Returning to Hometown, IPB University Dospulkam Team Helps the Rights of Frankincense Farmers, Also Monitoring the Environment of Lake Toba
IPB University’s lecturer team through the 2024 Returning Home Lecturer (Dospulkam) programme conducted community service activities in Huta Paung Village, Pollung District, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, North Sumatra Province. The community service programme is in the form of “Application of Satellite Inderaja Technology for Environmental Monitoring of the Lake Toba Region and Mapping of Frankincense Plantation Management Boundaries”.
As a first step, workshop activities have been carried out in preparation for the submission of frankincense plantation management rights by farmers in Huta Paung Village and its surroundings. The IPB University lecturer team also conducted a field survey of Lake Toba (DT) environmental research. The service activities took place from 25 April 2024 to August 2024.
The workshop was attended by representatives from the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of Forestry Region XIII in Dolok Sanggul, Manotar Sinaga; former Chief of Forestry Service of Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Ir Darwin Lumban Gaol; Jahemat Lumban Gaol SH as a resource person and frankincense farmers.
The leader of the IPB University Dospulkam team, Prof Jonson Lumban Gaol is a local son of Huta Paung Village. He conducted this service activity with other IPB University lecturers, namely Prof Vincentius V Siregar, Dr Dinar Tri Soelistyowati and Dr Charles Simanjuntak.
“The application of remote sensing technology for monitoring natural resources is very effective because it has high spectral and spatial resolution and is able to cover a very large area. Through this sensing technology, the environmental conditions of Lake Toba will be mapped, including the frankincense plantations of farmers,” said Prof Jonson.
The map, he continued, will be one of the basic data for applying for frankincense plantation management rights for farmers. In addition, the map of Lake Toba’s environmental conditions from satellite data will help the local government to monitor the environmental conditions of the lake waters so that they are preserved.
‘The community in Huta Paung Village has been using frankincense from the forest for hundreds of years as one of the centres of production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). However, until now the status of frankincense plantation land in Huta Paung Village is still a state forest,’ he explained.
In accordance with Presidential Regulation No. 88/2017 on Settlement of Land Tenure in Forest Areas and Presidential Regulation No. 86/2018 on Agrarian Reform, the Indonesian Government is realising a stable forest area, among others, through Forest Area Arrangement to support the Land Object of Agrarian Reform (TORA) programme.
“The TORA programme is one of the alternatives for the transfer of frankincense plantation land rights to the community in accordance with the presentation material delivered by staff from UPT Kehutanan Wilayah XIII in Dolok Sanggul during the workshop at the Huta Paung Village Office,” said Prof. Jonson.
He continued, that the sustainable frankincense plantation management programme by farmers is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) points 8 and 13, namely providing decent work and community economic growth and addressing climate change.
“Monitoring the environmental conditions of Lake Toba waters continuously with satellite sensing technology will help preserve Lake Toba in accordance with SDGs goal 6, namely access to clean water and sanitation,” he said.
Prof Jonson also said that IPB University lecturers who are members of the Dospulkam programme will continue to assist farmers in improving their living standards through the TORA programme. He is also committed to helping the local government to monitor the environmental conditions of Lake Toba from satellite inderaja technology. (*/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
