Recent developments in forestry and land use in Indonesia

Dr. W. Meijer, who is Dutch-born, worked in Indonesia from 1951 to 1958, first at Bogor, then at Pajakumbuh, Sumatra, and was Forest Botanist in Sabah for several years, revisited Indonesia with a National Science Foundation travel grant under an NSF-AID (Agency for International Development) program for Scientists and Engineers in Economic Development. The University of Kentucky Research Foundation covered part of the travel costs in Indonesia together with the Regional Center for Tropical Biology (BIOTROP) in Bogor, and Weyerhaeuser Timber Co., which is now also financing the printing at U.K. of a guide on trees in Indonesia which should be an excellent tool for better training of foresters in Dendrology (tree knowledge). The Japanese Sumitomo Timber Company also acted as liaison for Dr. Meijer during his visit to East Kalimantan. Dr. Meijer has written a fully documented final report which he hopes to submit to the Indonesian government through its Academy of Science. Parts of the report will be published in the Indonesian Forestry Journal and in International Nature Conservation Journals. He hopes for continuing support from the University, its Office for International Affairs, and the U.K. Research Foundation to get this report published. Officials in the World Bank in Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian Institution have also expressed great interest in the results of Dr. Meijer’s recent mission to Indonesia. The editor is glad to print this preliminary report: