In collaboration with the District Forestry Service of Malinau and WWF, GIZ-FORCLIME conducted an advanced GIS training (GIS II) for government officials in the Heart of Borneo region, which included national park agencies,  forestry service  and other relevant local government agencies.  The training took place from 13 – 17 February 2012 in Malinau, East Kalimantan.

In his opening remarks the Head of Malinau Forestry Service, Ir. Gerald A. Silooy, emphasized the need for advanced methods for data collection and analysis, such as remote sensing, to improve forest management. The training aimed at improving participants’ understanding of technical concepts and advanced GIS applications to be applied in their work in natural resource management in the HoB area. This included an analysis and classification of a range of environmental parameters such as slope gradient, daily rainfall patterns, soil types, etc. in order to assess vulnerability to degradation. Participants then used such differentiated classification to determine protected forest areas according to the relevant regulation (Minister of Agriculture decree No. 837/Kpts/Um/11/1980). In the training participants practiced advanced methods for raster and vector data processing using ArcGIS 10. They will be able to apply their newly acquired skills also in other areas of data generation and analysis such as for combining image interpretation with field data sets for classifying smaller watersheds and water flows, for verifying actual forest area status or boundaries.
The training materials had been developed by GIZ technical experts based at the GIS Service Center (GSC) of the Provincial Forestry Service of West Kalimantan and modified using local data of East Kalimantan and Malinau District.

For more information, please contact:
Heinz Terhorst: heinz.terhorst@eco-consult.com
Timo Beiermann: timo.beiermann@giz.de
Budi Susanto: budi.susanto@giz.de