Communities, businesses and administrations in Greater Jakarta will not only switch off electricity for one hour but also conduct other various green activities during the global World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour campaign slated for Saturday.

The WWF Indonesia campaign coordinator for climate and energy, Verena Puspawardani, told reporters on Thursday that the organization would not only call on the public to switch off electricity for one hour starting at 8:30 p.m., but also encourage them to reduce and recycle garbage, use domestic products and occupy public spaces like city parks.

“Therefore, we will hold our activities, with a picnic concept, for the Earth Hour at Proklamasi Monument Park in Central Jakarta,” she said.

Verena added that Earth Hour volunteers would conduct events in other places, like cleaning garbage from the banks of the Ciliwung River in Condet, East Jakarta, for one hour. “We want to show that small initiatives, like picking up garbage for one hour, can have a greater impact,” she said.

The Earth Hour is an environmental campaign launched in Sydney in 2007. This year will be the fifth time that Jakarta will join the campaign. Thirty other cities in Indonesia will also take part.

WWF Indonesia climate and energy director Nyoman Iswarayoga said that besides residents, communities and corporations, the Jakarta administration also fully supported the campaign.

“The administration has vowed to turn off unused electricity in its buildings and the governor has called on building owners in the city to join in the campaign as well,” he said.

Nyoman said that the WWF did not want to focus on a target of how many watts of electricity would be saved from the campaign. “The important thing is increasing the awareness of public to live more green,” he said.

Cities in Indonesia saved about 526 megawatts of electricity, or Rp 800 million (US$82,400), from last year’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Depok city administration has also vowed to get more involved in the campaign. “The mayor will join us to check whether offices at the district level have also joined the campaign,” Depok’s coordinator for the Earth Hour, Pandu Pinandita, said. — JP/cor