More than 150 people from 30 communities took part in World Earth Day on Saturday at Proklamasi Monument Park in Menteng, Central Jakarta, to show their concern for the planet.

 Among those taking part were the Jakarta Amateur Astronomers Association, the Travel Addicts Group, Jakarta Green Map, the Hijabers Community, the Scout movement, Buana Nusantara, Jakarta Gardening Community (Jakarta Berkebun) and the Green Generation Community.

“We wanted to do something different this year, so we invited not only communities, but corporations concerned with environmental issues, to disseminate information to society about the importance of the green lifestyle,” Word Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia director for climate and energy Nyoman Iswarayoga said Saturday.

“The earth needs our help; we have to do something, even a small symbolic thing like this.”

In the morning, participants collected plastic waste in an activity called “Operasi Plastik” and made biopores. “This is fun. Our plan was to make 60 biopores, but we made more than 60. Making biopores is good to help prevent floods because it eases the flow of water within the soil,” said Levi, a volunteer at the event.

In the afternoon, bands took the stage, performing before the young crowd with “environmentally friendly instruments”. “I came to this event because I want to enjoy the music,” said Reza in the audience.

As one of the participants, Reza said he had adopted a green lifestyle by taking his own drinking bottle every day, using public transportation and saving electricity.

“I hope people will become more aware of the importance of a green lifestyle after this event,” he said.

Event committee member Dyah Ekarini said the committee only provided a couple of sets of sound system and a few guitars to save electricity.

“This is one way to show people how serious our concern about the environment is,” she said.

As the day turned to night, rain poured down but participants refused to leave, taking shelter under make-shift tents.

During WWF’s global Earth Hour campaign, launched in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, office buildings, hotels, malls, street lights and private houses switch the power off for one hour from 8:30 p.m. to reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

Hundreds of Jakartans, along with an estimated 2 million people from over 7,000 cities in 153 countries, took part in the event.

According to state power firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, Jakarta saved 214 megawatts during last year’s Earth Hour. The figure is equivalent to 64,000 liters of fuel, or 150 tons of carbon released into the air.

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo said the annual campaign was only a small part of a bigger effort to save energy. “We still have to keep exercising continuous and sustainable efforts to cut energy consumption,” the governor said at the Velodrome sports center in Pulogadung, East Jakarta. (hrl)

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