Program will create provincial botanical gardens
Program will create provincial botanical gardens
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri launched on Wednesday a
nationwide regreening program that will require each province to
build a botanical garden to conserve rare plants from within
their jurisdictions.
Megawati said the botanical gardens would help the country
protect its natural resources.
"By developing these botanical gardens, we will be
safeguarding the country's biodiversity. Every governor should
pay attention to the effort to conserve natural resources," the
President said in her speech, which was given to mark National
Technology Day.
Currently, there are only three botanical gardens in the
country -- one each in West Java, East Java and Jambi -- while
Banten province has what is termed a "biodiversity garden".
The government has set no time frame for those provinces that
lack botanical gardens to start work on establishing them.
However, provinces in Sumatra and Borneo islands will be urged to
immediately start implementing the program.
State Minister for Research and Technology Hatta Radjasa said
the funding for the gardens would have to be provided by each
provincial government out of its own resources, while the central
government would play an oversight role.
"The Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) will help us
oversee the project, while the Bogor Botanical Gardens will
provide seeds and plants, if necessary," Hatta said.
The country has lost millions of hectares of its tropical
forests due to uncontrolled illegal logging and mining in recent
decades.
In November last year, the forestry ministry issued a decree
on reforestation aimed at expanding the country's forest cover by
2.4 million hectares in five years. The project will cost the
country Rp 15 trillion (US$1.6 billion).
During the ceremony, the President hailed Indonesian students'
achievements in international scientific contests, saying that
this proved the country's people were a match for those of other
countries in the research and technology field.
"However, we have to review our policies in technology in
order to give more room to students in which to develop,"
Megawati said.
She also conferred awards on nine citizens for their
contribution to the development of technology in the country. The
recipients included Septinus George Saa from Papua.
George won the gold medal in the international physics
competition in Poland in April this year for his "Infinite
triangle and hexagonal lattice network of identical resistors"
formula.
He defeated competitors from 73 countries.
The former student of a state high school in Jayapura is
currently studying at the private Pelita Harapan University in
Tangerang, Banten. He has received a scholarship to pursue a
doctoral degree anywhere he likes in the world.
He is slated to leave for Poland in November to undergo a one-
month course at the Polish University in Warsaw.