Organisation and implementation from courses and knowledge management for forest professionals
by Edi Kurniadi und Kusdamayanti, Indonesia
Edi Kurniadi and Kusdamayanti as Heads of Regional Environmental and Forestry Education and training Center of Samarinda and Bogor, have participated in a hospitation of the Forest Expert Program in the Federal Republic of Germany in August 2018. The topic of the programme was “organization and implementation of training and knowledge management for forestry professional staff”. The purpose of the program is to intensify the forestry related professional exchange on an international level and to give insight to the multifunctional and sustainable forestry practiced in Germany.
The delegation was informed about German forestry and the forest educational system in Germany during the first week. In the second week the delegation was given informations about forestry training programs for forest workers in the federal state of Hessen. The delegation was shown field activities management in Weilburg Forestry Training Center in Hesse and forest management in the state of Lower Saxony.
Some lessons learned during the hospitation program are:
1. Germany has a small number of main trees pecies. Germany has a long history of forest management which led to a sustainable forest management system conducted by government and private sectors. German forestry still faces some problems such as conflicts in the field of a) hunting: high game population vs.natural regeneration of trees, b) agriculture: short-term benefit vs.long-term view, c) nature protection: set-aside of forests vs.forest use. German Forests have to fulfill multifunctional aspects where economic, ecologic and social functions should be realized simultaneously.
2. The forestry education system in Germany has been established to support a sustainable forest management. There is an integrated system between forestry education and forestry industry. Young people have a high interest on forestry sciences and almost all forestry students work in the forestry sector after they have finished.
3. Hessen-Forst has a long-term existence and a sustainable forest production and conducts multipurpose forestry on the same space (timber production, environmental protection, recreation). It has a good forestry planning: A mid-term (10 years) management plan is obligatory. It is a service provider for forest owners (State, Communities, Corporations and private) and citizens. It is an enterprise specialized on sustainable management of state forests, revenue-oriented and at the same time it is committed to public benefit. The center provides education, training and postgraduate training for all groups of employees of Hessen-Forst. All the training and education programs conducted in the center have been developed based on a training need assessment, so the program is appropriate to the needs of Hessen-Forst . It offers postgraduate training to third parties in forest related questions of environmental education (tailor made program). Hessen-Forst developed the training curricula based on a competency standard (training of chainsaw work, for skidder drivers or machine operators of other forest machines). It has a high standard of safety procedure in the training activities. Every year all staff of Hessen-Forst has to discuss individually with their supervisor about their capacity building planning. The supervisor will decide the kind of training/capacity building program that must be attended by each employee.The training center will develop the training program by considering the results of the training/capacity building needs.
4. Lower Saxony State Forest/ Niedersächsische Landesforsten (NLF) has a main focus on services in the areas of ecology, environmental education and recreation, and they are a successful company with a high annual turnover . NLF is the largest forest owner in Lower Saxony (Germany) which conducts practical management of the forests and is at the same time committed to public benefit. It has two service centers of the Lower Saxon State Forests: a) Niedersächsisches Forstplanungsamt with the competence in the areas of inventories, planning and EDP, b) Niedersächsisches Forstliches Bildungszentrum the education and training. The NFBz is a service center of the Lower Saxony State Forestry, it is responsible for training, further education and further development and testing of new work equipment and procedures. The most important task and primary goal of the NFBz is the continuous optimization of health and safety at work for forestry workers and the expansion of their competence. The developed training curricula are based on a competency standard. It has a lot of training programs for all levels of employees both in government sector and private sector. The steps of gaining competency in working with machines are very good, the steps are: a)theory in class room; b) indoor simulation; c) outdoor simulation; d) field practice. The center has a high standard of safety procedure in the training activities. All forest management units in Lower Saxony have the same tasks and services. The forestry office Seesen (Seesen Forest Management Unit) has additional services for NLF such as: mechanised harvesting base (5 harvester, 6 forwarder), forest road construction base (planning and control), 1 timber flow coordinator, 1 wood fuel coordinator and education (forest worker, forest managers). For implementing the education, the FMU working in collaboration with Niedersächsisches Forstliches Bildungszentrum (NFBz). The FMU manages the forest base on LÖWE Principals.
5. The main task of the forest seed advisory service Oerrel is to provide high quality of forest seeds. Its activities are: research and development, seed sources management, seed production, seed procurement, seed testing and analysis, seed distribution controlling. They also conduct a training related to seed production: tree climbing, seed harvesting etc. and consultation for forest owners.
Some actions are carried out in Indonesia after having participated in the hospitation programme:
1. Development of intensive discussions with stakeholders in the service area of BDLHK/Regional Education and Training Office related to the implementation of KPH/FMU. Some discussions are supported by GIZ Forclime.
2. Development of a long term planning of an education forest that belongs to BDLHK/Regional education and training office as mini-FMU. GIZ Forclime supports the finalization of the development of a long term planning Loa haur Education forest of Samarinda.
3. Facilitate the “Capacity building need assessment’ for FMU in BDLHK service area;
4. Evaluation of all training curricula related to FMU based on feed back from the participants and competency standard that were already developed;
5. Identification and conduction of some topics of Training of Trainer for BDLHK/Regional Education and Training Office trainer and stakeholders;
6. Identification and development of a mobile training/ on the job training for FMU, and
7. Optimization of the education forest for extension and pedagogic education by developing forest and environmental education programme with interactive information boards and learning tools.
Edi Kurniadi und Kusdamayanti, Indonesien