Indecon is a non-profit organization focusing its activities in developing and promoting ecotourism in Indonesia. Established in 1995, Indecon have facilitated some various ecotourism stakeholders in ecotourism development in Indonesia. Skillful staff and professional associates have supported Indecon’s works. Several innovations in development process and policy have also been identified during Indecon’s involvement in promoting sustainable tourism in Indonesia.

Vision
To become the center of Indonesian ecotourism research, development, training and promotion.

Mission
To develop and promote ecotourism in Indonesia based on scientific studies, culture sensitivity and business estimation, in order to conserve biodiversity and culture as tourism assets.

Background
Indonesia covers only 1.3% of the earth’s surface, yet harbours 10% of all flowering plants, 12% of the world’s mammals, 16% of the world’s reptiles and amphibians, 17% of all birds, and more than a quarter of known marine and freshwater fish species. Overall, it is one of the richest countries in terms of biological diversity. The many islands of the archipelago support a wide range and variety of habitats, from lowland rainforests, mangroves, savannah grassland, swamp forests and limestone hills, to mountain forest, alpine meadows and snowcapped mountains near the equator.

Indonesia therefore has great potential for development of ecotourism. However, the threat to biodiversity is also high with some apparent threats such as illegal logging, hunting, and other forms of destructive utilization of natural resources. Hence, a sustainable form of nature utilization, for instance ecotourism, is one of the alternative options in making the most of nature potential and at the same time conserving it.

In the National Development Guidelines 1999, tourism in Indonesia has to be developed through an integrated system, interdisciplinary, participatory approach, using economical and technical criteria, ergonomic, socio-cultural sensitivity, energy saving, nature conservation and minimizing the environmental impact. The old tourism development approach has been changed to increase the welfare of local people that participate in tourism.

Based on that fact, the opportunity to develop ecotourism as a strategy to build Sustainable Tourism is huge. INDECON found that ecotourism is a comprehensive tool to conserve biodiversity and to involve local communities and organization in a participatory way to derive maximum benefits in a sustainable way. INDECON believe that ecotourism, has a potential to improve the quality of the environment, cultural values, local community prosperity and quality of human relation in general.

Started in 1995, INDECON was initiated by Conservation International Indonesia, The Institute for Indonesia Tourism Studies and Bina Swadaya Tours. In 1999, INDECON had grown and announced its legal entity as INDECON by the notary act no. 2, January 5, 1999.

INDECON helps link ecotourists with a wide range of opportunities throughout Indonesia.

Focus of Activities

1. Research and Planning
   Indecon is actively conducting researches to find a simple solution in creating models of ecotourism development.  The organization also conducts ecotourism assessment to support government policies, followed by facilitating an integrated planning development by all stakeholders to strengthen implementation. Indecon is actively involved in national ecotourism development consolidation forum supported by the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism; participated in the establishment of Regional Ecotourism Development Guidelines supported by the Department of Internal Affair; participated in the establishment of Ecotourism Development Guidelines in Conservation Area with the National Impact Assessment Institution in cooperation with the Nature Tourism and Environmental Services Directorate, Department of Forestry.

2. Capacity Building
   Improving technical capacity is one of the key success factors in achieving a sustainable ecotourism management.  Empowerment will not only be enhanced at local community level, but more importantly at the level of tourism developer, manager and decision maker. Indecon is building the capacities of ecotourism planning and management by facilitating information access, providing human resources development through training and provide opportunity for internship.

3. Destination Development
   Facilitating regional and local partners to develop their area to become ecotourism destination is one of Indecon’s priorities.  Indecon’s role in destination development is creating models for ecotourism development which is appropriate for and can accommodate nature conservation, cultural heritage and community participation. Some examples include Indecon’s assistance in the development of Community-based Ecotourism in Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi; Conservation Education-based Ecotourism in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park and Community-based Ecotourism in Gunung Halimun National Park, West Java; Ecotourism Development in Betung Kerihun National Park, West Kalimantan; Community-based Ecotourism Development in Tangkahan, North Sumatra; and Community based Ecotourism in Menoreh and Borobudur, Magelang District - Central Java.

4. Marketing
   Indecon is taking the opportunity to promote ecotourism products, in the form of books, newsletter, policy papers and ecotourism packages. As marketing is one of the biggest obstacles in community based ecotourism development in Indonesia, Indecon has also coordinated marketing efforts and supported marketing through its international networking.

5. Monitoring and Evaluation
   To guarantee visitor satisfaction, local economic growth, natural resources protection, positive cultural exchange, heritage preservation, and community involvement in ecotourism. Indecon has developed guidelines for monitoring and evaluation for ecotourism destination as part of its responsibility to minimize negative impact. For instance, Indecon has assisted Alami Foundation in developing visitor management and monitoring system in Bodogol Conservation Education Center in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. The organization has also involved in assessing environmental programs implemented by a number of hotels in Bali, a project that was initiated by Bali Fokus and supported by Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) Conservation International.

Indecon has become and important player in sustainable tourism, especially in developing ecotourism in order to conserve Indonesian biodiversity. Indecon has sufficient capacity to represent international and national know-how and techniques in ecotourism planning and training. Supported by several ecotourism specialists as Indecon’s partners, Indecon has one of the complete and comprehensive teams to work in ecotourism development in Indonesia. Its comittment, capacity and consistency in ecotourism development are unquestionable. Indecon is also active in international and national seminars, conferences, workshops, and travel marts.

Several international occasions where Indecon’s staffs had the opportunity to make a presentation were: World Ecotourism Summit in Quebec, Canada, May 2002; Preparatory Conference on Community-based Ecotourism in Chiangmai, Thailand, Maret 2002; First International Ecotourism Conference for Small Islands, Hainan, China, November 1999, The International Ecotourism Conference in Cairns, Australia, and The 10th Annual Conference of Asia Pacific Tourism Association in Nagasaki, July 2004. The capacity of Indecon’s staff is also developed by joining some international training such as the Smithsonian Institute, Ecotourism Field Practice Training in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Resource Economic Training in California.