Last month with support from the Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade (RAFT) Program, TFT organised a tree identification course for field technicians working under the Dwima Group of forest concessions in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Dwima Group have been working with TFT towards FSC certification since 2007. The management has seen good progress, and we are hoping for a third party assessment by the end of 2010 at Dwima Jaya, one of the Forest concessions in the Dwima Group.

The island of Borneo is recognised as having over 3,000 different tree species making tree identification a challenging task. However, having the ability to identify the correct species is essential for sustainable forest management, particularly forest inventory, biodiversity surveys, permanent sample plot establishment, and cultural value identification.

A total of 34 participants attended this training, which included theory and practical components. During the training participants successfully identified a total of 42 species found in the Dwima area, a far cry from the possible 3,000.

However all participants now have basic tree identification skills and the ability to apply this knowledge to a larger number of species. This means the forests in Dwima are a step closer to FSC.