Exploring opportunities, the Belantara Foundation holds a Forum Discussion Group (FGD) in Palembang

The Belantara Foundation is a grant channeling institution that distributes grants to support the development of large-scale ecosystem conservation in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Besides other areas, currently, the foundation prioritizes to allocate the grants on environmental issues, such as conservation, protection, restoration, and community development programs in three landscapes in South Sumatra, which are Padang Sugihan, Dangku Meranti and Berbak Sembilang.

To explore more opportunities in collaborating with stakeholders, Belantara Foundation held a Forum Discussion Group (FGD) on the "Communication Strategy of Belantara Foundation" on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, at the Harper Hotel Palembang. The event was attended by representatives of the South Sumatra Provincial Forestry Service, the South Sumatra Musi River Basin Forum, the Development Planning and Research & Development Agency of Banyuasin Regency, the chief of Sungsang IV Village, the Indonesian Mangrove Conservation Foundation in South Sumatra, and academics.

The discussion concluded that there needs to be an improvement on the consistency of Belantara Foundation's policies. Consistent policies would be a better guideline for colleagues in the field to succeed in carrying out programs relating to conservation, restoration, and community empowerment.

By carrying out the FGD, the Belantara Foundation hopes that our partners, especially in South Sumatra have a better understanding of the foundation, and in the future, collaborations that have been established will create harmony in running the programs, be it at the government level, with NGOs, local institutions, and other donor partners. The Belantara Foundation is also expected to support local NGOs consistently to increase synergy.