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)