To encourage sustainable forest management FORCLIME has facilitated an effort of the Village Forest Management Institution (Lembaga Pengelola Hutan Desa - LPHD) of Menua Sadap Village to strengthen the capacity in utilizing the existing potential. On this occasion the opportunity was taken to combine education on environmental issues with improving attractiveness for ecotourism. The activity was implemented on 19 to 23 November 2018 by involving both representatives of the LPHD and the community in Karangan Bunut, Menua Sadap village, Kapuas Hulu District, West Kalimantan. As many as 12 people were busy working 5 days creating a forest educational trail within a great forest landscape providing fun-based information about the forests for both tourists and local residents. This new attraction is seen as an ideal complement to the ecolodge, which has been operating for some time in direct proximity next to the Embaloh River.

Initially locations for a forest hiking trail, points of interest and a view point have been selected based on discussions with the local community. Eventually three trails with various types of plants, forest and river environment and locations of relevance including historical sites were prepared. One of the trails provides a small hut as a place to rest and enjoy the view over the forest, sign boards indicating botanic and local names of several plants including their use and benefits based on local knowledge. In addition, visitors are pointed to other interesting facts like animals’ pathways, orangutan nests, small water fall and protected birds.

During this activity, the representatives of the community involved showed a very high commitment to work and improvement of facilities. At the same time, they understood the importance of forest functions and benefits of village forests for future economic developments.

For more details, please contact:
Petrus Derani, Technical Advisor for Community Based Forest Management (CBFM)
Lutz Hofheinz, Senior Adviser for Forest Management Unit