The power of partnership: collaborative research that matters

In 2013, we celebrate 100 years of forestry research in Indonesia, even as the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southeast Asia Regional Program commemorates its 20th anniversary. In post-independence Indonesia, the Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA) of the Ministry of Forestry has been central to this research. Of course, the context of pre- and post-independence research and forest management has been very different and the demands of today are much more challenging than when forest research started. But we salute the foresight 100 years ago that predicted the growing importance of forest, trees and agroforestry research. Some 20 years ago, the ICRAF Southeast Asia program was hosted within the Bogor campus of FORDA. Now the Southeast Asia program is the largest of ICRAF's regional programs, collaborating with FORDA and other international and national partners. For example, we are supporting FORDA's development of a national agroforestry research strategy, and are training national o cials in the Ministry of Forestry as well as in other government agencies. We have completed joint research activities, such as in Yogyakarta on smallholders' teak plantations and in Sulawesi on livelihoods, governance and environment issues, and are about to embark on activities elsewhere in Indonesia. We have also partnered with BAPLAN, RLPS and the social forestry unit. ere has been much shared learning between the organizations. ICRAF has undertaken several important collaborative roles with FORDA, ranging through joint and participatory research, coauthored publications and presentations at key international forums, capacity building (including seconded sta from FORDA to ICRAF), and policy dialogues and formulations. Our organizations have also benefited from joint participation at each other's strategy development meetings. Over the past few years, joint discussions have taken place on ways forward, particularly regarding the activities and synergies regarding the CGIAR research programs (especially on forests, trees and agroforestry).

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