Farmers receive green awards, capital commended

Erwida Maulia ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 06/06/2009 12:29 PM  |  Headlines

Timotius Hindom from West Fakfak in West Papua, along with 11 other awardees, received the Kalpataru 'tree of life' symbol from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Five individuals, including Timotius and Viktor E. Raiyon from East Nusa Tenggara, which was ravaged by a tsunami in 1992, were declared "environmental pioneers".

Kadis, awarded as an "environment proponent", said when he arrived as an agricultural official in Lombok from Java in 1979, he was struck by the dry land and minimum income of the farmers.

"The nearest clean water source was a seven-kilometer walk away," he said. Working with farmers, he assisted with building a terrace system for their fields, preventing further erosion, enabling them to plant various crops.

State Minister for the Environment, Rachmat Witoelar, said the awards were presented to those "who contributed to the preservation and improvement of their environment".

The Kalpataru awards, which started in 1980, are presented as part of commemorations of World Environment Day, which falls on June 5.

It was also a proud day for Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, as the capital swept five out of the eight awards for the "cleanest metropolis" for all its five municipalities. Last year Jakarta was also among winners of the "Adipura" awards presented for the cleanest cities, despite criticism from its own residents.

In total the Adipura was presented to representatives of over 100 regions and mayoralties. Other "metropolitan cities" receiving the awards were Palembang, Surabaya, and Semarang.

The cleanest "large cities" are Pekanbaru and Batam in Riau, Malang in East Java, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Denpasar in Bali, Padang in West Sumatra, Bandar Lampung in Lampung and Yogyakarta.

Yudhoyono also granted the Adiwiyata Mandiri awards to 10 schools comprising elementary to senior high schools that integrated environmental aspects in their learning.

He also signed a series of environmentally themed stamps, and received a report on the 2008 State of Environment from Minister Rachmat Witoelar.

Yudhoyono said Indonesia had had a number of achievements in the environmental field, particularly its initiation of the Coral Triangle Initiative and hosting of the recent World Ocean Conference.

He said the government's tree planting campaign over the past three years was also a success, with the number of trees planted during the period surpassing the target.

"Two years ago we set a target of planting 77 million trees, but it appears that we've managed to plant 100 million trees. If we plant 220 million trees every year, then 10 or maybe 20 or 30 years from now we will see a lot of changes within our country."

recipients of the 2009 Kalpataru environment awards

A. "Pioneers" category: 1. Timotius Hindom (West Papua): for cultivating a 50-hectare agroforestry area, especially with nutmeg trees, motivating others to rehabilitate 800 ha of critical land.
2. Viktor Emanuel Raiyon (East Nusa Tenggara): for growing 55 ha of mangrove along Maumere's northern coast following the 1992 tsunami in the area.
3. Anyie Apuy (East Kalimantan): a village customary leader , for preserving the 11,000-ha Tana Ulen protected forest.
4. Alexander Ketaren (North Sumatra): for planting millions of tree seeds on 580 ha of his land on the outskirts of Medan.
5. Kasmir Gindo Sutan (West Sumatra): for initiating the preservation of the 1,000-ha Patah Gigi forest.
B. "Proponents" category:
1. Kadis (West Nusa Tenggara): for motivating 46 farmers groups to plant a total of 1,525-ha of critical land.
2. Djoni (West Sumatra): for motivating local communities to produce organic fertilizers from goat urine and other activities empowering local farmers.
3. Makaampo Ratundulage Madonsa (North Sulawesi): for planting mangrove trees to save springs, and distributing thousands of mangrove seeds to local communities.
C. "Saviors" category:
1. Dayak Wehea Cultural Institution (East Kalimantan): for preserving 38,000 ha of protected forest by upholding traditional laws.
2. Ninik Mamak (customary leaders) of Negeri Enam Tanjung (Riau): for preserving 1,000 ha of Rimbo Tujuh Danau forest.
D. "Promoters" category:
1. Irwansyah Idrus (Central Jakarta): for promoting clean and hygienic lifestyles in the local community by building environment-friendly toilets and promoting the reuse, reductions and recycling of garbage.
2. Imdaad Hamid (East Kalimantan): for preserving endangered animal species and the 9,872-ha Sungai Wain protected forest, preserving clean water for Balikpapan, etc.

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