International Journal of Plant Research 2014, 4(4A): 1-7 DOI: 10.5923/s.plant.201401.01 The Practice of Local Wisdom of Tobelo Dalam (Togutil) Tribal Community in Forest Conservation in Halmahera, Indonesia M. Nasir Tamalene 1,* , Mimien Henie Irawati Al Muhdhar 2 , Endang Suarsini 2 , Fatkhur Rochman 2 1 Biology Education, Khairun University Jalan Bandara Babullah, Ternate, Indonesia 2 Biology Education, State University of Malang Jalan Semarang 2, Malang, East Java, Indonesia Abstract The Tobelo Dalam (Togutil) tribal community has inherited local wisdom in managing the forest resources from their ancestors. The loss of these local wisdom values have led to the ecological crisis which creates an imbalance situation in the ecosystem. The community is expected to realize that the ecological crisis can be saved back through local wisdom. To save the ecological crisis, the society ethics of the native tribes needs to be gained back. A participant observation and open interviews were done to investigate this issue. In the participant observation, the researchers were involved in the informants’ daily activities. Open interviews were also conducted at this stage. There were 21 informants; 12 persons come from the area of river Tayawi and 9 persons come from river Suwang. The results of the research revealed the fact that the local wisdom possessed by the Tobelo Dalam (Togutil) tribal community has been manifested in their concept of philosophy of life, the knowledge of the physical environment, and the conservation of the forests. Local wisdom in the management of the forest resources can still survive despite the influence from outside. The local wisdom is eternal since the people maintain their philosophy of life, Hidup Basudara (live in harmony) which contains a belief that people and nature need to live side by side. The practice of local wisdom-based conservation that takes the form of the sacred forest of Gosimo, Matakau, Pohon Kelahiran (Tree of Birth) and Pohon Kematian (Tree of Death) is a part of local knowledge that continues to be taught to the next generation. It becomes an invaluable ancestral heritage in forest conservation. Keywords Local Wisdom, Tobelo Dalam (Togutil), Forest Conservation 1. Introduction Indonesia has resources and biodiversity that are very important and strategic for the survival of the people. It is not solely because of its position as one of the world's richest countries in biodiversity (mega-biodiversity), but because of its close linkages with the richness of local culture diversity possessed by this nation (mega-cultural diversity). The founders of Republic of Indonesia have already realized that Indonesia is an archipelago country that has pluralist political system and laws and diverse socio-cultural condition. The "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" philosophically indicates respect for that diversity [1]. It is further said that from the diversity of the local systems, there is some traditional wisdom that is respected and practiced by indigenous communities in Indonesia. They are: 1) the dependence of humans on nature that requires a * Corresponding author: hannakhairunnisa2013@gmail.com (M. Nasir Tamalene) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/plant Copyright © 2014 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved positive harmony, in which they become a part of the nature itself, which should be kept and preserved in balance; 2) mastery over the specific indigenous rights as exclusive and/or shared ownership communities (communal property resources) or collectively known as indigenous territory (in Maluku, known as the petuanan, in large parts of Sumatra are known for ulayat dan tanahmarga) that binds all citizens to maintain and manage it for justice and shared prosperity as well as to help avoid the exploitation by outside parties. Many examples of cases showed that the persistence of communal or collective ownership system can prevent excessive exploitation of the local environment; 3) system knowledge and structure of cultural settings ('Government') which providesability to solve the problems they face in the utilization of forest resources; 4) Allocation System and customary law enforcement resources to secure the resources from excessive use, either by the community itself or by the outside community; 5) Mechanism of equitable distribution of the results of the "harvest" of natural resource belonging together that could dampen social jealousy in the midst of the community. Local