Books on Indonesian ecology launched

JAKARTA (JP): In a bid to fill the lack of comprehensive literature on Indonesian ecology, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) launched on Thursday the first three books of its kind in the Indonesian language.

The three books, titled Ekologi Jawa dan Bali, Ekologi Kalimantan and Ekologi Nusa Tenggara and Maluku are published under the Environmental Development Project in Indonesia (EMDI), jointly run by the Ministry of Environment and the Dalhousie University from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada.

"This is the result of 13 years of painstaking research on Indonesian ecology," said Sri Nurani Kartikasari, one of the books' editors.

Nurani recounted how hard it was to find data on Indonesian ecology since most of the information was published in foreign languages such as Dutch, German, English and French.

"It is shameful that Indonesian does not have its own comprehensive information about the country's rich natural resources," Nurani, who obtained her PhD on the environment and development at Cambridge University, said.

The books each contain almost 1,000 pages that describe in detail the various environmental problems that exist in Indonesia, instances of damage to ecosystems and the condition of the country's volcanoes, rivers, beaches and forests as well as the flora and fauna of Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku.

The three books were published in English in 1997.

"But in the Indonesian edition, especially in the Java-Bali book, we have added certain recent analysis of the country's environment," she said.

Other books to follow are Ekologi Sumatra, Ekologi Sulawesi, Ekologi Irian Jaya and Ekologi Laut Indonesia .

Present at the launching ceremony were Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Ken Sunquist and State Minister of Environment Sonny Keraf.

"Nowadays, the environment has become a common issue and people have already developed considerable sensitivity and concern about the issue. Unfortunately, the concern was built on the negative and bleak side of the environment's condition," Sonny said.

"Therefore I think it is fair enough to provide our community with scientific and readable facts about the richness of our ecosystem despite the complexity of the problems," Sonny said in his speech.

Ambassador Sunquist said the books represented the long- standing ties between the two countries.

"We want to support the development of sustainable environmental management in Indonesia," Sunquist said. (edt)