CIFOR and FOERDIA
A history of building trust
in forestry research
Home to the third largest area of
tropical rainforest and a rich variety of
biodiversity, Indonesia was interested
in becoming a base for tropical
rainforest research.
For the first time, the Forestry and
Environmental Research Development
and Innovation Agency of the
Government of Indonesia (FOERDIA)
and CIFOR officially announced
their intention to collaborate on
scientific and technical aspects with
a Memorandum of Understanding
signed on 27 February 1997.
In 2009, recognizing CIFOR’s role as
an important international research
organization, the Government of
Indonesia proposed a review of
the host country agreement. The
agreement covered collaboration on
forest research, including in Indonesia.
Important themes for Indonesia
included improvement, sustainability
and a particular focus on community
welfare.
In 2018, both of parties announced
the formation of the International
Tropical Peatlands Center (ITPC) , and
the new center was promoting heavily
through channels, such as the Global
Forest Landscape Forum (GLF).
In 1993, international organizations, including CGIAR and some UN
bodies, were willing to establishing an international tropical forest
research center in Indonesia. This organization was the Center for
International Forestry Research (CIFOR). An agreement was made
between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and CIFOR
to host the center’s headquarters in Indonesia, known as host
country agreement-HCA, signed 15 May 1993. The agreement was
ratified by Presidential Decree No 71 year 1993.
Through collaboration with partners, CIFOR conducts research
in more than 50 countries and is regularly called upon to advise
governments, funding partners, universities, businesses and
NGOs on forest policy and the latest research techniques. On
any given day, its research is cited 23 times and its publications,
excluding journal articles, are downloaded 2,740 times. CIFOR’s
news journal, Forests News, receives more than 50,000 page views
a month – with a peak of 95,000 views over a three-day period in
October 2015 – while hundreds of thousands of stakeholders visit
its social media pages and websites, and thousands more attend
conferences convened by CIFOR on behalf of its partners. CIFOR
has become a ‘go-to’ place for journalists seeking independent
analysis and opinion, and it is cited by the global and national
media more than 1,300 times each year.
Starting in 2015, the year devastating forest fires tore through
parts of Indonesia, new policies and programs were created
to protect humans and forests. Peatlands became a focal
point because of their role in the forest fires. The international
community, including Indonesia, looked for ways to preserve
and sustainably manage this important ecosystem. Part of the
Government of Indonesia’s efforts included asking CIFOR to also
share its large body of work.
In 2019, the signing of a new five-year Memorandum of
Understanding between FOERDIA and CIFOR will usher in a new
paradigm for forest research and development with respect and
benefits for both partners.