Activists commemorate Earth Day

Slamet Susanto and Ruslan Sangaji ,  The Jakarta Post ,  JAKARTA   |  Thu, 04/23/2009 12:20 PM  |  The Archipelago

Environmental activists nationwide commemorated Earth Day on Wednesday with various activities, ranging from poster exhibitions, performances and rallies, to the distribution of plant seedlings.

In Yogyakarta, activists from Care for the Environment (GPL) Hijau expressed concern for the environment by using pincuk (banana leaves) and teko (traditional container made of aluminum) while dinning at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant on Jl. Malioboro.

Green life: A member of the Green House Community buys food Wednesday at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant at Malioboro Mall, Yogyakarta. They put the food in banana leaves instead of Styrofoam, as part of activities to commemorate Earth Day, which falls on April 22. (JP/Tarko Sudiarno)

Wearing the traditional attire of blangkon hats for men and kebaya blouses for women, they ordered food and beverages that they moved to their pincuk and poured into their teko before eating.

“Plastic and styrofoam packages are not just unfriendly to the environment but also dangerous to human health,” said coordinator Ignasius Kendal.

He added the group chose McDonald’s as the place for their action to point out that environmental concerns had arisen mostly because fast-food restaurants had become increasingly popular.

After dining in, the activists distributed brochures calling for environmental awareness. The brochures also featured a list of environmentally unfriendly materials and packaging that the community should avoid using.

Over at Gadjah Mada University, the School of International Relations’ globalization studies lab went on a field trip to Parangtritis Beach in Yogyakarta to commemorate Earth Day.

Held in cooperation with SMA Budi Mulia Dua international high school, the project was aimed at raising awareness among the younger generations about the importance of preserving the environment.

Meanwhile, the Accor hotel group, owners of the Phoenix Hotel Yogyakarta, Novotel Yogyakarta and Ibis Malioboro, held tree planting and cleaning activities along the banks of the Code River.

In Palu, Central Sulawesi, environmental activists distributed free ebony seedlings to the local community to plant, after staging a peaceful rally in front of the governor’s office on Jl. Sam Ratulangi.

Speaking at the rally, the executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment’s (Walhi) Central Sulawesi branch, Willianita Selviana, reminded the provincial administration not to arbitrarily issue permits to investors to manage natural resources.

“The opening of new fields has proven to have had negative impacts on the environment, including floods and landslides,” she said.

She added natural disasters in the province between 2008 and 2009 had intensified. At least 50 floods were recorded during this period around mining sites and oil palm plantations, such as in Worowali and Tojo Una-Una regencies.

“Thousands of hectares of rice paddies have been destroyed. This certainly threatens our food resilience,” Willianita said.

The protesters called on all stakeholders to help stop uncontrolled legal and illegal logging activities, reduce the expansion of mining areas and oil palm plantations, and stop sea reclamation projects.

“The government still thinks pragmatically with concern mainly focused on generating income
without considering the impact of the ways used to earn it, to the detriment of the environment,” Willianita said.

“This has been the core of the problems so far.”

In Malang, East Java, students from several universities expressed concern for the degrading condition of the environment through a variety of activities in commemoration of Earth Day.

Students from Widya Gama University held a poster exhibition concerning the face of the Earth on the city’s sidewalks.

Aswit, from the university, said the exhibition, “Face expression on Earth”, was aimed at disseminating a moral message to the community to preserve the Earth and prevent further damage to it.

Students from Malang State University’s School of Biology held a theatrical performance on how the burden of the Earth had grown increasingly heavier due to environmental damage and pollution.

In Prigen district, Pasuruan regency, East Java, the Kaliandra Sejati Foundation launched the first foster forest program, a collaborative management of a forest involving the community, government and private sector.

The program was held in cooperation with a drinking water company and state-owned forest management company PT Perhutani Pasuruan.

Wahyoe Boediwardhana contributed to this story from Malang

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