Books on Indonesian ecology launched
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)