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No more sky lanterns at next year’s Dieng Culture Festival, organizer says
Dieng Culture Festival will no longer include a sky lantern show after criticism from environmentalists and the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
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Visitors release lanterns at the 2019 Dieng Culture Festival in Dieng, Central Java, on Aug. 3. (Kompas.com/Roderick Adrian Mozes)
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ince the very first edition of Dieng Culture Festival in Central Java in 2013, releasing sky lanterns has been considered an iconic part of the event.
On Saturday, thousands of lanterns were released into the sky during the festival, despite criticism from environmentalists concerning the amount of trash they produce and the threat they pose to wildlife.
The following day, the festival’s organizer posted a now-expired story on its Instagram page, saying, “Thank you Indonesia, this will be the last Dieng Culture Festival with lanterns. Next year we will no longer utilize the lanterns. Thank you for supporting us, you are the best. See you at Jazz Atas Awan (Jazz Above the Clouds) 2020”.
The head of the festival's committee, Alif Fauzi, told kompas.com that the organizer acknowledged an official letter from the Environment and Forestry Ministry regarding the environmental risks of the lantern releasing ceremony.
The letter stated that lanterns were a fire hazard and carried the risk of destructing the surrounding forest, land and communities, as well as the risk of waste pollution, whether caused by the lanterns or other materials from the three-day festival.
Read also: Environmentalists criticize use of sky lanterns at Dieng Culture Festival
Concerning the fire hazard posed by lanterns, Alif said fire safety crews were posted on the side of the mountain in close proximity to the event. He added that the lanterns had always landed around the festival site.
“The lanterns usually extinguish in the sky and begin to descend after around a minute of flying. The lanterns never land outside a 3-kilometer radius from where they are released,” he said.
In addition, he said cleaning crews were constantly active throughout the duration of the festival.
Though the ministry’s letter came prior to this year’s festival, the organizer decided to go ahead with the lantern show. Alif said the organizer felt obligated to hold the ceremony, as it was a key part of the festival and visitors found it attractive.
The organizer added that they were committed to finding an alternative for next year’s festival.
In a statement, they said, “We apologize that the event in 2020 will no longer involve the lantern releasing ceremony. We do not wish to cause further issues. We hope to find a better activity next year that will meet the standard of Dieng Culture Festival.” (sal/wng)
