Senangnya ‘berbagi’…(oleh-oleh dari IALF Surabaya)

Memenuhi undangan dari IALF Surabaya 3 hari yang lalu (http://pipietlarasatie.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/undangan-dari-ialf-surabaya/), membawa babak baru dalam kehidupan saya.

Saya ternyata mempunyai passion dalam ‘berbagi’, entah itu pengalaman maupun pikiran saya…Saya merasakan gairah yang luar biasa untuk berbicara di depan teman-teman, yang mayoritas merupakan para penerima beasiswa dari New Zealand angkatan 2012. Merekapun juga sangat bersemangat dalam mengikuti ‘talk’ tersebut. Hal ini terbukti dengan banyaknya pertanyaan yang diajukan.

Atmosfer pertukaran energi dan gairah tersebut sangat terasa sepanjang talk berlangsung. Padahal talk tersebut memakan waktu 2 jam, waktu yang cukup lama dan kritis karena saya berbicara pada hari Jumat dari jam 16.00 sampai dengan 18.00, di mana orang-orang akan sibuk mempersiapkan waktu weekend nya…Bahkan ada beberapa teman yang masih mengobrol dengan saya sampai malam menjelang.

Saya sangat berharap semoga talk tersebut dapat membawa ‘ pencerahan’ bagi teman-teman yang mengikuti.

Pesan saya kepada teman-teman, seperti yang juga saya katakan pada waktu talk tersebut:

‘Remember, you are the winner…you already get the scholarship, steps ahead from your colleagues who still try to find their funding…trust me, IELTS is not your limit…in fact, IELTS is your gate to a bright future…I could pass it, then you also can pass it…believe in yourself because YOU ARE ALREADY A WINNER.’

Undangan dari IALF Surabaya

Pertama kali saya mendapat kabar undangan ‘sharing’ dari IALF Surabaya (http://www.ialf.edu) ini, adrenalin saya langsung terpacu. Saya sangat bersemangat ingin segera bertemu teman-teman yang juga diberi kesempatan luar biasa untuk belajar di luar negeri, yang saat ini sedang melakukan persiapan academic English di IALF, salah satu lembaga pendidikan dan kursus Bahasa Inggris ter-bonafid di Indonesia.

Ingatan saya melayang 2 tahun ke belakang, saat saya mengikuti kursus 2 term di IALF dengan guru-guru dari mancanegara: Amerika, Inggris dan Australia. Hubungan yang terbina memperluas cakrawala saya akan budaya baru yang berbeda. Suasana tempat kursus yang cozy dengan staf-staf yang friendly, membuat saya sukses seharian ‘nongkrong’ di sana. Apalagi dimanjakan dengan buku, majalah, film yang semuanya gratis…dan tentu saja komputer dan jaringan internet yang wus wus…membuat saya semakin betah

Saya juga jadi teringat masa ’gila-gilaan’ dengan teman-teman se-kursus…ketawa bareng manakala ada bahan tertawaan yang sering sebetulnya berasa jayus, pusing bareng mengerjakan tugas kursus, stres bareng manakala harus mengikuti ujian IELTS, dan akhirnya deg-degan bareng menunggu hasil IELTS yang sangat mendebarkan itu.

Selain itu, yang paling membekas tentu saja status ‘galau’ yang dulu pernah saya alami selama 6 bulan dalam persiapan saya ‘mengejar’ nilai IELTS yang harus saya penuhi untuk masuk ke universitas yang saya idam-idamkan (bisa dicek di post saya yang lain : http://pipietlarasatie.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/sounds-unfair-but-this-is-the-reality/).

Kala itu, saya berpikir alangkah senangnya kalau ada yang mau berbaik hati ‘sharing’ dengan saya mengenai trik belajar di luar negeri khususnya New Zealand, dan juga trik hidup di sana (terutama sebagai mahasiswa penerima beasiswa, yang tentunya harus pintar-pintar mengatur budget).

Hal ini yang akan coba saya wujudkan minggu depan saat saya bertemu teman-teman ‘seperjuangan’ di Surabaya. Semoga pertemuan tersebut dapat membawa pencerahan, dan meningkatkan motivasi teman-teman akan masa depan yang membentang di belahan dunia lain…

Sampai ketemu minggu depan, arek-arek beasiswa!

Mudahnya mengurus ijin penelitian di Badan Kesbangpol dan Linmas Provinsi Jawa Tengah

Sehubungan dengan penelitian yang harus saya lakukan untuk menulis tesis, saya harus mengurus ijin penelitian terlebih dahulu. Sesuai prosedur, ijin tersebut bisa saya peroleh di Badan Kesbangpol dan Linmas.

Berikut adalah aturan yang menjadi dasar untuk mengurus ijin penelitian yang saya peroleh dari http://www.magelangkab.go.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=674%3Apersyaratan-permohonan-ijin-surveyrisetkklpkl&catid=97%3Aberitalinmas&Itemid=221

 

Dasar :

1. Keputusan Mendagri Nomor 61 tahun 1983 tentang Pedoman Penyelenggaraan Pelaksanaan Penelitian dan Pengembangan di Lingkungan Depdagri.
2. Keputusan Gubernur Jawa Tengah No. 070/263/2004.
3. Surat Edaran Kepala Badan Kesatuan Bangsa dan Perlindungan Masyarakat Provinsi Jawa Tengah Nomor 070/265 perihal Penyederhanaan Prosedur Permohonan Riset, KKN, PKL di Jawa Tengah.

Syarat :

1.      Untuk permohonan survey/riset/penelitian dalam wilayah Provinsi Jawa Tengah  dengan peneliti yang juga berasal dari wilayah Jawa Tengah :

• Permohonan dari Universitas atau Lembaga Peneliti Negeri atau Swasta;
• Proposal Penelitian;
• Fotocopy Identitas diri yang masih berlaku (KTP/SIM/KTM).

2.      Persyaratan permohonan ijin survey/riset/penelitian Lintas Provinsi :

• Surat Pengantar dari provinsi asal : Ditujukan kepada Gubernur Jawa Tengah c.q. Kepala Badan Kesbang Pol dan Linmas Provinsi Jawa Tengah;
• Proposal Penelitian;
• Fotocopy Identitas diri yang masih berlaku (KTP/SIM/KTM).

3.      Untuk Lembaga/Peneliti Asing :

• Rekomendasi dari Direktorat Jenderal Kesatuan Bangsa dan Politik;
• Proposal Penelitian;
• Fotocopy Paspor / Visa;
• Surat dari LIPI;
• Surat dari Mabes Polri.

Untuk kelancaran pengurusan, Yang Bersangkutan mohon datang sendiri (Apabila tidak dapat datang sendiri supaya dilengkapi dengan Surat Kuasa).

 

Karena saya berasal dari Jawa Tengah dan mendapatkan surat  ’Tugas Belajar’ dari Gubernur Jawa Tengah, saya langsung menuju ke Kantor Kesbangpol dan Linmas Provinsi Jawa Tengah yang terletak di Jl. Ahmad Yani no 160 Kota Semarang. Sebelum pergi, saya menyempatkan diri untuk menelpon kantor tersebut menanyakan mengenai syarat-syarat yang harus saya bawa, walaupun sebelumnya saya sudah browsing dan menemukan link di atas. Saya ingin memastikan bahwa saya sudah membawa semua persyaratan dalam mengurus ijin penelitian. Kantor tersebut dapat dihubungi di 024 8414205.

Bagi yang menggunakan jasa kendaraan umum dari arah selatan, lebih baik turun sebelum masuk pintu tol Sukun dan ganti angkot oranye jurusan Banyumanik-Johar (angkot dengan moncong). Jangan naik angkot ini dari terminal Banyumanik, karena biasanya angkot tersebut akan ngetem dalam waktu yang lumayan lama. Lebih baik menyetop angkot yang sedang melaju.

Dengan angkot ini berhenti di Pasar Peterongan (tarif Rp 3.000) lalu ganti angkot oranye ke Simpanglima. Dengan angkot ini turun di Matahari Simpanglima (tarif Rp 2.500). Nah dari sini, kantor Badan Kesbangpol dan Linmas hanya berjarak kurang dari 500 m, jadi terserah apakah anda mau melanjutkan dengan angkot oranye C8 atau mau jalan kaki (seperti saya yang sambil berolahraga ).

Masuk melalui pintu utama kantor, belok ke kanan sampai mentok, anda akan menemui pintu dengan tulisan ‘Ijin Penelitian”. Masuk ke ruangan tersebut dan menghadap petugas yang akan meminta dan mengecek persyaratan yang anda bawa. Isi buku pendaftaran dan tunggu surat anda selesai.  Tidak sampai 10 menit, surat ijin penelitian sudah sampai di tangan anda. Jangan lupa cek kembali surat tersebut dan pastikan tidak ada salah ketik nama atau ada instansi yang belum tercantumkan.

Saya merasakan sangat mudahnya mengurus ijin penelitian ini. Salut kepada Badan Kesbangpol dan Linmas Provinsi Jawa Tengah.

 

Bandung’s culinary: Warung Talaga

After 15 months, I go back to Indonesia for conducting a research, and of course for ‘culinary’ reason

I always miss Indonesian traditional food. They are very rich with spices, make them tasteful and delicious…

Because of its geography, Indonesia has a great variety of traditional food. From hot until mild, from soup until fried, from vegetables until meat…everything is here…

This time, I will tell you about Sundanese food. Sundanese is people who originally come from West of Java Island. In Bandung, a capital city of West Java Province, Indonesia, I went to Warung Talaga who is famous with its concept, “Uniquely Tofu”. As their concept, they cook tofu to become variety of snacks. They also provide other traditional Sundanese food and beverages.

The first thing that makes me wanna try this restaurant is the place. It is decorated as warung, traditional place to eat in Java. I give 4 stars for the atmosphere. Very homey

They also provide free Wi-fi and you can easily find plug here, so you can bring your laptop and browsing, blogging, facebooking while you are eating

I ordered Sekoteng, Nasi Bumbung (Bumbung Rice), Teh Susu (Milk Tea), and Tahu Blethok (Blethok Tofu) … (in the picture: from left to right).

Sekoteng is a ginger drink mixed with green beans, peanuts, and breads. Usually being served as hot drink in the night time.

Bumbung Rice is white rice which is cooked in bamboo. This different way of cooking makes it more flavorful. If you order bumbung rice, the waiter/waitress will bring the rice in the bamboo, and he/she will open the rice in front of you. Exciting…

Blethok tofu is similar with aci tofu. The tofu with flour are being fried and usually eaten with soybean sauce and green chili.

For the food and beverage, I give 4 stars as well.

In addition, I have impression that this place has strong concept which makes it very attractive in the competitive food business. Their other excellence is the service, they have very nice and friendly waiter and waitress

Nonton film Indonesia THE RAID / SERBUAN MAUT di bioskop New Zealand

Hari ini, Selasa, adalah waktu no-mat (nonton hemat) di New Zealand. Sebagai seorang student dengan stipend yang pas-pasan, menonton film di bioskop bagi saya adalah sebuah kemewahan Oleh karenanya saya sangat selektif memilih film untuk ditonton.

Ketika saya mendengar kabar ada sebuah film Indonesia diputar di jaringan bioskop terkemuka di New Zealand (http://www.hoyts.co.nz/Movies/Details/Raid_The.aspx), langsung saya tertarik. Pasti film ini termasuk istimewa.

Dan benar, ketika saya ‘berkonsultasi’ dengan mbah Google dan om Wiki, film ini mendapat pujian di Toronto International Film Festival / TIFF (http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/raid). Selain itu film ini akan dibuat versi Hollywood nya. Mantab… Tambah semangat deh pengen liat filmnya…hehehe

Gambar di atas didapatkan dari http://www.moviepostershop.com/the-raid-movie-poster-2011

Akhirnya, bersama-sama teman PPI (Perhimpunan Pelajar Indonesia) Canterbury, saya menonton film ini.

SINOPSIS

Film ini murni action, berbahasa Indonesia dan ber-setting di Jakarta. Ceritanya mengenai polisi muda bernama Rama (Iko Uwais) yang tergabung dalam satuan elit di bawah pimpinan Sersan Jaka (Joe Taslim). Satuan ini ditugaskan menangkap bos kriminal, Tama (Ray Sahetapy), yang terkenal sebagai ‘dewa’ bagi para berandal, preman, dan pelaku kejahatan. Tama mempunyai 2 tangan kanan, yaitu Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian) dan Andi (Dony Alamsyah). Mereka tinggal di sebuah apartemen yang kemudian dijadikan markas, tempat pembuatan narkoba, dan sekaligus ‘safe house’ bagi para kriminil. Tempat ini sudah pernah diserang beberapa kali, tetapi belum pernah berhasil.

Bersama dengan Letnan Wahyu (Pierre Gruno), tim khusus ini mempunyai misi menangkap Tama dan melumpuhkan apartemen nya. Penyerangan yang awalnya terencana berubah menjadi bencana ketika ada seorang penghuni apartemen yang memergoki mereka.

Alur kisah menjadi sangat menegangkan ketika satu-persatu anggota tim dihabisi. Klimaks mulai terjadi ketika ada yang berkhianat di antara mereka dan terkuaknya misi tersembunyi Rama.

KESAN

Kesan pertama saya adalah film ini berasa Indonesia dengan kemasan internasional (hehehe..ya iyalah sutradaranya adalah Gareth Evans, British filmmaker, dan salah satu orang yang bertanggung jawab dengan musik pengiringnya adalah Mike Shinoda, pentolan Linkin Park). Saya suka sekali waktu ada musik pengiring dengan tabuhan gendang di saat Rama sedang ber-jibaku (ber-pencak silat) dengan lawannya. Sangat eksotis.

Lalu, di dalam film ini sama sekali tidak ada adegan seksualitas nya…beda kan dengan film-film Hollywood (saya jadi penasaran bagaimana Hollywood me-remake film ini, apakah ada adegan-adegan tambahan yang menayangkan unsur seksualitas atau tidak, hehehe).

Warning saya adalah film ini termasuk brutal. Tidak cocok buat anak-anak. Banyak adegan pemukulan bahkan pembunuhan yang diperlihatkan sebagaimana adanya. Jadi no kids, please…

Tetapi yang paling membuat saya berkesan adalah bagaimana saya dan teman-teman lain menahan tawa sambil cekikikan tiada henti karena ada unsur komedi, yang mungkin, hanya orang Indonesia saja yang tahu…’Bule-bule’ yang nonton mungkin jadi bingung ngeliatnya karena kita tertawa di saat adegan yang ditampilkan justru (harusnya) penuh dengan ketegangan

Akhir kata, saya sangat menunggu kelanjutan film ini (yang direncanakan menjadi trilogi). Saya harap film ini bisa menjadi salah satu ‘pembuka jalan’ bagi film-film Indonesia lain supaya bisa menembus pasar internasional, baik dalam pasar festival maupun komersil.

Secara keseluruhan, film ini layak banget untuk ditonton. 5 stars untuk kategori film Indonesia

PS : oh ya, bagi yang masih penasaran, bisa cek blog sutradaranya (http://theraid-movie.blogspot.co.nz/)

tatkala kabar duka itu datang…dan saya belum bisa pulang…

Sore waktu New Zealand, saya menerima SMS dari Mama. Isinya cuma 2 kata, tapi bagi saya, kata-kata itu seperti beranak pinak dan membawa runtutan episode-episode kehidupan saya. SMS itu berisi: Yangkong meninggal

Saya sedih. Tapi saya berusaha untuk tidak menangis.

Sedih karena saya tidak bisa berada di sisi Yangkong, dan terpisah jarak dan waktu.

Saya tahu inilah salah satu konsekuensi belajar di luar negeri. Tatkala kita mendapatkan kabar duka, kita akan merasakan duka yang berlipat. Duka karena kehilangan dan juga duka kita tidak bisa berada di sana pada saat yang ‘tepat’.

Dalam kasus saya, saya tidak bisa pulang begitu saja karena saya harus memikirkan biaya dan ijin pergi overseas dari kampus dan pemberi beasiswa saya. Tetapi saya tidak mau membahas lebih lanjut mengenai hal ini.

Kali ini, ijinkan saya untuk bercerita tentang Yangkong saya. Ijinkan saya untuk mengenang beliau sehingga saya bisa tidur (agak) nyenyak malam ini.

Kenangan

Yangkong (eyang kakung = kakek dalam bahasa Jawa) adalah bapak papa saya. Saya punya ikatan batin yang erat dengan Yangkong karena bisa dibilang saya ini ‘anak’ Yangkong dan Yangti (eyang putri = nenek dalam bahasa Jawa). Ke dua orang tua saya bekerja, jadilah saya semasa kecil ditinggal dan diasuh oleh eyang saya. Bahkan saya masih sempat serumah dengan eyang sampai menjelang kuliah.

Saya masih ingat bagaimana Yangkong senang sekali ‘mendapatkan’ saya karena saya cucu pertama dan perempuan satu-satunya di keluarga (anak-anak Yangkong semua laki-laki). Saya digendong ke sana kemari, diantar jemput ke TK, dan bisa dibilang hampir dipingit karena hanya boleh keluar rumah jika bersama keluarga dekat.

Yangkong dulunya tentara, dan mungkin ini lah yang membuat beliau kaku dalam mengekspresikan perasaannya, tetapi saya masih bisa merasakan kasih sayangnya yang dalam kepada saya. Saya bisa merasakan keinginannya untuk melindungi saya.

Yang terpatri dalam ingatan saya adalah sosok beliau dengan pakaian favoritnya: kaos putih tipis, kemeja, celana gelap, sarung serta peci hitam. Yangkong juga senang bersenandung, menyanyi lagu-lagu Jawa. Beliau suka bubur tumpang (masakan khas Salatiga) sebagai sarapan dan makan jengkol dan pete untuk siangnya. Rokok tidak pernah terlepas dari tangannya dan selalu ada segelas kopi hitam menemaninya.

…..

Saya tidak ingin terlalu sedih dan masih berusaha untuk  tidak menangis.

Saya tahu saya harus merelakan beliau, terlebih karena beberapa penyakit yang hinggap di tubuh rentanya  beberapa tahun terakhir ini. Sungguh betapa menyedihkan melihat beliau yang begitu gagah menjadi kalah karena penyakit. Bahkan sampai sempat lupa nama anak-anak dan cucu-cucu nya…

Selamat jalan Yangkong. Maafkan cucumu ini tidak bisa datang ke upacara pemakaman Yangkong…Saya berjanji untuk melanjutkan perjuangan dan membuat Yangkong bangga.

(Foto ini diambil pada saat Lebaran 2010, yang kemudian menjadi foto terakhir dan Lebaran terakhir saya dengan Yangkong).

Teak Plantations in Indonesia

I.                        INTRODUCTION

Despite having been considered unimportant in terms of world production volume; teak (Tectona grandis) is the most valuable tropical hardwood species, especially because of its durability and aesthetic quality. The genus of teak, ‘Tectona’, is derived from the Greek word ‘tekton’, which means ‘carpenter’ since its wood has long been considered to be the carpenter’s pride (Bhat & Ma, 2004). This tropical hardwood grows naturally only in India, Myanmar, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Thailand (White, 1991; Pandey & Brown, 2000).

There is a high demand of teak in a specific targeted market for luxury furniture, ship and decorative building. Since the demand of teak is increasing while the sustainable supply from natural forests is diminishing, teak plantation is hoped to be well-managed.

This essay is written to achieve better understanding about teak ecology and its plantations with a special reference to Indonesia, one of the biggest teak producers in the world.

 

II.                        TEAK BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

Teak is a tropical hardwood species which belongs to family Verbenaceae and genus Tectona. There are four species of Tectona in the world:  Tectona grandis Linn.f., T. hamiltoniana Wall., and T. philippinensis Benth and Hooker.f. and T. abludens. T. abludens is the newest species founded in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, which was formerly identified as a sub-species of T. grandis (Rudjiman, 1992).

Tectona is distributed naturally in South and South-east Asia. The natural distribution of teak is in India, Myanmar, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Thailand (Troup, 1921; Tewari, 1937; White, 1991; Pandey & Brown, 2000). The discontinuous distribution of teak starts from:

• North: India (Rajputana 24’42”N, Jhansi 25’33”) and Myanmar (25’30”N), and
• South: India (Travancore 9’N), Myanmar (Amherst 15-16’N) (Troup, 1921)

 

This species occurs normally in mixed deciduous forests (Tewari, 1937). Its leaves will shed in the beginning of the dry season and grow with the beginning of the rain season. The trigger which makes teak is deciduous because it needs to reduce the water evaporation from the leaves during the dry season for energy-saving mechanism. Teak has seed enclosed in its fruit.

Teak is a light demanding species which has elliptical or obovate leaves with 30 – 60 cm long (Pandey & Brown, 2000). It will grow best and reach the largest dimension in moist warm tropical climate (White, 1991), in the range minimum temperature 13 – 17°C and maximum 39 – 43°C with rainfall of 1,250 – 3,750 mm / year (Pandey & Brown, 2000). In Java, Indonesia, it usually grows at 100 – 700 m elevation.

This species can grow on a variety of soils, but for better result, teak needs moderately fertile soil with humus rich top soil; well aerated; and free drainage through the soil profile; ph of 6,5 – 7,5 (White, 1991); and especially on volcanic substrata such as igneous and metamorphic soils or on alluvial soils of various origins (Krishnapillay, 2000). Although it is more tolerant to fire comparing with its associates, teak is not resistant to animal attack. For instance, its roots may be damage because of rats and cattle.

 

III.                        TEAK REGENERATION

Teak regenerates naturally by seeds and begins flowering and seeding from young ages. It produces seeds almost every year and remains viable for many years.

Figure 1. Reproductive phenology of teak and its seasons (Palupi & Owens, 1998).

There are two natural regeneration systems which are used by Perum Perhutani, a state-owned forest company (SOE) in Indonesia who manages teak plantations in Java Island. Firstly, they has applied high forest sytems (White, 1991) through clear-cutting followed by artificial regeneration with a rotation of 60 to 80 years as their silviculture system in teak plantations. The artificial regeneration is operated by taungya method on contract with community in and around forest. Taungya, or in Indonesia is called tumpang sari, a food cash crops method (White, 1991) and a temporal type of agroforestry to provide incentive for community through employment (Djamhuri, 2008).

Due to their annual planting goal of 8000-12,000 ha, Perum Perhutani requires a constant supply of 160,000-240,000 kg fruit with good physical and genetic qualities from seed production areas as their main source (Palupi & Owens, 1998). To meet the demand, teak fruits are produced from clonal seed orchards since 1991. However, there is a lack of adequate fruit supply (Palupi & Owens, 1998).

Other regeneration system that Perum Perhutani has used is coppicing. Generally, regeneration from coppice is recommended (White, 1991). Perum Perhutani began coppicing trial in the 1980s. A research which was conducted in Perum Perhutani land resulted that coppicing reduces huge costs because of better seed collection and transportation, better nursery production of seedlings, less bureaucratic delays in establishing seed origin plantations and nurseries, and less working labours (Bailey & Harjanto, 2005). In coppiced plantations, the height and diameter of trees are larger than their seed origin plantations. The figures are even larger than the expected ones based on established growth tables for Java (Bailey & Harjanto, 2005). Furthermore, the coppiced plantations were founded less symptomatic of disease. As a result, they are hoped to contribute well in Indonesia’s teak production.

 

 IV.                        TEAK AS A PLANTATION SPECIES

In general, this species is relatively easy to establish in plantations. Trees can be grown from seeds or vegetative tissues, such as stumps and branch cuttings. The growing plants from vegetative propagation using cuttings and tissue culture will result uniform production with desired qualities. However, seeds are very important to maintain a genetic base. Consequently, to get fairly uniform production, seed collection should be raised with the planting materials from seeds, seedling or clonal seed orchards of the best quality trees.

Bhat and Ma (2004) recorded 5.7 million hectares of teak plantations are distributed in at least 36 tropical countries across 3 tropical regions throughout the world, with the main countries are India and Indonesia.

Figure 2. Global distribution of teak plantations by country/region (Bhat & Ma, 2004)

The first teak plantation was established at Nilambur, Kerala, India in 1842 in which relatively long rotations of 50 – 70 years have brought high-quality wood production (Bhat & Ma, 2004).

In Indonesia, the plantations are basically divided into two types of ownership classifications: community and state forest. On the Java’s state forest, teak plantations cover 1.2 million hectares which is managed by state-owned forest company in the form of public corporation, called Perum Perhutani. Their production was almost a half of Java’s with 820,000 m³ harvested per year, but they represent four fifths of the total species wood value (Bailey & Harjanto, 2005). Today, the teak forests under Perum Perhutani management are principally plantations in old native forest locations.

Recently, there are two issues which affect the teak plantation management: relatively low growth rates and the demand to maximize the log value for high quality end users. In comparison with Eucalyptus, teak growth rates are slower. Teak plantations may have growth rates between 10 to 20 m³ per hectare per year, however, the figure will fall to 4 – 8 m³ or less with age (Krishnapillay, 2000). The average mean annual volume increments (MAI) in Indonesia is estimated 2.91 m³/ha/year with rotations between 40 and 80 years (Bhat & Ma, 2004). There is an information from Perum Perhutani that approximately 470,000 ha from all of teak plantations in Java, have the best growing stock for producing timber with an average yield of 100 m³/ha and (Ichwandi, Shinohara, & Chen, 2009a). This yield resulted at 70 years rotation with a similar volume obtained from thinning (Pandey & Brown, 2000). As a consequence, the MAI at rotation age is 3 m³/ha/year. The figure is very low and has potential to be increased by more intensive management.

Due to the high demand, shorter rotations of 20 – 30 years are becoming common practices in many countries especially for both veneer and saw log production (Ball, Pandey, & Hirai, 1999), but with a lower valuation.

In 1998, Perum Perhutani established Teak Centre to conduct research for teak (Perum Perhutani, 2011). The results of the ongoing research are: (1) teak superior seed (Benih Unggul Jati) which is certified by Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, (2) Perhutani superior teak (Jati Plus Perhutani) as a result of generative and vegetative breeding, (3) teak clone I and II which are certified by Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, and (4) plant cultivation using biotechnology and conventional ways (Perum Perhutani, 2011). The aim of plant cultivation is to obtain the high variety / superior seed clones from clone tests. These clones should have field proving tests in several locations through intensive silviculture before their development (Perum Perhutani, 2011). Now, Perum Perhutani has teak clonal seed garden and 885 ha area of teak development.

 

V.                        MANAGEMENT HISTORY IN INDONESIA

Teak is native to Java, one of five main islands of Indonesia, 400 to 600 years ago (White, 1991; Pandey & Brown, 2000). Based on the research about the genetic origin of teak in Indonesia, this species was imported from South India by Brahmans or Buddhism monks (Verhaegen, Fofana, Logossa, & Ofori, 2010) when they had religious relationship with Indonesia.

Teak forests in Java started to be managed more intensively in 1897 by the Forest Office organization (Jawatan Kehutanan), a Dutch government organization, who colonized the area (Perum Perhutani, 2011). In 1930, the teak forest management was handed to “Djatibedrijf”, a private Dutch teak forest company. A decade later, the management was returned back to Jawatan Kehutanan (Perum Perhutani, 2011). When Java was occupied by Japan during World War II, Jawatan Kehutanan was renamed into Ringyo Tyuoo Zimusyo. After Republic of Indonesia’s independence in 1945, Ringyo Tyuoo Zimusyo was returned to Jawatan Kehutanan of Republic of Indonesia.

In 1960, the government made the forests as a profit-producing sector to increase the Republic of Indonesia’s income (Perum Perhutani, 2011). A year later, Jawatan Kehutanan became Perum Perhutani, a state owned forest company (SOE).

 

VI.                      TEAK PLANTATION MANAGEMENT BY PERUM PERHUTANI

The activities of Perum Perhutani including: planning, establishment and regeneration, tending, harvesting, industrial processing and marketing. There are 3 levels of management in Perum Perhutani: headquarter (senior management in Jakarta), unit (middle management which is equal with a province level), and forest district (operational level, which is equal with some city/town/district level).

Perum Perhutani has three units in Java and Madura islands. The units are : Unit I (Central Java), Unit II (East Java and Madura), and Unit III (West Java and Banten). These units are divided into forest districts. Now, Perum Perhutani have total 57 forest districts which some of them are planting teak as their main plantation.

Figure 3. Perum Perhutani’s forest districts map (Perum Perhutani, 2011).

 

Perum Perhutani has established and organized extensive teak plantation management, involving production and processing activities. They have designed teak plantations management for 50 – 80 year of cutting rotation. To ensure continuous production, Perum Perhutani divides its plantations into 8 tree age classes (I to VIII up), in which each class covers a period of 10 years.

Forest Planning Section conducts sustained yield regulation plans (RPKH) for each forest district in Perum Perhutani to guarantee the teak plantations sustainability. Each plan (including planting, maintaining, thinning, harvesting, and forest protection) is managed for 10 years. This plan also contains data from forest inventory (geography, forest measurement, soils, climate, and social economic data) which is carried out every 10 years. RPKH consists of 7 guide book volumes: General information and history, forest measurement, maps, harvesting plan, regeneration plan, forest tending plan, and facts and figures of the company. To examine the possible changes during 10 years of the plan, Perum Perhutani will undertake intermediate inventories every 5 years.

Based on RPKH/the 10 year-management plan, Perum Perhutani make annual forestry operational plan (RTT), then from RTT, they devise a corporate working plan (RKTP), and from RKTP, they form operational plan and budget (RKAP). Furthermore, there is a long term planning (RUP) for 20 years planning horizon which is resulted by consultation with Ministry of Forestry who set a five year-forestry plan (RUK). Based on RUP, Perum Perhutani make a medium term planning (RJP) which is made for 5 years determining the strategies, policies, objectives and planning activities.

Yield regulation is based upon a combination of volume and area. This management is called the Cotta formula which was used in Saxony forest in Germany at early 19th century (Ichwandi, Shinohara, & Chen, 2009b). In order to make a balance of cutting regulation and market demand, timber cutting yield is calculated for a certain period of time. The Cotta also relates the cutting yield with regeneration (Ichwandi, et al., 2009b). The main goal of yield management is to manage the timber harvests.

The Cotta formula is made by Heinrich Cotta (1763–1844), a German pioneer of forestry. In his 1832 publication entitled “Basic principles of forest science,” he wrote: “The sustainability of natural yield is assured, when in each successive evaluation of utilization and management, stands are recognized that reflect the natural productivity of the site and have an approximately equal proportion of age classes. A completely equal yield from year to year is not absolutely necessary, neither from a broad economic point of view , nor from a technical forestry perspective, because the ideal stand conditions may not as yet have been obtained, and also because an increase in yield is within the range of possibilities.” (Morgenstern, 2007, p. 487). Furthermore, there is some information which is required for a 10-year management plan:

1. a general description of the forest and the inventory methods used;
2. a list of all stands by age classes;
3. an outline of the expected general harvesting schedule;
4. a list of past annual harvest volumes;
5. a specific harvest schedule for the next 10 years with information on expected volumes;
6. a regeneration plan for the next 10 years (Morgenstern, 2007, p. 487).

 

The yield measurement by Perum Perhutani is based on Table Wolf von Wulfing 1932 which is the earliest yield table for teak which was constructed by von Wulfing for plantations on Java, Indonesia (Pandey & Brown, 2000). This table still has been used as the primary tool to project the potential of teak stand, although there have been some raising problems due to the pace of change.

The forest tending activity in Perum Perhutani is consisting with weeding, pruning, thinning, and protection against pests, diseases, grazing and fire. Pruning is done on the third year, and the waste can be used as firewood by community living in and around the forests.

The other important activity for increasing timber production is selectively thinning. Teak needs light through all its life cycle. As a light demanding species, teak needs 75 – 95 % of full day light for the best growth and development (White, 1991). Generally, the initial planting density is between 1,200 and 1,600 plants/ha (Krishnapillay, 2000), but if the stand density is too high, the inferior trees will be suppressed. For this reason, thinning must be done regularly and heavily, particularly in the first half of the rotation (Krishnapillay, 2000). If thinning is too late, the growth rates will decline, but if it is too early or too heavily, the trees will tend to produce side branches and epicormic shoots (Krishnapillay, 2000). Together with pruning, thinning has a strong effect on the yield result and the timber quality.

Thinning is planned according the teak age class and done periodically (Ichwandi, et al., 2009b).

The teak stand condition will influence the degree of thinning. Thinning will be more intensive for good stocking and gives high yield.

Tending and harvesting are done by Perum Perhutani based on a labour intensive system involving community living in and around the forests, who is called pesanggem. Pesanggem is doing harvesting by manual felling using hand saws. It is hoped that illegal logging by community can be decreased because they can earn money from the forest and are allowed to plant agriculture crops between teak stands. With tumpang sari system, pesanggem will have a greater responsible for taking care the stands through site preparation (soil work), weeding, and replanting died teak stands.

If the activities are too hard and cannot be done by pesanggem, Perum Perhutani will employ contractors. One of the examples is wood transportation after harvesting.

 

VII.                        TEAK LOG GRADING

Teak stems are bucked which is based on the grading rules by Perum Perhutani, in order to get a high quality of log. These rules have been changed dramatically from time to time to meet the market demands, both from domestic and international markets.

Table 2. Perum Perhutani’s grading rule of teak log based on diameter, length, and quality classes (Perum Perhutani, 2004 in Ichwandi et al., 2009)

Teak logs are separated when it is transported to log yards. Firstly, the highest grade of teak log (approximately about 20% of the total production) will be sent to Perum Perhutani’s wood industries (Ichwandi, et al., 2009b). Then, the remaining log in the yard is classified based on grade into lots which each of them has a specific number, grade category, and volume.

The showroom can be found in log yard for buyers. Bidders also normally come to this place before come to log auction by Perum Perhutani.

 

Conclusion

Teak (Tectona grandis) is widely known as the most valuable tropical hardwood which is mainly used for luxury furniture, ship and decorative building segmented markets. Due to the decrease of sustainable supply from natural forests and easy to regenerate, teak is established in plantations.

Teak plantations in Java, Indonesia are being managed by Perum Perhutani, a state owned forest company. This institution has done well-organized and extensive teak plantation management, including production and processing activities.

 

Literature cited:

Bailey, J. D., & Harjanto, N. A. (2005). Teak (Tectona grandis L.) tree growth, stem quality and health in coppiced plantations in Java, Indonesia. New Forests, 30(1), 55-65. doi: 10.1007/s11056-004-1116-5

Ball, J. B., Pandey, D., & Hirai, S. (1999). Global Overview of Teak Plantations. Paper presented at the Regional Seminar “Site, Technology and Productivity of Teak Plantations”, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Bhat, K. M., & Ma, H. O. (2004). Teak growers unite! ITTO Trop For Update, 14, 3-5.

Djamhuri, T. L. (2008). Community participation in a social forestry program in Central Java, Indonesia: the effect of incentive structure and social capital. Agroforestry Systems, 74(1), 83-96. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9150-5

Ichwandi, I., Shinohara, T., & Chen, B. (2009a). An Assessment of Teak Planting under Tumpangsari System in Cepu Forest District, Central Java, Indonesia. The Science Bulletin of the Faculty of Agriculture University of the Ryukyus, 56(12), 33-41.

Ichwandi, I., Shinohara, T., & Chen, B. (2009b). Development of Teak Wood Production and Marketing in Cepu Forest District, Central Java, Indonesia. The Science Bulletin of the Faculty of Agriculture University of the Ryukyus, 56(12), 23-31.

Krishnapillay, B. (2000). Silviculture and management of teak plantations. Unasylva 201, 51, 14-21.

Masripatin, N. (1992). A planning technique for a plantation forest in Java, Indonesia : a case study in Cepu and Semarang forest districts. Master, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Morgenstern, E. K. (2007). The origin and early application of the principle of sustainable forest management. The Forestry Chronicle, 83(4), 485-489.

Palupi, E. R., & Owens, J. N. (1998). Reproductive Phenology and Reproductive Success of Teak (Tectona grandis L. F.). International Journal of Plant Sciences, 159(5), 833-842.

Pandey, D., & Brown, C. (2000). Teak: a global overview. Unasylva 201, 51, 3-12.

Perum Perhutani. (2011). Perum Perhutani.  Retrieved 14 July, 2011, from http://www.perumperhutani.com/

Rudjiman. (1992). New Species of Tectona. In H. Simon, A. Fattah, Sumardi, S. Dipodiningrat & H. Iswantoro (Eds.), One Century of Sustainable Forest Management. Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Tewari, D. N. (1937). A Monograph on Teak (Tectona grandis Linn.f.). Dehra Dun, India: International Book Distributors.

Troup, R. S. (1921). The Silviculture of Indian Trees. Dehra Dun, India: International Book Distributors.

Verhaegen, D., Fofana, I. J., Logossa, Z. A., & Ofori, D. (2010). What is the genetic origin of teak (<i>Tectona grandis</i> L.) introduced in Africa and in Indonesia? Tree Genetics and Genomes, 6(5), 717-733. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11295-010-0286-x

White, K. J. (1991). Teak : Some Aspects of Research and Development. FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.