This is a forum where much will be said about the challenges of agriculture and
productivity and about how globalisation will affect agriculture, with emphasis on crop
and livestock commodities. This note gives an insight into the other challenge facing the
CGIAR: how to manage natural resources sustainably under conditions of high
expectations for development. While acknowledging the great importance of
globalisation, it draws attention back to the rural community level where agriculture takes
place and where all policies are subjected to their ultimate test of soundness. The
presentation is about research in Bulungan Forest in Indonesia - part of the largest
remaining tropical forest in Asia that Indonesia has generously placed at the disposal of
CIFOR for research purposes.