CIFOR: WHAT ROOM FOR EFFECTIVE CO-OPERATION WITH THE INDONESIAN RESEARCH COMMUNITY?

Transcription

1 1. INTRODUCTION ΠCIFOR expectations from the meeting ΠCIFOR what it is and what it does 2. CIFOR AND ITS ACTIVITIES ΠOverall mission and objectives ΠPriorities and programme content - Overall priorities - The current CIFOR programme ΠCharacteristics of CIFOR research 3. CIFOR IN INDONESIA ΠOngoing partnerships and activities ΠWhat issues of CIFOR-Indonesia research partnership need discussion? ΠFuture potential for enhanced co-operation? 4. MATTERS TO CONSIDER FOR DISCUSSION CIFOR s working paper Page 1

2 CIFOR expectations from the meeting Πto share information on activities, Πto explore common ground and interests, Πto identify opportunities for co-operating better on opportunities and problems that matter to Indonesia but are also part of the international priorities of CIFOR. Points to note: Πthat the meeting can also promote better communication and cooperation among the Indonesian institutions themselves. Πthere is already co-operation going on - the issue is how to make it more effective ΠIndonesia leads as destination for CIFOR resources: but is this achieving impact? CIFOR Indonesia activities: what can make them more relevant to an agenda that is both important to Indonesia and to CIFOR s international mandate? CIFOR s working paper Page 2

3 CIFOR AND ITS ACTIVITIES CIFOR what it is and what it does Πestablished in 1993; one of 16 centres under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. ΠIndonesia has made a generous grant of a new headquarters and access for research purposes to 300,000 ha Bulungan forest in Kalimantan. In this sense, Indonesia is probably CIFOR s largest donor. Overall mission and objectives Πan international research institution focusing on the forestry and forestry-related issues of developing countries, particularly in the tropics. Πmission is to contribute to the sustained well-being of people in developing countries, particularly in the tropics, through collaborative strategic and applied research and related activities in forest systems and forestry, and by promoting the transfer of appropriate new technologies and the adoption of new methods of social organisation, for national development. ΠCIFOR and all CGIAR centres have committed itself to a poverty focus. ΠThe international mandate requires CIFOR to focus on "international public goods" research - it works on forest-related opportunities and problems of international significance. CIFOR s working paper Page 3

4 CIFOR objectives The CIFOR constitution has specified four objectives: To understand the biophysical and socio-economic environments of present and potential forest systems and forestry, and their functional relationships. To create the potential for sustainable improved productivity of forest systems for the benefit of people in developing countries. To provide analysis, information and advice to assist in making policy decisions about forests and land use. To increase national forestry research capacity. CIFOR s working paper Page 4

5 Funding CIFOR, like all other institutions in the CGIAR system, is NOT a funding agency for research - depends on budgetary allocations from a number of governments, multilateral bodies and foundations. Operational mode ΠAs capacity, CIFOR has around 40 research staff at any one time in Bogor, 3 in Africa, 2 in Latin America plus a variable number of consultants. ΠWith this number of experts, CIFOR can realistically only undertake much of its research through partnerships with official research centres, universities and think tanks, NGOs, the private sector. ΠCIFOR prefers partnership to contractual relationships with other institutions. CIFOR s working paper Page 5

6 CIFOR priorities Thematic priorities ΠSix thematic programmes; two crosscutting topics; Bulungan research forest (integrated activities at field level). Broad geographical Tropical Asia; tropical Latin America; Subregions Saharan Africa Agro-ecological zones Forest/land use Beneficiaries Spatial scale Outputs Partners Operations Humid tropical lowlands; increasing attention to dry tropical woodland ecosystems; uplands Natural forests; degraded forest lands; nonindustrial plantations Forest communities; rural poor; small-scale forest-based enterprises forest research community; the environment (globally and locally) Inter-country to local (and research of a nonspatial nature) Policy analysis tools, research techniques and management skills; improved policy and management options; improved forest research agendas, management and methods National institutes; universities; international forestry and agricultural research centres; NGOs; (occasionally individuals or corporations); International development agencies Decentralised research activities with consortia of partners. CIFOR s working paper Page 6

7 CIFOR research programmes (details in Annex 1 of paper) Core research programmes Underlying Causes of Deforestation (UCD) Biodiversity (BIO) Forest Products and People (FPP) Plantation Forestry (PF) Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Adaptive Co-Management (ACM) Cross-cutting topics Policies, Technologies and Global Change (GLC) Research Impacts, Priorities and Capacity Evaluation (IAP) Core field research activity Bulungan research forest Kalimantan (integrates all programmes as appropriate) in the context of a model forest. Source: Medium-Term Plan CIFOR s working paper Page 7

8 CIFOR IN INDONESIA I ΠTo date, CIFOR has worked with about 26 Indonesian institutions, involving nearly 120 Indonesian scientists. ΠIn CIFOR itself, almost 40 % of scientists are Indonesian recruited staff. Ongoing partnerships and activities : there are 13 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Indonesian partners. Forestry Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Forestry (FORDA) Directorate General of Forest Inventory and Land Use Planning, Ministry of FORESTRY (INTAG) INHUTANI II Faculty of Forestry, University of Gajah Mada (FOFGMU) Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) Faculty of Forestry, Mulawarman University (FOF-UNMUL) Graduate Program of Forestry, Mulawarman University (GPF- UNMUL) Kayu Mas & BPK Samarinda PT Menara Hutan Buana (MHB) Center for Population and Manpower Studies, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (PPT-LIPI) PT Riau Andalan and Pulp Paper (RAPP) Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (SEAMEO BIOTROP) World Wide Fund for Nature-Indonesia Program (WWF-IP) CIFOR s working paper Page 8

9 CIFOR IN INDONESIA II Some examples of ongoing collaborative research No. Programme Research activities Partner(s) 1 Adaptive Co- Management Livelihoods and devolution. SHK (Konsorsium Sistim Hutan Kerakyatan) Plasma WWF Kayan Mentarang Underlying causes of fire. Mulawarman University FERDA 2 Forest Products and People 3 Plantation Forestry. Global Trends in NTFP Indonesia. NTFPs world level comparison. Plantation Forestry on Degraded or Low-Potential Sites. PPSDAK Yayasan Dian Tama Center for Social Forestry The Nature Conservancy Leuser Development Programme FERDA Forest Research Institute, Kupang PT Musi Hutan Persada, Palembang Gajah Mada University Center for Soil and Agroclimate Research 4 Sustainable Forest Management. 5 Forest, Science and Sustainability Bulungan Research Forest. Rehabilitation of degraded tropical forest ecosystems. Testing and developing criteria and indicators for sustainable management of plantations forests Biodiversity and Conservation. Impact of Logging on Vegetation Structure and Faunal Diversity in Wanariset Sangai Central Kalimantan. Reduced Impact Logging. Mulawarman University PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper Bogor Agriculture University (IPB) WWF Indonesia Kayu Mas Group, Indonesia Forest Research Institute of Samarinda Herbarium Bogoriense BIOTROP FERDA IPB Mulawarman University PT INHUTANI II CIFOR s working paper Page 9

10 CIFOR IN INDONESIA III CIFOR-Indonesia research partnership discussion topics? Recent CIFOR contacts with FERDA and with some universities personnel suggest the following areas for which improvements and ways forward: Lack of a clear and focused and priority agenda for research This may partly explain significant subject-matter dispersion even for CIFOR activities. Weak co-operation among Indonesian research institutions The perceived capacity erosion in local institutions from CIFOR recruitment practices for experts from Indonesian research institutions. Counterpart contributions: so far limited ability of some of CIFOR s Indonesian institutional partners to deliver their agreed professional and financial inputs in collaborative programmes Weak dialogue between CIFOR and Indonesian institutions is this an agenda or mechanism issue? Scientific international networking and bridge-building: Perceived limited effectiveness of CIFOR in using it s international status to help build bridges between Indonesian and international forestry research and research information. CIFOR s working paper Page 10

11 CIFOR IN INDONESIA IV Future potential for enhanced co-operation? ΠAt present, the potential to build on Indonesia s proximity to CIFOR or its diversity appears under-utilised. Possible criteria for selecting areas of future co-operation for mutual benefit ΠWhere the research outputs would have a bearing on a major issue, problem and opportunity facing the country. ΠThemes and topics where CIFOR can bring to bear its international experience and perspectives for the benefit of Indonesia. ΠWhere potential exists to bring Indonesian researchers as well as Indonesian research information into international arena or to enhance their exposure (including facilitation of association by Indonesia with the global networking of CIFOR). ΠWhere Indonesia s diversity (forest resource endowment, geographical, cultural, internal levels of development) give CIFOR in this one country a chance to have several of its international investigations. CIFOR s working paper Page 11

12 CIFOR IN INDONESIA V MATTERS TO CONSIDER FOR DISCUSSION Πreview past co-operation experiences: past, present, what lessons emerge, future. (see section 3.2 of CIFOR paper What issues of CIFOR-Indonesia research partnership need discussion? ) ΠHow best to build upon the past and to put into effect better cooperation for mutual benefit. ΠHow best to jointly interest government and official bodies in more systematically drawing upon Indonesian and Indonesiabased research capacity in policy work, especially in view of ongoing reforms. ΠHow best to arrange for more systematic future "contact and dialogue" at an affordable cost. 1 ΠHow to jointly capture opportunities for drawing national and international attention and for improving access to quality Indonesian research outputs, including from its university community. 1 Ideally, any such arrangement should offer all institutions a chance to take the lead and to exhibit their strengths to the rest. CIFOR s working paper Page 12

13 Amazon Room, CIFOR, Bogor May 2000 CIFOR: WHAT ROOM FOR MORE EFFECTIVE CO-OPERATION WITH THE INDONESIAN RESEARCH COMMUNITY? 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 CIFOR expectations from the meeting The FERDA/CIFOR meeting has been convened to share information on activities, to explore common ground and interests, and to identify opportunities for co-operating better on opportunities and problems that matter to Indonesia but are also part of the international priorities of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). In organising the meeting FERDA and CIFOR both recognise that the principal responsibility for research in this country lies with Indonesian institutions; therefore, part of the expectation is that the meeting can promote better communication and eventual co-operation among the Indonesian institutions themselves. On its part, CIFOR feels that better co-ordination in the Indonesian forestry research community would facilitate its ability to contribute international dimensions to the research here. The meeting is not occurring in a vacuum: there is already co-operation among Indonesian institutions themselves and bilaterally between individual ones and CIFOR. The issue therefore is how do we make this more effective? CIFOR actually allocates more resources to its Indonesia activities than to any other country. There are some who believe that more can be achieved with this input than is apparent to date; there are others who even argue that it should be reduced. If the question is treated in more than its budgetary sense, the fact is that there is inadequate information on the impact of activities here that can form the basis for saying whether too much or too little is being spent. Even if there may be little impact, it is not possible to argue that more would be better; if there were adequate impact, then perhaps the need for this meeting would not have been felt. CIFOR feels that an important outcome from this meeting could be to identify what can in practice be adjusted in the work it does in Indonesia to make it more relevant to an agenda that is both important to Indonesia and to CIFOR s international mandate. CIFOR is participating in the meeting with an open mind ready to listen and to speak on assessment of how co-operation is going and to suggestions for improvement. What CIFOR expects from the FERDA/CIFOR meeting is a chance to take stock of how existing cooperation is working; to see if taken together it is having the impact desired on important 1 C:\CIFORFERDAwkngpaperfnl.doc version of 12/05/00. CIFOR s working paper Page 1

14 issues; and to identify more effective future ways for working with Indonesian institutions to jointly carry out research that is worthwhile because it makes a significant difference in addressing the country s sustainable forestry development challenges. In any relationships among institutions, the basis for sustainable co-operation is mutual gain. In order to enable partners gauge what CIFOR can offer and what is realistic for CIFOR to engage in, this paper starts by introducing CIFOR: its establishment, mandate, vision, priorities, activities, and approaches to co-operation around the world. The general introduction is followed by presentation of ongoing CIFOR activities in Indonesia. 2 With an eye on future directions, the paper then offers suggestions on possible criteria for selecting areas of future co-operation with Indonesian institutions. In order to avoid anticipating what the meeting may come up with, this paper avoids presenting specific themes for possible co-operation (keeping in mind need to coincide with CIFOR s own priorities) these can be taken up in the working groups. The paper concludes by listing elements that the meeting could focus discussion on naturally, these need combining with suggestions from other institutions to create a detailed agenda for the working groups. 1.2 CIFOR what it is and what it does CIFOR was established in 1993 and is one of sixteen centres under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. CIFOR was established in response to global concern about the loss and degradation of forests and their social, environmental and economic consequences. CIFOR operates in Indonesia under a Host Country Agreement co-signed by the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chairman of the CIFOR Board of Trustees. This Agreement was endorsed by the President of Indonesia in August 1993 and is lodged with the United Nations as a record of CIFOR s international status. Indonesia initially hosted CIFOR at its Bogor FERDA research centre in Gunung Batu but later made a generous grant of land and buildings at the new headquarters. Indonesia has also given CIFOR access for research purposes to Bulungan forest in Kalimantan, an area of over 300,000 ha that allows integrated research on a wide range of forestry issues. 2. CIFOR AND ITS ACTIVITIES 2.1 Overall mission and objectives CIFOR is an international research institution focusing on the forestry and forestry-related issues of developing countries, particularly in the tropics. The CIFOR constitution defines the organisation s mission as being to contribute to the sustained well-being of people in developing countries, particularly in the tropics, through collaborative strategic and applied research and related activities in forest systems and forestry, and by promoting the transfer of appropriate new technologies and the adoption of new methods of social organisation, for national development. 2 Three Annexes support the paper: Annex 1 is a presentation of the current CIFOR research programmes. It gives their goals, current status, planned activities and outputs, and milestones; Annex 2 gives the philosophical orientation of CIFOR programmes done in co-operation with partners; Annex 3 is a list of the Memoranda of Understanding currently existing between CIFOR and Indonesian research institutions; Annex 4 lists a sample of joint activities between Indonesian institutions and CIFOR. CIFOR s working paper Page 2

15 Box 1: CIFOR objectives To further define the mission, the CIFOR constitution has specified four objectives as follows: To understand the biophysical and socio-economic environments of present and potential forest systems and forestry, and their functional relationships. To create the potential for sustainable improved productivity of forest systems for the benefit of people in developing countries. To provide analysis, information and advice to assist in making policy decisions about forests and land use. To increase national forestry research capacity. The CGIAR system, including CIFOR, has committed itself to giving great attention to addressing poverty and therefore the research will as much as possible tend to be of a type that assists the poor whether directly or indirectly. The international mandate of CIFOR obliges it to focus on what is called "international public goods" research - it is to work on forest-related opportunities and problems of international significance, the solutions to which can then be made accessible to the international community as a public service. Because CIFOR focuses on international public goods, it engages in locality-specific or productspecific research only to the extent that they offer elements for an international agenda. CIFOR, like all other institutions in the CGIAR system, is NOT a funding agency for research and in fact depends on budgetary allocations from a number of governments, multilateral bodies and foundations for specified research activities and priorities approved by its Board. The comparative advantage of CIFOR in any given country is to add an international dimension in looking at issues and to draw attention to relevant experience from elsewhere; in turn, CIFOR gains from national level research as a source of best practice that may be generalisable and applicable elsewhere. With regard to the objective of strengthening research capacity at the national level, CIFOR has chosen to emphasise promoting a policyoriented, people-focused research agenda. In terms of capacity, the scientific staff at the Bogor headquarters number around 40 at any one time, supplemented by a variable number of consultants and contractors or scientists from partner institutions. There are also some outposted international staff - three in Africa, two in Latin America. With this number of experts, CIFOR is smaller than many national research establishments; therefore it can realistically only undertake much of its research programme by drawing upon partners (official research centres, universities and think tanks, NGOs, the private sector). Partnership is thus the key to CIFOR operations partnership that starts with joint definition of mutually beneficial research agendas and goes to implementation. CIFOR prefers partnership to contractual relationships with other institutions. CIFOR s working paper Page 3

16 2.2 Priorities and programme content Overall priorities Box 2 presents the priorities of CIFOR on a global scale. Box 2: CIFOR priorities Thematic priorities ΠSix core thematic programmes; two crosscutting topics; Bulungan research forest (integrated activities at field level) see Box 3 below. Broad geographical regions Tropical Asia; tropical Latin America; Sub-Saharan Africa Agro-ecological zones Humid tropical lowlands; increasing attention to dry tropical woodland ecosystems; uplands Forest/land use Natural forests; degraded forest lands; non-industrial plantations Beneficiaries Forest communities; rural poor; small-scale forest-based enterprises forest research community; the environment (globally and locally) Spatial scale Inter-country to local (and research of a non-spatial nature) Outputs Policy analysis tools, research techniques and management skills; improved policy and management options; improved forest research agendas, management and methods Partners National institutes; universities; international forestry and agricultural research centres; NGOs; (occasionally individuals or corporations); International development agencies Operations Decentralised research activities with consortia of partners. Core research programmes Underlying Causes of Deforestation (UCD) Biodiversity (BIO) Forest Products and People (FPP) Plantation Forestry (PF) Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Adaptive Co-Management (ACM) Box 3: CIFOR research programmes Cross-cutting topics Policies, Technologies and Global Change (GLC) Research Impacts, Priorities and Capacity Evaluation (IAP) Core field research activity Bulungan research forest Kalimantan (integrates all programmes as appropriate) in the context of a model forest. Source: Medium-Term Plan The current CIFOR programme CIFOR s working paper Page 4

17 The current CIFOR research priorities fall under the six core research programmes and two crosscutting research topics in Box 3. Annex 1 gives the goals, current status, planned activities, outputs and milestones of the current CIFOR research programmes. 2.3 Characteristics of CIFOR research CIFOR undertakes research on any subject and is open to use of any skills or disciplines that have an important bearing on forestry. It covers a wide range of subjects ranging from policy, sociology/anthropology, institutional analysis, economics to biophysical sciences. CIFOR research has a number of attributes that are presented in Annex 2 together with the philosophical orientation of CIFOR research done through partnerships. The sections which follow turn to CIFOR co-operation with Indonesia: in doing so, it is worth stressing that all the characteristics and orientations of CIFOR operations world-wide also apply to the co-operation with Indonesia, with allowances being made for the special status of the host country. 3. CIFOR IN INDONESIA 3.1 Ongoing partnerships and activities As the host country, Indonesia has been given relatively great attention for CIFOR collaboration. To date, CIFOR has worked with about 26 Indonesian institutions, involving nearly 120 Indonesian scientists. In CIFOR itself, almost 40 % of scientists are Indonesian recruited staff. Memoranda of understanding and other agreements between CIFOR and Indonesian institutions are in Annex 3; some examples of the collaborative research between CIFOR and the Indonesian institutions are listed in the Annex 4. Major partners of CIFOR include the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops (MOFEC) and its Research and Development Agency (FERDA) and a broad network of other collaborators - agriculture and botanical institutes, other research centres, universities, industry, international donors and development agencies, and numerous NGOs. There are many ecological, biological and social science studies being done in forests throughout Indonesia. The existing partnerships are critical for enabling CIFOR to draw upon local expertise and to get support for its multidisciplinary approach. 3.2 What issues of CIFOR-Indonesia research partnership need discussion? I would not be proper to anticipate the issues and judgements participants may communicate during discussions at the meeting. CIFOR believes that it is important to learn from past experiences in co-operation and therefore invites its partners to be open and frank in assessing where we have come from, how we are doing, and what lessons emerge that can guide the future. On its part, CIFOR identifies as a prime problem CIFOR has faced with some partners in its operations in Indonesia is the difficulty of being assured that agreed inputs of staff and budgetary resources will be forthcoming. Given that CIFOR is not itself a donor, it is not in a position to easily make up shortfalls of resources when they come to light only after implementation has started predictability of contributions from all partners is essential for success. Put another way, CIFOR feels that there is room even for expansion of its activities in Indonesia but more resources need to be made available from the country itself this can, CIFOR s working paper Page 5

18 of course mean partly drawing upon donors, through application by Indonesian institutions for research funding or joint donor applications in co-operation with CIFOR. Recent CIFOR contacts with FERDA and with a few of the Universities participating in the meeting suggest that discussion could usefully include the following aspects of co-operation, with focus being on how to move forward: Lack of a clear and focused and priority agenda for research valuable for Indonesia, with CIFOR participating in elements that have an international dimension fitting its priorities. [A glance at Annex 4 and review of earlier engagements both suggest little dominance by any one thrust in the co-operation between CIFOR and Indonesia; there is significant subject-matter dispersion.] 3 Discussion could consider possible co-operation in pragmatically defining research agendas and priorities for Indonesia; Weak co-operation among Indonesian research institutions a factor relevant to more effective co-operation with international organisations, including CIFOR; 4 The perceived capacity erosion in local institutions from CIFOR recruitment practices for experts from Indonesian research institutions how to improve mechanisms and convert a problem into an opportunity for capacity building and giving credit to the institutions for the contribution of their experts etc.; Counterpart contributions: so far limited ability of some of CIFOR s Indonesian institutional partners to deliver their agreed-upon professional and financial inputs in collaborative programmes; 5 Weak dialogue between CIFOR and Indonesian institutions [there have been references to the example of the CGIAR International Rice Research Institute reported close dialogue with universities in the Philippines]; Scientific international networking and bridge-building: Perceived limited effectiveness of CIFOR in using it s international status to help build bridges between Indonesian and international forestry research and research information. [A number of Indonesian researchers report greater facilitation with non-indonesian based institutions in this]; 3.3 Future potential for enhanced co-operation? Subject to a prioritised and clear research agenda being in place, there are potentially good opportunities for more effective and even expanded co-operation between CIFOR and Indonesian institutions. At present, the potential to build on Indonesia's proximity to CIFOR is under-utilised; so is the potential offered by the diversity of Indonesia which has possibilities of hosting replicates of many international investigations. 6 3 In its contacts with local institutions so far, CIFOR has heard frequently expressed concern at the lack of a strategy or statement of national priorities in research. This may partly explain the dispersed nature of CIFOR s own co-operation with Indonesia. 4 The question of information sharing, including among libraries, was often raised in recent contacts. 5 Mention has been made of joint approaches by Indonesian institutions and CIFOR to Indonesia-based and other donors for funding of Indonesia/CIFOR collaborative research. Proponents of this idea feel that joint proposals may have double appeal to donors and are worth early trial. 6 More than host country status should justify greater co-operation: the potential of Indonesia arises from its great diversity: within its borders, Indonesia has many of the situations existing in the broader constituency of developing countries in terms of types of ecosystem; poverty and riches; transition in governance; social organisational formats for society; and experience with both natural and plantation forest programmes. Indonesia owns significant part of the world s remaining tropical forest. It is highly appropriate for scientific research needed CIFOR s working paper Page 6

19 In exploring future opportunities for collaboration between CIFOR and the Indonesian research institutions, the meeting may wish to consider agreeing on a number of criteria for selecting areas of future co-operation for mutual benefit. Some of the criteria might even be useful in defining a pragmatic priority national research agenda. They could include: Where the research outputs would have a bearing on a major issue, problem and opportunity facing the country. Themes and topics where CIFOR can bring to bear its international experience and perspectives for the benefit of Indonesia. Where potential exists to bring Indonesian researchers as well as Indonesian research information into international arena or to enhance their exposure (including facilitation of association by Indonesia with the global networking of CIFOR). Where Indonesia s diversity (forest resource endowment, geographical, cultural, internal levels of development) give CIFOR in this one country a chance to have several of its international investigations. 4. MATTERS TO CONSIDER FOR DISCUSSION From the foregoing presentation about CIFOR and its activities in both international and local perspectives (particularly sections 3.2 and 3.3 above), the meeting could hold useful open discussions on the following topics: ΠΠΠΠBriefly review past experiences in co-operation: where we have come from, how we are doing, and what lessons emerge that can guide the future. Key areas of concern have been listed under section 3.2 What issues of CIFOR-Indonesia research partnership need discussion? Discussion of how best to build upon the past and to put into effect better co-operation for mutual benefit. Both for priority ongoing activities and future opportunities (if any get identified by the meeting) it will be useful to share ideas on how best to secure funding (both local and from donors) for joint programmes. Jointly seeking ways to better interest government and official bodies in more systematically drawing upon Indonesian and Indonesia-based research capacity in policy work. At this time of reform, the research community has an unparalleled opportunity to show that it can make a difference. How best to arrange for more systematic future "contact and dialogue" at an affordable cost. 7 to address fundamental issues of tropical forest conservation and use, particularly of humid tropical forests. The forests of Indonesia are noted for their remarkable biological diversity: thousands of plants and animal species endemic to the region and forest/man interactions ranging from those with indigenous hunter-gatherer groups to urbanised populations. 7 Ideally, any such arrangement should offer all institutions a chance to take the lead and to exhibit their strengths to the rest. CIFOR s working paper Page 7

20 ΠHow to jointly capture opportunities for drawing national and international attention and for improving access to quality Indonesian research outputs, including from its university community. Some of the above may require more time than the meeting can offer. Informal but focused E- mail based Task Forces may prove necessary to carry them forward. CIFOR s working paper Page 8