1. About

Natural resource management has complex problems and are a concerned issue of various interests at local, national and international levels. For local people, natural resources are an important source of living, while at the same time, national governments are also looking at and using natural resources to gain foreign exchange for the country, national economic development, and support increasing demand for population growth. Meanwhile, the international community wants to conserve biodiversity in various places. These conflicting interests have been largely accelerating the depletion of natural resources. In Indonesia, forest resources, for example, are experiencing systematic deforestation due to oil palm plantations and pulp and paper industries. Increased external demand for palm oil, pulp and paper supported by export-oriented government development policies has led to rapid deforestation in Indonesia.

The complexity of natural resource management does not only happen in Indonesia alone, it happens everywhere, especially in Asia. The problem of resource management complexity is also determined by the fact that individual actors and sectors use resources arbitrarily. There is no evidence of integration of natural resource management among actors and sectors and between different levels of interests. It is clear that, in the last decade sector-based approaches have limited applications for sustainable natural resource management. In the meantime, communities do various ways to overcome life. Local survival strategies imply to look at different perspectives in natural resource management. This evidence clearly requires an integrated management of resources through an interdisciplinary approach.

Universities as one of the key actors in resource management also need to adjust and develop their capabilities under the complexity of that problems. To date, the 'hard science' comprising natural resource management such as terrestrial ecology, soil science, botany, geography and mainstream social sciences is abundant, the integration of several disciplines into academic departments has only been achieved at higher degree levels in some institutions in the world. The field of Natural Resource Management in Asia, as worldwide, grows and has excellent future opportunities to contribute to sustainable development. The basic feature of NRM as a science is its interdisciplinary, integrating several independent sciences: physics, spatial science, political science, and social sciences.

Master Degree program in Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) at the Andalas University has entered the age of 8-years since the issuance of Decree No. DIKTI. 1623/D/T/2007 dated on July 6, 2007. Previously, in the period 2004-2007 this study is one of concentration in the Master Degree Program of Regional and Rural Development. The Master Degree program in INRM is one of the multidisciplinary studies at the Andalas University Postgraduate Program. Multidisciplinary means that various disciplines are discussed in this study because the nature and the environment are not enough to be discussed only with one discipline, considering the complex nature of social, economic, and ecological relationships in the real world.

This master degree program has obtained the “B” National Accreditation in Year of 2014 based on the Decree of National Accreditation Board of Higher Education (BAN-PT) No.183/SK/BAN-PT/Akred/M/VI/2014,

The increasingly complex environmental problems have increased the need for human resources that able to analyze those problems in interdisciplinary perspectives. Master Degree Program in Environmental Science (PSIL) at Andalas University was established in 2002 based on the Decree of Directorate General of Higher Education no. 3203/D/T 2002, dated on 22 October 2002. This study program is an interdisciplinary study programs that integrating several fields of science, such as natural sciences and socio-economic science of natural resource management. Therefore, the human resources and infrastructure of this study program use the resources available in various faculties at Andalas University.

A. About

Core Sciences offered by the Master Degree Program in Regional and Rural Development is the development of inclusive villages based on planning and territorial intervention by local residents with local resource capital and for local people. The territory's wealth is for its citizens. The interaction with the outside world of the territory is endeavored for minimal leakage of territory's wealth and profitable exchanges.

Territory resources are not only natural and human but also cultural. The village is more than just agriculture. All sectors of the economy can be turned to complement each other to improve the lives of citizens with minimal leakage of territorial wealth.

To be inclusive, territorial development should be broad based approaches, by not leaving one in the territory. Technical, administrative, sociological, anthropological, economic, and cultural challenges and constraints are here. Researches of this Master degree program should recognize these challenges and constraints and seek to develop a perspective science to overcome them all. Such challenges to be answered by this study program, are:

• How should development be planned and managed with reference to the concept of inclusive rural development?
• How to make rural development not only accommodate the interests of the rural elites (inside or outside rural territory)?
• How can local capacity be developed?
• What should be done at macro level (laws and policies), meso (organizations and local institutions) and micro (households and individuals) in this capacity building efforts?
• How can social capital be developed? What is the role of organizing and leadership in this matter?
• What social protection and what mechanisms must exist to address the risks faced by citizens and citizen business networks in their territories?
• What does the organization of government agencies and agency capacities align with a development approach that implies inclusive rural development, which is requiring collaboration with citizens and among citizens?

Rural development should be an intervention-based on discursive awareness, not merely on instrumental and speculative instrumental awareness. Therefore, Master degree program in Regional and Rural Development at Andalas University is designed to foster graduates awareness about rural social issues through development studies so that they are informed and able to take a positive role in regional and rural development.

One of development issues (in urban and rural areas) that is very strategic today, is how to accomplish the quality of society that has the characteristics of “madani”, independent, dignified, communicative, self-help (swadaya), and always develop/ increase capacity of self, towards socio-economic prosperity.

A number of studies have shown that development objectives will be achieved optimally, if there is a community participation in each development activities, where those communities used to take the available opportunities to improve the quality of their life and their environment. However, participation does not always arise spontaneously, because empirical data indicate that the community needs to have experience in a learning process, which aims to increase knowledge and capabilities/ skills and the growth of community motivation to be and willing to take advantage of the available opportunities (Slamet, 1992).

All of the above discourse is the scope of extension function and development communication, and the science required to carry out that function is the SCIENCE OF EXTENSION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION.