Samarinda, 29-30 May 2024 – The Nusantara Capital Authority (IKN) collaborated with domestic and foreign institutions to organize the 1st International Conference on Forest City (ICFC) which was held at Universitas Mulawarman. At the international conference, the Faculty of Biology UGM participated, especially in discourses related to the study of biodiversity and the IKN environment through collaboration which will later be held through the INUCoST (Indonesian Netherland University Consortium on Sustainable Future) scheme. Delegates from the Faculty of Biology UGM included the Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono, M.Agr.Sc. and Tyas Ikhsan Hikmawan, M.S., Ph.D., as a lecturer at the Faculty of Biology and PIC of the INUCoST Program from Universitas Gadjah Mada.
The 1st International Conference on Forest City (ICFC) focuses on efforts to restore tropical forests and biodiversity in the context of developing IKN as a modern forest city. In the conference, which was attended by participants from 12 countries, discussions emphasized research and technology issues in forest and biodiversity management, environmental management laws and regulations and their implementation, as well as network collaboration between practitioners, academics, and government also stakeholders.
Through this opportunity, the Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada also discussed plans for the INUCoST program together with the INUCoST team from the Faculty of Biology UGM, the School of Life Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology, and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Mulawarman University, which also collaborated with the Faculty of Science Universiteit Leiden, the Netherlands. In line with the program’s mission which supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the initiated program will focus on the topic of urban biodiversity and forest cities with the development of research related to biodiversity conservation, genetic diversity, food security, and the concept of Indonesian botanical plantations.
Also present in the discussion was the Dean of SITH ITB, Prof. Endah Sulistyowati, Chair of the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) Universitas Mulawarman, Prof. Widi Sunaryo, Director Hortus Botanicus Universiteit Leiden, Prof. Paul Kessler who was also the keynote speaker at the 1st International Conference on Forest City. It is hoped that this collaboration through INUCoST can support the development of urban planning of IKN in the aspects of biodiversity, ecology, environment and land and water ecosystems in realizing a modern forest city.
