Information

Monday, 21 December 2015 – According to the Book of Indonesia’s Forestry Statistics, which as released by the Ministry of Forestry in July 2012, Indonesia has forests as large as 99.6 million hectares, covering 52.3% of the total size of Indonesia. Beyond being large per se, forests in Indonesia also possess an abundance range of biodiversity. There are more than 4000 types of trees, 267 of which are trees that come with woods of high economic values.

The contribution from the forestry sector is valued at USD21 billion, or 3.5% of Indonesia’s economy (April Sustainability Report 2012). Also, more than 3.76 million of human resources are involved in the forestry sector. Therefore, there remains a need to development Human Resources that are capable of handling the forest exceptionally, and for a sufficient availability of information as the basis of managing the forests, policy-planning, and development of forestry studies.

Hence, today, Bogor Agricultural University and Tanoto Foundation officially opened the Tanoto Forestry Information Centre, a centre of information on forestry that will hopefully be utilized by researchers, academics, and university students in Indonesia, Asia, and the world in general. Within the three-storey building that is as large as 1500 m², there is access to international journals on forestry studies that simultaneously complete the collections of Bogor Agricultural University. It is intended for this information center to be opened for public, eventually allowing general public to obtain and share information regarding forestry.

Tanoto Forestry Information Center is equipped with various facilities, including access to Bogor Agricultural University’s library collections, scientific journals, and information regarding forestry in panel and video format. The forestry information center will also serve as an incubation hub for ideas and understanding through research, seminar, and discussion. The information centre will further be a hub that connects Bogor Agricultural University with other universities and other global research institutions in the realm of forestry.

Sukanto Tanoto, founder of Tanoto Foundation, emphasized that, “The establishment of Tanoto Forestry Information Center is a testament of our support in the effort to development the knowledge of forestry in Indonesia. Therefore, we hope that Bogor Agricultural University, in partnership with other universities and research institution on forestry, will be able to expand and develop an information center that can support research and knowledge on forestry and forestry studies.”

 “The role of forestry sector and industry is significant for the economy in Indonesia. In order to boost the level of contribution from the sector, Indonesia requires smart individuals in the sector of forestry. Indonesia also requires people who can utilize and develop their knowledge for the application in the forestry sector. At the end, all of the activities at Tanoto Forestry Information will be a pathway for the birth of more researchers and practitioners who can excel on an international level,” Sukanto Tanoto added.

At the same time, Minister of Research Technology and Higher Education, Muhammad Nasir, explained that, “Tanoto Forestry Informatio Center is precisely the main instrument of research, analysis, and planning for the necessary strategic steps. We also hope that Tanoto Forestry Information Center can be a hub for networking and collaboration between practitioners of national and international forestry.”

The Dean of the University, Herry Suhardianto, explained that, “With the presence of Tanoto Forestry Information Center, we can achieve a policy-planning that has its foundation on scientific knowledge. I also hope that with the presence of Tanoto Forestry Information Centeral, researches that are oriented on the conservation and management of forest can be continuously conducted.”

Tanoto Foundation supports beyond the development of infrastructures and hardware constructions per se, as it also support the development of software for education in the form of research, non-research scientific activities, and development of collaboration among institutions.

The collaboration between Bogor Agricultural University and Tanoto Foundation is a continued cooperation that has long been forged. One of the form of coordination include scholarship program, where more than 400 of Bogor Agricultural University’s students have received scholarship and funding from Tanoto Foundation since 2006.

Written by: Jazuli, Tanoto Foundation, Jambi

The rainy season has arrived. All too often, this is followed by the prevalence of diseases. One of the diseases to be highly prevented is the dengue fever (DBD), which is caused by the Aede Aegypti mosquito. In order to avoid it, there are preventative steps required.

One of the ways to prevent the spread of dengue fever is by spreading powder insecticide that controls mosquito and the growth of its larvae. This particular practice is also conducted by Desa Cinta Damai community health centre in West Tanjung Jabung District in Jambi. The practice is also helped by the support of three kid doctors from 169/V Cinta Damai Public Elementary School.

The three kid doctors are Fatimah Vella Ramadhani from grade 4, Muhammad Aldiansyah from grade 6, and Siti Nurfadillah from grade 6. Prior to this, they have received training from Tanoto Foundation through the Pelita Sehat and Ramah Lingkungan Program. It is hopeful that the involvement of these kid doctors can provide education and knowledge to other studetns as well as residents of the village.

“We hope that these kid doctors can be agents of change in giving examples to their surroundings. The Kid Doctors program is also part of the effort to improve the health quality of children in the area, particularly the grade 4, 5, and 6 students, as well as to spread the knowledge to their friends at school and their communities,” said Siti Komariah, one of the nurses at Cinta Damai Community Centres.

Together with the staff from Community Health Centre, the three kid doctors spread insecticide powder on places where water would likely get stuck, such as water reservoirs, septic tank pipe, and the ditch. After spreading those, they also regularly monitored the places and will continue spreading the powder for once within every two or three month.

The headmaster of 169/V Cinta Damai Public Elementary School, Susminati, is proud that the three kid doctors are being involved as monitorers to prevent the growth of larvae. “I would like to thank Tanoto Foundation for providing the knowledge and education on healthy and environmentally-friendly schools, and for educating the kid doctors,” she said.

Apart from the support for Healthy and Environmentally-Friendly School Program, Tanoto Foundation also provided support for resources and means for clean water, media support for the health campaign, motivation and training support for teachers, as well as regular visits to 169/V Cinta Damai Public Elementary School.

The children are drawing, coloring, and having fun.

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Written by: Intan Ravanza, Tanoto Scholar from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta

“Sister, will you color my drawing?”

“I’ll do it later. Please wait until mine is done.”

The conversation is heard while I was accompanying my sisters as the she joined the Drawing and Coloring Competition at the Jetisharjo Excursion Village, a village by the Riverbank of Kali Code in Yogyakarta. The event is held on Sunday, 8 November 2015. The event was my first after I became Tanoto Scholars Association from Gadjah Mada University (TSA UGM), a community of Tanoto Foundation scholarship recipients at UGM.

For some people, drawing and coloring might be just a typical activity, especially for school kids. However, this perception was gone from my mind within seconds. Drawing is not just a mere sctach of pencil colors on a white sheet of paper. Coloring is not just about combining colors with one another. Apparentlyy, there is abundance of meaning in the process of drawing and coloring, such as time management, creativity, and courage.

I am appaled by the enthuasism of the participating kids. In the case of two sisters, Shifa and Sheril, for example, they opened my eyes in understanding the meaning of support. Sheril, the younger of the two, found it difficult to do the coloring. She was not confident after looking at the work of her older sister, which is a lot nicer and organized. Sheril was whining and crying, asking for her sister to complete her work.

“Your drawing is good enough. Just continue with this purple color,” said Shifta while helping her sister in picking colors for her work.

Beyond helping her sister, Shifa also told other participants to refrain from saying negative comments regarding her sister’s work Whatever the result of the work is, Shifa thinks everyone has to say positive things in order to boost her sister’s confidence in herself and her capabilities.

At the end of the event, all of the participants bravely came forward. They all showed their individual work, and all of them received a massive welcome from the residents of Jetishardo who attended the event.

Apart from sharing with the kids at Jetisharjo, the activity is also beneficial all of my friends from TSA UGM and myself. We were able to learn about teamwork in realizing this program. More importantly, we learned a lot from these children on how to support one another and to motivate each other’s confidence in their capabilities.