Conservation fails without civic role

Conservation fails without civic role

JAKARTA (JP): Environmentalists warned on Saturday that the
high-profile state-sponsored conservation drive will fail unless
it involves the public.

Emil Salim and Andi Hakim Nasution said in a seminar that the
public should take the initiative in promoting conservation and
not depend on the government.

Both were featured speakers at a seminar on natural and
environmental conservation activities held by the local branch of
the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in commemoration of the
world's 25th Earth Day.

Emil Salim, a former state minister of environment and well-
known for his close relations with local non-governmental
organizations, called for greater public support in conservation
efforts.

Environmentalists should link up with organizations,
consumers, religious leaders, planners and local governments, he
said.

The major threat of environmental conservation is the high
population growth rate, he said, adding that if Indonesia's
population growth continues at the current rate, the population
will reach 300 million by the year 2050.

"Higher population means more consumption, which adds to the
pressure on natural resources," he said.

Environmental conservation, he said, is becoming a major issue
in the building of civil societies everywhere in the world.

"Environmental efforts will succeed only if planning and
implementation involve the people," Emil insisted.

Andi Hakim Nasution, former rector of Bogor Institute of
Agriculture, said Indonesian parents should instill in their
children habits that promote cleanliness and ones that lead to a
better awareness of conservation.

He pointed out that few Indonesian parents instill the habits
of "living clean and healthy".

The drive for cleanliness and health will remain empty slogans
unless people practice it in daily life, he added. "Posters hung
on the streets encouraging people to promote sanitary behavior
will only obstruct traffic signs and become a nuisance if people
just ignore it."

He urges educational institutions from the elementary to
university levels to actively participate in the cleanliness
drive. Rich people should also promote environmental
conservation, he said.

A representative from WWF Indonesia, Russell H. Betts, said
the purpose of the meeting was to look for alternatives and to
combine forces to create a future where humans can live
harmoniously with nature.

Earth Day is a massive global movement focusing on global
solidarity with the earth. "Earth Day is the people's voice in
the name of the motherland to whom we and the next generation
depend on, either for the wealth or continuity of our life,"
Betts said. "There is only one earth -- our home, our
responsibility." (29)