C

ommemorating the recent observance of World Water Day, Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) School of Agricultural Technology on Tuesday pioneered the so-called clean irrigation movement.

The movement was launched in Bendung Tegal, Sriharjo, Imogiri, Bantul and Yogyakarta, by cleansing ditches and rivers around Bendung Tegal. The movement is expected to be conducted annually in a bid to help build people’s awareness on the relevant issues.

“This is our way of showing our concern regarding the abundant garbage disposed of in and flowing on irrigation,” one of the movement’s initiators, Sigit Supadmo Arif, said.

He said that garbage in the irrigation works disturbed the environment and had a bad impact on the quality of agricultural products.

He blamed the condition on low awareness among people about garbage, a lack of good waste management and the absence of a culture of clean living among the community.

Sigit said that through the movement, concrete efforts to raise people’s awareness would be done through education and empowerment programs involving all stakeholders by using different instruments, including short movie screenings, photo exhibits, posters, theatrical performances and waste management technology education.

“We’re involving 38 farmers’ groups from across Bantul. Next year we will also invite a Swedish university to join us,” Sigit said.

At the end of the launch on Tuesday, participants signed a declaration on cleaner irrigation. They also handed over plant seeds to green irrigation areas in the region.

A participant, Bayudono, said that irrigation was urgently needed in food development. “Through the movement we want to develop the concept of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’,” he said.

Supriyanto of the Bantul regency administration welcomed the movement, saying that maintaining clean irrigation was a huge task that would require an integrated solution by involving many parties.

Previously, soldiers from the 400 Raider Infantry Battalion of the IV/Diponegoro Military District Command (Kodam) and local residents planted 1,000 saplings around Jatibarang Dam’s green belt area for the same event.

The seedlings planted comprised 500 trembesi, 100 ketapang, 100 madhuca, 240 glodongan, 30 mahogany and 30 mango saplings.

“This is our way of showing our care for the preservation of the environment and the management of water resources in Semarang,” the chairman of the tree planting organizing committee, First. Lt. Aprianda said.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, dozens of students from Diponegoro University, Semarang State University and Yogyakarta’s UGM staged a campaign in Semarang, calling on people to save mangrove forests, distributing stickers and making speeches.

Protest coordinator Wellan Oktra Winata said that in Semarang’s coastal area alone, some 70 percent of the mangrove trees had damaged.

“Many people in coastal areas are not aware of the importance of mangroves. They cut them down and turn the mangrove forest into fish ponds and use the big logs to build houses,” said Wellan, who is also a member of the Teluk Awur mangrove ecosystem study club.

Satelite data shows that Indonesia is currently home to 3.1 million hectares of mangrove trees, the world’s second-biggest such area after Brazil and accounting for 22.6 percent of the world’s remaining mangrove forests.

A 2006 survey conducted by the Forestry Ministry said that the total area occupied by mangrove trees was 7.7 million hectares, which plunged to 3 million hectares by 2010, due to massive land conversions into oil palm plantations, fish ponds or residential complexes.