Project Activities :

Forest resource inventory was carried out on forest patches near the study sites in East Sumba over two weeks in April/May(2005). Species of trees with economic significance were identified and their abundance assessed. This inventory was an output of a training exercise supported by the Crawford Fund and the CRC Tropical Savannas Management. It brought together a group of 20 resource managers from land management agencies across NTT. The results of the forest inventory were presented to the local BAPPEDA and NGO’s.

Economic surveys in the ACIAR project have highlighted the significance of the resources within the forest patches to the livelihood of the farmers of NTT. Formal presentations were made in Waingapu. These sessions gave the background information (environmental and socio-economic) about the village study sites near Waingapu and the causes and impacts of fire at these sites. The formal sessions also covered the theory and application of fire and land use mapping and forest resource inventory. Participants also did an economic assessment of forest resources, including market surveys of produce derived from forest resources. The data were collated and analysed by the participants and training presenters.

Villagers also assisted with the forest resource training, guiding the training participants in choosing study sites and identifying species of significance. The resource assessment will be used as a land management planning tool by the provincial planning board (BAPPEDA). The training participants will be able to use the methods they have learnt in their work as natural resource managers in NTT.

View Photos.

Collaborations between CDU and UKSW: UKSW and CDU are developing ongoing collaborations associated with the ACIAR Fire in Eastern Indonesia Project. UKSW is well positioned to lead or collaborate in research activities in eastern Indonesia. At UKSW, research and collaborations in Eastern Indonesia are coordinated through the UKSW Centre for Studies in Eastern Indonesia.

In the next academic year (commencing September 2005), UKSW will adopt existing CDU postgraduate units, including GIS and Landscape Ecology and Ecology and Management of Tropical Savannas, for teaching at UKSW in the coursework Master program. It is planned in the longer term to develop case studies from Eastern Indonesia, using results of the ACIAR Fire Project, to be included in the learning materials used at CDU and UKSW.

Visiting CDU (, funded by the ATSE Crawford Fund) Dharama Palekahelu from UKSW attended the North Australian GIS and Remote Sensing conference 4rd – 8th July 2005. He is seeking to further develop those skills and to network with GIS & RS professionals in northern Australia, with a view to building RS & GIS capacity on his home campus, in both postgraduate education and research.

Other visitors from UKSW have been Dr Agna Krave, Dean, Faculty of Biology, who visited here in May 2004, and Dr Ferry Karwur, Biology Postgraduate Coordinator and lecturer and Director of the Centre for Studies in Eastern Indonesia at UKSW, who visited CDU in May 2005.

Interim Report on higher education activities (PDF)

Travel Report - 18-26 June 2004 Visit to Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga (PDF).

GIS Workshop

Running parallel to the ACIAR fire project, links with Satya Wacana Christian University (UKSW) in Salitiga in Central Java, whose major student intake is from NTT, continued to be strengthened. Rohan Fisher was invited to conduct a GIS workshop at UKSW. He presented a series of lectures and a five day workshop from 24th of May to 1st of June.

Rohan presented lectures that included an overview of the ACIAR project, descriptions of GIS and satellite mapping methodologies, results and applications. The audience comprised about 60 ecology students on the 24th May and to over 550 students and staff in one open lecture on 1st June. The audiences came from all over Indonesia with large numbers from NTT.

The five day workshop was attended by twenty seven people, the majority of which where government/university professionals and NGO representatives from NTT and Kalimantan. The workshop focused on using data collected in the development of the ACIAR Fire project to explain Remote sensing and GIS concepts and processing methodology. Intensive hands-on training and lecturing provided participants with an overview of satellite imagery, image processing/analysis, GIS mapping/analysis and GPS data integration.

An internet site was developed from this training: http://i.domaindlx.com/forumgiskti/

Presentations

Results of the fire mapping component of the project were delivered at North Australian GIS and Remote Sensing conference 4rd – 8th July 2005. Seminars about the project have been presented to a variety of audiences and include seminars to Indonesian government officers by the NTT project leader, BAPPEDA officers by NTT, the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin by the Darwin project leader.

Field days have been held during May (2004) in Sumba and Flores in association with the burning activities at the filed sites. These field days provided practical demonstrations of safe and effective methods for use burning to establish fire breaks and an effective, informal transfer of information about the expected benefits of these practices. Photos and video footage obtained during this exercise will be used to produce further information (pamphlets and video) to raise awareness amongst villagers and government officers.

Demonstration plots are being established at each of the study villages to demonstrate different farming and fire management techniques. Agro-forestry skills from Indonesian and Australian project staff are guiding the establishment of nurseries and planting programs. In developing alternative farm income we hope to encourage more strategic use of fire in land mangement.

Posters outlining the progress in the project and displaying fire scars derived from satellite imagery have been produced in English and Indonesian and distributed to government offices in NTT, ACIAR offices in Canberra and Jakarta, the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin and to CDU in Darwin.