Traditional logic key to conserving natural resources

Traditional logic key to conserving natural resources

JAKARTA (JP): Even if doomsday is around the corner, not many
people are willing to give up their greedy habits to save future
generations.

As the saying goes, "We don't know how much a tree is worth
until we cut it down."

Speakers at a recent workshop on biodiversity in Serpong, West
Java, stressed that conservation efforts must involve local
people and immediately benefit them.

Former minister of environment Emil Salim and his successor
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja were among the speakers who urged practical
action.

"We have often been criticized for having abstract plans,"
Emil said at the closing of the three-day workshop on Saturday.
The talk was organized by the Indonesian Biosphere and Human
Development Institute chaired by former forestry minister
Sudjarwo.

Earlier, Sarwono urged participants to determine if Indonesia
could pioneer "continuing conservation while attaching economic
value to our neglected resources," in the absence of model
countries.

Researchers say this market logic can work by first
reintroducing knowledge that has been floating around for
centuries.

"That way we can retain and use our biodiversity," said Mien
A. Rifai, who leads a plant research center called Herbarium
Bogoriense.

Local knowledge of nature is vanishing rapidly, speakers
noted, citing taboo periods for fishing as an example of how
abandoning tradition has adversely affected the environment.

Rifai also pushed for saving ancestral knowledge, adding that
it should be backed up with science. The need is urgent, but
Indonesian scientists have been moving at a snail's pace to
recover and devise ways to feed and shelter the nations growing
millions.

"In the past 50 years no new superior mangoes, minor grain
legumes or local vegetables have been developed...," he said.

He pointed out that the variety of food in Indonesia, like the
100 species of cereals, roots, sago and other plants, could meet
carbohydrate requirements.

Sarwono, however, complained about the "monoculture attitude"
of urbanites who are increasingly dependent on flour.

Although traditional recipes and medicine are already popular,
researchers pointed out that their popularity has not translated
into replanting or conservation -- endangering certain plants.

-- Eco-labeling