Indonesia to host Heart of Borneo Week

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KUCHING: The Indonesian government, through the Indonesia National Working Group for Heart of Borneo (HoB), will host the HoB Week on Oct 10-12 in Tarakan, North Kalimantan.

A press release yesterday said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the HoB Initiative – a transboundary collaboration of the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia – to conserve and sustainably manage the HoB’s biodiversity, ecosystems and natural resources.

Since its inception, the three governments have convened annual trilateral meetings to review progress and maintain commitment to a number of initiatives.

The 11th HoB Trilateral Meeting will be held on Oct 11-12 at Universitas Borneo Tarakan.

In celebrating the 10th anniversary of the HoB Initiative, a series of activities will be held.

On Oct 10, there will be an expert dialogue ‘Safeguarding the Natural Environment for Sustainability and Prosperity in the Heart of Borneo’ at Universitas Borneo Tarakan.

WWF-Indonesia and WWF-Malaysia will jointly launch ‘The Environmental Status of Borneo 2016’ report during the session.

The HoB Expo on Oct 10-12 will involve a photo exhibition, photo tour, and photography class.

The exhibition will feature photos of WWF HoB work in Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan, representing the five HoB trilateral strategic plans of actions (SPA) on transboundary cooperation, protected areas, sustainable resource management, ecotourism and capacity building.

The photo tour and photography class will be held for secondary school and university students and the local photography community.

The launching of Visit the Heart of Borneo – a multi-year campaign to promote HoB as an ecotourism destination will be

on Oct 11 at Gedung Pemerintah Kota Tarakan.

On the final day, there will be a Business Meeting ‘In Looking for Sustainable Funding for the Heart of Borneo Green Economic Development’.