Sleep better knowing you saved a life<\/p>\n
By Danielle Bray<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Concern over endangered species, the loss of
\nhabitat and illegal trading in wildlife have prompted partnership
\nbetween the Bass Hotel & Resort group, and the World Wide Fund
\nfor Nature (WWF) Indonesia.<\/p>\n
A small crowd gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jakarta
\nThursday to learn more about the dangers of extinction facing
\nIndonesian wildlife, and how the hotel patrons can support this
\ncause.<\/p>\n
A five-month campaign, from July 1 to Nov. 30, 2000, entitled
\nSleep Well, You Just Saved a Life, was launched among 33 Inter-
\ncontinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels & resorts in 10
\nAsia Pacific countries.<\/p>\n
During this time, guests staying at participating hotels will
\nreceive information about this campaign located on tent cards,
\nwhich are placed along with a WWF poster in each room.<\/p>\n
Occupants are informed that an equivalent of US$1 will be
\nadded to their bill, which at their approval, will be donated
\ndirectly to the WWF. All proceeds will go to the funding of their
\non-going wildlife conservation work in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n
Since the 1960's, the WWF has become one of the world's
\nleading private international conservation organizations. The
\npreservation group has over five million supporters in five
\ncontinents, and has played a major role in the evolution of the
\ninternational conservation movement.<\/p>\n
Hana Hoed, marketing services manager at the Crowne Plaza
\nJakarta said, \"Since the launch of this campaign two weeks ago,
\nwe have collected Rp 4.9 million, which we are very happy about.
\nThe ideal goal is to raise Rp 50 million or more.\"<\/p>\n
Stefan Voogel, the general manager of the hotel, kicked off
\nthe awareness campaign by discussing the positive partnership
\nbetween the WWF and Bass Hotel & Resorts. He said there has been
\na very encouraging response from the guests.\"<\/p>\n
WWF's communication and education awareness manager Desi Polla
\nstated that in Indonesia there are two main problems which are
\ncauses for concern. \"One is the loss of natural habitat, the
\nother is illegal trading.\"<\/p>\n
She stressed how important it is to educate the local society
\nof the urgency to protect Indonesia's wildlife and natural
\nsurroundings. She added, \"Conservation awareness is not high in
\nIndonesia... there needs to be an understanding of the need to
\nprotect the wildlife for our children and the generations to
\ncome.\"<\/p>\n
Agus Purnomo, executive director of WWF Indonesia said, \"We
\nare pleased to see the pivotal role Indonesian tourism can play
\nin helping to secure the future of our endangered species and
\ntheir habitats, subsequently extending our eco-tourism
\ninitiatives in selected major tourist destinations.\"<\/p>\n
Participants of the discussion were silenced by a moving video
\nthat displayed the harsh reality behind Indonesia's endangered
\nspecies, held captive in cages, waiting to be sold on the black
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
The audience also reacted strongly to the dim reality of the
\nstaggering amount of elephants that are killed in order to
\nsupport the demand of the ivory trade. Ivory continues to be sold
\nfor large quantities of U.S. dollars.<\/p>\n
Some of the world's most unique and threatened animal species
\nare located in the Asia-Pacific region. These include the giant
\npanda, the tiger, the Asian elephant, the Asian rhino, orangutans
\nand marine turtles.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sleep-better-knowing-you-saved-a-life-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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