With the intention of improving the capacity of decision makers associated with Forest Management Unit (FMU) development, the Directorate General of Forestry Planning supported by GIZ-FORCLIME organized a study tour and expert dialogue on the implementation of forest management in Germany. The visited Forest Management Unit is one of the State Forest Enterprise Hessen Forst, which manages most of the forests in the State of Hessen - Germany. Participants included policy maker officials from the central (Ministry of Forestry) and local (Forest Service) levels, as well as future heads of FMUs (candidates of FMUs). The visit and dialogue took place from 7 - 17 December 2011.

The purpose of the visit was to provide policy makers related to the implementation of FMUs with information how FMUs operate in Germany. It is expected that lessons learned from the visit and the intensive dialogues give inspiration and ideas for further development of the FMUs in Indonesia .

Topics presented in the dialogue included, among others, forestry planning, institutional and administrative structures of the forest service and issues related to forest policy and politics.

During the field visits and the presentations in the FMU Herborn, the group was received by the Deputy Mayor (Vize-B űrgermeisterin), Mrs. Elisabeth Fuhrlander, at the City Hall of Dillenburg. The city of Dillenburg is located within the administrative area of the FMU Herborn where community forests are entrusted to be managed by Hessen Forst. In a meeting with the Deputy Mayor of Herborn he expressed satisfaction over the management of their forests, which belong to the citizens of Herborn, managed by Hessen Forst.

FORCLIME together with the Directorate General of Forestry Planning has several times organized study tours and held dialogues with the Forest Management Unit of Herborn in Hessen, Germany. The activities are conducted in order to share experiences in managing forests, mainly associated with the development of KPH in Indonesia.

For more information, please contact:
Gatot Moeryanto
Senior Policy Adviser
gatot.moeryanto@giz.de

Created: 05 January 2012