(Yogyakarta, Juli 08 2008-Kompas): Wana Manung­gal LEstary Coop­er­a­tive in Gunung Kidul received the sus­tain­able com­mu­nity based for­est man­age­ment cer­tifi­cate from the Eco­la­bel­ing Insti­tute and TUV Ger­many, on Thurs­day (21/9), dur­ing the occa­sion of Pekan Raya Hutan dan Masyarakat 2006 (2006 For­est and Com­mu­nity Week Cel­e­bra­tion) in Graha sabha Pra­man UGM.

The cer­tifi­cate will increase the sell­ing price of teak­wood gen­er­ated from the 815.18 ha for­est area man­aged by three farmer group sub-units under Wana Manung­gal Lestari Coop­er­a­tive. The farmer group sub-units are Sekar Pijen in the vil­lage of Girisekar (Pang­gang), Ngudi Lestari in the vil­lage of Den­gok (Playen) and Margo Mulyo in the vil­lage of Kedungk­eris (Nglipar).

Tau­fiq Alimi, the Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Indone­sian Eco­la­bel­ing Insti­tute (LEI) said that with the cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, all wood prod­ucts will be labeled as envi­ron­men­tally friendly prod­ucts as they are genere­tad from the for­est in a sus­tain­able way. “Gunung Kidul is the sec­ond area receiv­ing the cer­ti­fi­ca­tion after Wono­giri area. It is hoped that the label can improve the farm­ers’ bar­gain­ing posi­tion in increas­ing the product’s price,” he explained.
As a cer­ti­fi­ca­tion insti­tute, LEI set the stan­dard of com­mu­nity for­est area based on three cri­te­ria. The first cri­te­rion is the eco­log­i­cal aspect cov­er­ing the farmer’s capac­ity in pre­serv­ing the for­est func­tions as a water catch­ments area and a home loca­tion for ani­mals. The sec­ond cri­te­rion is the pro­duc­tion aspect which cov­ers the sus­tain­able pro­duc­tion capac­ity of the for­est. The third cri­te­rion is the social aspect which relates to a fair man­age­ment sys­tem con­ducted by the community.

Based on the field assess­ment con­ducted by TUV, LEI-certified cer­ti­fi­ca­tion insti­tute from Ger­man, all three com­mu­nity for­est areas com­ply with the stan­dards. (RIS)