Lessons on environmental awareness needed
Lessons on environmental awareness needed
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja urged teachers on Saturday to help improve the
environmental awareness of the public by teaching their students
to treat animals and plants with respect.
Sarwono said teachers should tell the students about the need
for "civilized treatment of flora and fauna".
He told journalists after attending a ceremony in conjunction
with National Flora and Fauna Day at Taman Mini park that
education was vital to improving environmental awareness among
the populace.
The efforts to save the environment would not work without the
active participation of the people, the minister emphasized.
Citing an example, he said that people should report to the
police any violation of the ban on bird hunting.
Sarwono referred to the Minister of Home Affairs's regulation
banning the hunting of any kind of birds throughout the country,
which was issued in April.
He said that the government also banned any contests involving
captive birds.
In observance of National Flora and Fauna Day, several members
of the Association of Indonesian Zoos are organizing various
activities involving the public.
"There is an elephant riding contest at the zoo in Bukittinggi
(West Sumatra) today," D. Ashari, president of the association,
who also attended Saturday's ceremony, said.
The Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta, in cooperation with the
World Wide Fund for Nature, will hold story telling and music
contests, as well as quizzes, on Nov.20.
Bio-diversity
On Saturday, Sarwono again raised concerns over development
activities which run counter to conserving the rich bio-diversity
resources of the country.
"There are still development and human activities which are
not in line with the conservation efforts towards sustainable use
of bio-diversity resources," Sarwono said.
Activities which are harmful to the environment continue to
occur due to the inadequate legal instruments, the minister said.
Research on bio-diversity done by various institutes and
universities does not focus on conservation, Sarwono complained.
He added that Indonesia also lacks professionals and is well
behind other countries in the science and technology of bio-
diversity.
President Soeharto, along with 156 other heads of state,
signed the United Conventions on Biological Diversity, at the
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. Sarwono said Indonesia
ratified the convention through Law No.5/1994.
The ratification of the convention is expected to improve the
cooperation among the government and the private sector, as well
as the public, in conservation efforts for the betterment of
social welfare.(sim)