Vietnam-Laos travel routes to improve

Viet Nam and Laos have agreed to strengthen transport capacity on the route linking the two countries’ capital cities to meet the growing demand for passenger and cargo transport. The agreement was signed during an annual meeting between the two countries’ transport officials in Lao’s Savannakhet province.

The pact aims to develop international-standard transport services on the route, responding to a recent increase in local and international travellers using the route. It also outlines opening new routes from Vientiane to Ha Noi.

New co-operation deal
Director of the Vietnamese National Assembly Office Tran Dinh Dan and his Lao counterpart Thongteun Sayasen signed in Ha Noi yesterday a co-operation deal. The two sides agreed to further co-operation to improve their efficiency in managing operations of the two parliaments.
They will regularly exchange information, delegations and experiences.

They also agreed to regularly exchange their view points on international issues of mutual concerns at regional and international inter-parliamentarian forums. The Vietnamese National Assembly Office will consider helping the Lao National Assembly Office to upgrade the information and data base centre and library, and training cadres and build a working establishment for the latter. — VNS

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2007 Landmine Monitoring report

Landmine Monitor has published its 2007 report, which contains some interesting facts and figures about landmine use around the world.

You can read the full Landmine Monitor report by following this link:
www.icbl.org/lm/2007

Cambodia remains one of the worst landmine-affected countries in the world, with around 43,000 landmine survivors in need of support so they can participate in society. The Cambodia report can be found here:
http://www.icbl.org/lm/2007/cambodia.html. The Cambodia Trust is mentioned in the section: Survivor Assistance Strategic Framework.

Some key facts:

Cambodia is one of the countries most severely contaminated by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including conventional and cluster bombs, artillery shells and abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO), as a result of nearly three decades of war.

Clearance by Cambodia’s three (landmine clearance) NGOs continued to increase in 2006, albeit at a slower rate than in 2005, and land release increased greatly, spurred by official encouragement. CMAC, HALO and MAG cleared 35.4 square kilometers of land, 15 percent more than the previous year, but they released a total of 303 square kilometers, more than triple the amount in 2005. RCAF reported it demined 70 percent more than in 2005.

In 2006 there were 450 new mine/ERW casualties in Cambodia (61 people killed and 389 injured) in 272 incidents. This decrease of nearly 50 percent from 2005 (875 casualties) prompted a survey to identify the reasons, as the casualty rate had been relatively constant (averaging 846 per year) since 2000. The survey, conducted from October to December 2006, found that the reduction was mainly due to favorable seasonal conditions improving agricultural production and, more generally, greater economic opportunities through farming and construction, such that the economic reasons for risk-taking behavior had reduced; the survey noted that poverty is “a defining factor in increasing the vulnerability of people to mine/UXO risk.” It also noted that increased community involvement in mine action planning and prioritization had addressed the socioeconomic impact of mine/ERW contamination more efficiently than before. Nearly 90 percent of survey respondents said that scrap metal trade in ERW in their villages had ceased. However, the proportion of ERW casualties remained constant between 2001 and 2006.

The cost of managing (Cambodia’s rehabilitation) centers is around $4.6 million per year and the current level of donor funding “would need to continue if present service levels are to be maintained.” However, the evaluation believed that donor funding is likely to decrease. In 2006 the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation contributed $100,000 to running the centers. The evaluation noted, “the rehabilitation sector is not a [government] priority and its funding will continue for a long time to massively depend on external assistance.”

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The 3rd Internasional Ecotourism Business Forum 2007

ECOTOURBIZ 2007 invites you to attend the conference, which will be held at Wonosobo, Central Java on 30th November to 3rd December 2007, The three-day conference will bring together ecotourism associations and networks from around the world, along with each other interested organizations and individuals. tourism academics, tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, officials of tourism associations, tourism offices, and NGOs.

Third International Eco-Tourism Business Forum

PLANNING, MANAGING & MARKETING ECOTOURISM

TENTATIVE PROGRAM
30 November - 3 December 2007
Gallery Hotel Kresna, Wonosobo, Central Java - Indonesia
Day 0: Friday, 30 November 2007: ARRIVAL

Arrival & Registration
Time Description Remarks

09:00 – 18:00 Arrival of all delegates Venue:
Registration for buyers, Sellers, Speakers Kresna Hotel
Participants & Exhibitors

Day 1: Saturday, 1 December 2007 PRE-TOUR, WELCOME DINNER
Arrival & Registration
09:00 – 18:00 Arrival of all delegates Venue
Registration for Buyers, Sellers, Speakers, Kresna Hotel
Participants, Media & Exhibitors
- Familiarization Tour of Ecotourism Organized by:
Destinations Central Java
- Exhibitors set up booths Province Government
19:00 – 21:30 Welcome Dinner Venue:
Hosted by Governor of the Central Java Tentative Province, Drs H.Ali Mufiz,MPA

Day 2: 2 December 2007 ECOTOURISM FORUM
VENUE: Gallery Hotel Kresna Ballroom
Morning Session: Ecotourism Forum

07:00 – 09:00 Final Registration Venue:
Pringgodani Ballroom Foyer
09:00 Opening Ceremony
09:00 – 09:10 Report Speech by International Promotion
Director, Department of Culture and Tourism,
Tatang Rukhiyat
09:10 – 09:20 Welcome Speech by Head Of Wonosobo Regency, HA Kholiq Arif
09:20 – 09:35 Opening Speech by Director General of Marketing, Department of Culture and Tourism,
Thamrin B. Bachri
09:35 – 10:00 Keynote Speaker:
Joop Ave, Former Indonesian Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication of The Republic Of Indonesia. (confirmed)
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee Break (Held in Exhibition area) . Venue:
Pringgodani Ballroom Foyer
11.00 – 13.00 PANEL PRESENTATION 1 :
Theme planning: Managing and Marketing ecotourism
Moderator : Prof.Dr.Wiendu Nuryanti, M.Arch
Executive Diretor, Yogyakarta Tourism Development
Board Indonesia
11:00 – 11:15 Speaker 1: Mr Jose Ma Lorenzo (Lory) Tan
Vice-Chairman, World Wide Fund (WWF) Philippines
“Planning Ecotoursm” (tba)
11:15 – 11:30 Speaker 2 : Ari Suhandi
Director INDECON (Indonesia)
“Managing Ecotourism in Indonesia” :
Opportunity & Challenge (tba)
11:30 – 12:45 Speaker 3: I.B Ngurah Wijaya
Head Of Bali Tourism (Indonesia)
Marketing Ecotourism (tba)
11:45 – 12:00 Speaker 4: Dwi Windari Widyastuti
Director of Tlogo Plantation (Indonesia)
“Planning, Managing, Marketing Ecotourism:
Tlogo Plantation Cases (tba)
12:00 – 13:00 Question and Answer/ Discussion Moderator
12:30 – 12:40 Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion Team
12:40 – 12:50 Conference Closing Session by Head Of Banjarnegara Regency,
Drs. H.Djasri, MM
12:50 – 14:00 Lunch Break
Certificate Distribution at Committee Desk Venue :
Maespati Restaurant

AFTERNOON SESSION: ECOTOURISM MART
13:30 – 14:00 Buyers & Sellers briefing in Exhibition area – Venue :
Compulsory session Kendalisdo Room
14:00 – 16:30 TABLE TOP:SELLERS MEET BUYERS Venue
Exhibition area only for Buyers & Sellers Ballroom Free Function
Coffee available in the exhibition room

Evening : Free program to explore Wonosobo

EXHIBITION OPEN FOR PUBLIC: 10 am – 17 pm
10:00 – 17:00 Exhibition Open for Public Venue :
Pringgodani Ballroom Foyer

DAY 3: Monday, 3 December 2007 BUSINESS SESSION & DEPARTURE
VENUE : Kresna Hotel

EXHIBTION OPEN FOR PUBLIC: 10:00 am – 17:00 pm Committe

08:00 – 10:00 Follow up Business Session Venue :
(buyers and sellers only) Pringgodani Ballroom Foyer
(Individual optional basis)
10:00 – 17:00 Exhibition Open for Public
All Day Hotel Check Out by 12:00 noon
Departure of Delegates

Contact :
Ecotourbiz - International Ecotourism Business Forum
Jl. Lingkar Utara 234
Yogyakarta - Indonesia 55281
Phone: (62 274) 520 907
Fax: (62 274) 583 783
e-mail: ecotourbiz@gmail.com

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Village of Bali

The idea of balance is central to Balinese philosophy and way of life. Nature and Man meet and complement each other.

The villages are a study in order. Hidden behind the same mud walls, there will be the same red tiles of the same family pavilions with, again thirty meters apart, the same thatched puppet houses: the family temples (sanggah/merajan). Then, there will be a big tree, two slit logs hanging from its branches, with a couple of shrines under its shade and a nearby hall: the banjar (neighbourhood) community hall. An atmosphere of calm, order and collective belonging prevails.

The basic Balinese territorial unit is desa (village), whose surface covers both the wet land of the ricefields, and the dry land of the compounds and related gardens, temples and roads. To the wet land, correspond the irrigation units or subak, and to the dry and inhabited land, the community wards or banjar, each with their temples and organisations.

The Balinese desa (village) is typically host to a set of three village temples, the kahyangan tiga, each related to a focal aspect of the village's symbolic life: the origin with pura puseh (navel temple) located mountainward, where the tutelary gods of the village and its founders are worshipped; the territory itself with the pura desa, located in the centre of the village, where meetings of the village assembly and the rituals of fertility are held; the temple of the ded (pura dalem), located down ward, where the forces of death and the netherworld are worshipped, and near which burials take place. Besides these territorial temples, there is also a temple for each banjar (bedogol or pura banjar), a temple for each subak, and the various temples of the local sub - clans (pura dadia or pura panti), each of which with its own calendar of festivals.

All temples of the kahyangan tiga are of paramount importance in the local rituals. Most ceremonies, at the level of the household or of other local temples, cannot take place before a "notification offering" (pejati) of the kahyangan tiga. The most important though, is arguably the pura desa, or village territorial temple, as evidenced by the honor shown to its god, the Batara Desa, who is usually given the forefront position during the village processions of gods. The village community (desa pekraman) corresponds in practise to the congregation of the pura desa, whatever the other affiliations. It is headed by the bendesa adat.

Much of the ritual work at the village level is shared among the various banjar, for example, one banjar may look after the pura desa for the upcoming festival and another banjar for the next one. Each banjar redistributes the work entrusted to it to its vision of the kelian banjar or neighbourhood headman. No ritual activity can normally take place without the latter's involvement and participation.The banjar is a grouping of anything between fifty and two hundred individual compounds. The word banjar originally referred to a row of houses, thus to the physical clustering of compounds into a neighborhood, with a temple and a community. Nowadays, most of these banjars have split, and the banjar community is no more strictly territorial. Two banjars can occupy the same territory, and banjar members sometimes live kilometres away from the core of community.

The banjar makes up an association called the "banjar suka duka" or "the association for the sharing of joy and pain" This refers to the function played by the group in the performing of specific social services or work the ayahan within the larger structure of the village (desa). These bonds are arguably the most important of all found in the network of village associations.

The basic social unit of the banjar is the couple (pekurenan). Only married couples are full banjar members and subjected to the banjar rights and obligations. The decisions are taken by the assembly (sangkep) of the banjar's male members, the krama banjar, which usually takes place every 35 days. The decisions are taken on the basis of unanimity, The banjar is now, since 1979, the lowest administrative structure of the national administration, directly under the authority of the perbekel / lurah (supra - village head) and beyond the traditional village headman (bendesa adat).

There are also two types of kelian banjar, the kelian dinas, who is in charge of the administrative aspects of the banjar life, and the kelian adat, who looks after the customary aspects in collaboration with the bendesa adat. They usually work hand in hand, unless the two roles are assumed by the same person.

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