
10	Teluk Wondama	10.444	-
	Jumlah	254.581	14,550	3 Units

Participant that in total about 26 representing Government, NGO/CSO, university and private were agreed that the task forces should be the multistakeholder units that bring all key forestry actor into the loop of developing social forests program. Follow the Regulation of Social Forestry and Environmental Partnership director the composition of the task forces are not longer than 20 people, with head of the Forestry Department as the leader. During an hour discussion, the workshop has came up with list of recommendation and peoples who are appointing to join the task forces. From NGO in West Papua, there are Paradisea Foundation, Bentara Papua, Greenpeace, Samdhana Institute and AMAN Sorong Raya. The discussion also identifies about keys major issues that the task should pay an attention on:

1. Review and update the current indicative maps into existing potential social forests maps should become the early steps the Task Force should do. Because the current social forestry maps are developed based on the criteria and indicators that not yet considered number of units that still progressing to apply for the licenses. So assessment in to capture the tabular and spatial information is the keys activities in this partReview and update the current indicative maps into existing potential social forests maps should become the early steps the Task Force should do. Because the current social forestry maps are developed based on the criteria and indicators that not yet considered number of units that still progressing to apply for the licenses. So assessment in to capture the tabular and spatial information is the keys activities in this part
2. One of the challenges that influence the slow progress of social forestry program is on local government and community awareness and understanding of this policy and its technical regulation. The task force is responsible to conducts this awareness and socialization down to the districts government
3. Technical data base of social province in the provinces is crucial so developing a data base that include data of customary boundary territories and putting it into government system is the steps that we should do
4. Social forestry in the new regulation is cross forests function in which not only in production and protection forests are the licenses is applied but also in conservation area. Zoning and land uses spatial plan of the community together with their spatial territories maps is needs to understand extent to which are social forests sites in West Papua are potentially to be build
5. FMU/KPH is strongly recommended to cover all the social forestry initiative. They will provide capacity building to the community whose social forestry initiative are working
6. Bringing in private sector and commercial forests product players to become the co-partners of community would help them in product marketing and helps in setup stable markets flows include capacity supports
7. Customary Forests/Hutan Adat in west Papua context needs to be discussed further so the task forces based on Regulation will have a technical verification guideline to helps local government/community or NGO who are initiating customary forests licenses

Indicative areas of Social Forestry in West Papua delineated with white polygon in the Map