Central Luzon State University (CLSU) sent two of its faculty to Indonesia to participate at the 2nd International Summer Course on Natural Resources and Environmental Management Science (ISCoNREM) hosted by Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University on September 10-17, 2023 in Bogor City, Indonesia.
Ms. Cherry Ann Kindipan from the College of Fisheries (CF), and Mr. Jose Mauro Merculio of the College of Agriculture (CAg), attended a combination of lectures and field activities with a theme “Cultural and Traditional Knowledge based for Environmental Management”.
Experts from Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, and the Netherlands were invited to discuss topics on tradition and culture as inspiration in sustainable landscape design, environmental management based on Japanese culture, indigenous knowledge, environmental norms, and ethics, among others.
The field activities included visits to the Agro-Education-Wisata/Tourism- Organic (AEWO) Mulyaharja, Gunung Walat University Forest of IPB University, and Mount Gede Pangrango National Park. The participants were oriented on the organic farming practices in Mulyahrja and their practices in resin harvesting from pine and Agathis trees.
As a culmination of the summer course, the participants were tasked to present their evaluation of the visited agrotourism and ecotourism sites where Kindipan and Merculio along with two other participants from IPB University presented their final output on the threats to the sustainability of the organic farming practices in Mulyaharja.
The participation of the Philippine delegates was made possible through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) – funded project, Levelling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR), of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and Southeast Asian University Consortium for Graduate Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC).
A total of 28 participants from the Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Indonesia joined the summer course.
