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Ecopark vital conservation area for Bogor residents
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Appreciating nature: Visitors enjoy the fresh air at the Ecology Park in Cibinong, Bogor regency, West Java. (JP/Theresia Sufa)
T
he Ecology Park (Ecopark) in Cibinong, Bogor regency, West Java, plays a key ecological function as the conservation area is home to a collection of thousands of rare plants from the seven biggest islands in Indonesia.
Located at the Cibinong Science Center, the park, which features an artificial lake, serves as the main source of oxygen and water for people living in Cibinong and its surrounding areas.
Sugiarti, a staff member of Bogor Botanical Gardens’ Plant Conservation Center public relations division, said the Ecopark was initiated following a need to accommodate some of the plant collections at the Gardens.
Built on a 87 hectare plot of land, Bogor Botanical Gardens can no longer be expanded, while exploration activities continue to run, she said. That is why the Ecopark was developed in 2002 on a 34 ha plot of land.
“We chose land around the Cibinong Science Center because it’s not far from Bogor Botanical Gardens,” said Sugiarti.
As part of Bogor Botanical Gardens, the Ecopark has a strategic function, including conservation, research, education, environmental services and ecotourism.
The Bogor Botanical Gardens’ Plant Collection Management division head Mujahidin SP said as an indigenous plant conservation area, the Ecopark had its collection arranged based on the bioregions of the country, namely Jawa-Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua.
As of 2017, the number of Ecopark plant collections had reached more than 10,000, comprising 500 species. (ebf)
