SEAMEO BIOTROP and the Indonesian Network for Agroforestry Education (INAFE) jointly implemented a training course on  “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation for Agricultural Productivity in Indonesia” on 12-15 December 2011 at the Centre’s headquarter in Bogor, Indonesia.

The training was a component of the project of the Southeast Asian Network on Agroforestry Education (SEANAFE) called  “Institutionalizing Agroforestry as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy through Local Capacity and Policy Development In Southeast Asia”  funded by the Asia Pacific Network.  Generally, the training was aimed to equip the participants  with the knowledge, skills and attitude in climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for possible dissemination among the farming communities within their respective areas.  At  the end of the training course, the training participantswere expected to have : (1) shared the recent climatic changes in their respective areas based on the current state of agricultural production ; (2) explained the concepts, issues and impacts of climate change to the agricultural sector; (3) assessed the suitability of different climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in their respective areas; and (4) prepared an action plan that is geared towards promoting appropriate climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies among the farming communities.

The training consisted of lecture-discussions on the following topics: a) Basic Concepts and Issues of Climate Change; b) Impacts of Climate Change to the Agriculture Sector; c) Soil and Water Conservation and Management in the Context of Climate Change; d) Basic Concepts and Principles of Agroforestry  and Its Potentials for Climate Change Adaptation; e) Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies: Lessons Learned and Experiences from Research Sector; f)  Concepts and Principles of Sustainable Agriculture; g) Policies and Regulations on Climate Change and Agroforestry: Status and Development; and h) Socio-economic Aspects of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies.  Toward the end of the course, the participants developed individual  simple action plans on applying the insights they gained from the course in their respective institutions.

The resource persons were Dr. Christine Wulandari from Universitas Lampung  (UNILA) and currently the INAFE coordinator, Dr. Meine van Noordwijk from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)-Southeast Asia Regional Office, Dr. Kurniatum Hairiah from Universitas Brawijaya (UNIBRAW), Dr. Fahmuddin Agus from the Department of Soil of Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia,  Dr. Budiadi and Prof. Sambas from Universitas Gaja Madah  (UGM), Dr. Niken Sakuntalawedi from the Forest Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, Dr. Mahrus Aryadi from Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (UNLAM), and Dr. Dami Buchori and Prof. Hadi Susilo Arifin from Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB).

A total of 17 participants representing  11 member-institutions of INAFE  attended the training course, namely:  UNILA, IPB, UNLAM, UGM, Universitas Mataram, Universitas Nusa Tenggara Barat, Universitas Malawarman, Universitas, Sumatera Utara, Universitas Tadulako, UMM Malang and UPM Veteran. (JF)