• Forest Tree Improvement Project (1992)
• Forest Tree Improvement Development Project (Phase 2) (1997)

Period:

• Forest Tree Improvement Project (1992-1997)
• Forest Tree Improvement Development Project (Phase 2) (1997-2002)

Place:
    Yogyakarta

Outline:
As one of the countries with richest forest in the world, Indonesia is covered by approximately 120 million hectares of forest. However, in recent years, forest resources are dwindling at an alarming rate and FAO estimates that from 1982 to 1990, more than 130,000 hectares of forest on average is said to have been lost annually. To counter this, the Ministry of Forestry has been working with industrial reforestation and social forestry to increase the timber production and conserve natural forests since 1980s.

What is important in promoting industrial reforestation is to genetically improve the forest trees and have a good supply system of seeds. Though Indonesia has been buying improved seeds for industrial reforestation from Australia and others, Japan built the biotechnology forest tree breeding research and development center in 1992 with a grant aid so that producing forest trees suitable the natural environment of the location of the reforestation by Indonesia itself will become possible. And after the building and equipment have been complete, it has conducted the technical transfer of forest tree breeding lasting for a total of 12 years in two phases since 1992 as professional skill and its follow up.

Under this situation, a third country training has been implemented since the fiscal year 2003 with the purpose to effectively use the functions of the said center and to contribute to the conservation of forest resources and breeding research in the Southeast Asian countries. With this, the forest tree breeding technology of the tropics will be used effectively which will help efficiently build forest resources of the Southeast Asian countries.