Canada funds environmental awareness program in Sulawesi<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In observance with World Environment Day, the Canadian government
\nlaunched on Tuesday a CA$4.5 million (US$3.7 million) project --
\nthe Multi Media Machine, or M3 -- aimed at building environmental
\nawareness among the people of Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The five-year project, which will be undertaken by the World
\nWildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia and a Manado-based NGO, the Lestari
\nFoundation, will use a communications campaign to provide print
\nand electronic media accurate and credible information about
\nenvironmental issues across the island.<\/p>\n
M3 will initially begin in North Sulawesi before gradually
\nexpanding to four other provinces in Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Randolph Mank said the
\nproject was essential as an important step to help maintain the
\nrich environmental conditions of the area.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is home to some of the world's greatest natural
\nresources and diversity ... and yet the natural riches of
\nIndonesia are among the most-threatened,\" Mank said at a round-
\ntable discussion held on Tuesday at his official residence in
\nKebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"That is why the WWF and Yayasan Lestari initiative is so
\nessential to provide steps to the people who are best-placed to
\nimplement them: The citizens, students, and the local leaders in
\nthe Sulawesi provinces,\" Mank told the participants of the
\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n
Lestari Foundation director Sri Haryanti told The Jakarta Post
\nthe grant would further develop an existing program the group had
\nstarted in 2001.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that the media has an important role in
\ndisseminating information and influencing policies. However, many
\nenvironmental issues are still being ignored due to the limited
\ninformation journalists have. Therefore, we will use the funds to
\nbroaden our reach to disseminate information to media across
\nSulawesi,\" she said. The foundation had helped establish talk
\nshows on local radio and television and a monthly four-page
\nsupplement in The Manado Post.<\/p>\n
M3 program manager, Moudy Gerungan, said that one of the
\nstrategies they would use to raise people's awareness was to set
\nup three or four community radios on the islands of Wangiwangi,
\nKatedupa, Tomea, and Binongko in Northeast Sulawesi, to reach
\npeople who did not watch TV or read newspapers.<\/p>\n
The project will be funded by Canadian International
\nDevelopment Agency (CIDA), which has a total of CAD$23 million in
\ndevelopment assistance earmarked for Indonesia this year.<\/p>\n
The agency has maintained a strong geographic focus on the
\nlarge island of Sulawesi, which currently contains five of the
\ncountry's 30 provinces.<\/p>\n
Head of CIDA Indonesia, Rosalind Coleman, said the reason why
\nCIDA focused on Sulawesi was because it was one of the most
\necologically rich areas in Indonesia that had not been well-
\nmanaged.<\/p>\n
CIDA has contributed over a CAD$1 billion in development
\nassistance to Indonesia since 1954, including a program to create
\ngood policies for environmentally sustainable development in the
\ncountry. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/canada-funds-environmental-awareness-program-in-sulawesi-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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