Mulawarman University (UNMUL), with its core of Tropical Rainforest Environment specialization, fully realizes its role in educational, research, and extension activities in the resource-rich province of East Kalimantan. UNMUL continuously strives to enhance its role in developing human resources to support sustainable use and management of forest resources as an integral part of Indonesian development programmes, acknowledging that these simultaneously contribute to global human well-being and a healthy environment.
With such concerns in mind, the typical establishment and improvement of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programmes has been supplemented by UNMUL through the founding of the Tropical Rainforest Research Centre (PPHT) and the Environment Research Centre (PPLH), whose activities have been well known even at international levels. Since July 1, 1997, UNMUL has further enhanced its contribution to sustainable forest resources development by establishing the Centre for Social Forestry (CSF) with the official Indonesian name of UPT. Perhutanan Sosial, Universitas Mulawarman.
The establishment of CSF is aimed at expanding the capacity of UNMUL staff in education, training, research and policy development, extension and outreach activities in Social Forestry. This is a response to growing domestic and international demand for sustainable development of forest management systems to contribute to the welfare of forest dwellers and, as well, provide benefits for other forest stakeholders.
In line with the globally accepted concepts and principles of Social Forestry and the goals of Indonesian forest development, CSF activities are directed at providing a concrete contribution to the development of Social Forestry as a wide range of systems for sustainable use and management of forest resources, based upon ecological principles, democratic partnership and mutual benefits for stakeholders concerned.