PUTUSSIBAU, 19 April 2016 - A one-day meeting to mark the start of the "Green Economy in the Heart of Kalimantan" program was held by the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative with WWF-Indonesia, supported by the West Kalimantan Provincial Government and Kapuas Hulu District Government, in Putussibau (19/4).

The meeting brought together various stakeholders from the government at the national, provincial, district and sub-district levels, the private sector, NGOs and academics. The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Sarawak state government, Malaysia and the German government, as well as the WWF Network (WWF Germany, WWF Malaysia, WWF Japan).

The Kapuas Hulu District Government welcomes the program, which is a collaboration between the government, businesses, communities and civil society as an implementation of the green economy in promoting sustainable development. "For Kapuas Hulu, this program is also very strategic because it supports the implementation of our commitment as a Conservation District launched in October 2003, so that the area and natural resources in Kapuas Hulu remain capable of providing balanced ecological, economic and social functions," said Kapuas Hulu Regent A.M. Nasir.

Kalimantan Regional Leader WWF-Indonesia, M. Hermayani Putera said, this program will be focused in the southern region of Kapuas Hulu, integrated with the development of the Agropolitan District Strategic Area (KSK) as stated in the 20-year vision of the Kapuas Hulu District Spatial Plan (RTRWK) 2014-2034. "WWF will provide technical assistance for the Technical Team in preparing supporting documents in developing the KSK Agropolitan Kapuas Hulu," continued M. Hermayani Putera.

The program will document all lessons learned during implementation to serve as principles and guidelines for sustainable land use planning in a much wider landscape between the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

This, according to Expert Staff to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs for Economic Relations, Human Development and Culture, Dr. Raldi Hendro Koestoer, is in line with the strategic plan of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (LHK). "In accordance with the framework of the national strategic plan of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, in this regard WWF, which oversees the relationship between the governments of Kapuas Hulu District and Sarawak State, seeks to synergize environmental sustainability programs. For this reason, we encourage local governments to carry out more operational aspects," said Dr.Raldi Hendro Koestoer.

For more information, please contact:

Albertus Tjiu, West Kalimantan Program Manager, WWF Indonesia
Email: [email protected], Hp: 08125624019
Muhammad Sukri, Regional Secretary of Kapuas Hulu District Government
Email: [email protected] Hp: 0811568369 (Alexander Rombonang)

Note to Editor:
The 4-year (2016-2019) "Green Economy in the Heart of Kalimantan" program is supported by the International Climate Initiative (ICI) through a collaboration between WWF-Indonesia, WWF-Malaysia and WWF Germany. The program aims to integrate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve biodiversity, develop a more environmentally friendly economy and improve the welfare of local communities and indigenous groups. These efforts are carried out through more comprehensive spatial planning and land use and green economy action plans, by developing several strategic commodities such as palm oil, rubber and other potentials that are more environmentally friendly. In addition, the development of potential environmental services such as ecotourism, in an area of 2 million hectares in the Kalimantan Heart corridor, covering the Kapuas Hulu region, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia and the Sri Aman Division and Kapit Division in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia.