Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A green caravan will, both literally and figuratively, embark on a road show through Sumatra's main cities, aiming to raise ecological awareness of the importance of tropical rainforest and biodiversity conservation and sustainable growth.
"Our aim is to collect one million signatures from people from cities in Sumatra. Their 'hope letters' will then be used to convince our government to invest more in our forests there," the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Indonesia director, Noviar Andayani, told The Jakarta Post.
"We'll urge the government to make a change by investing more. Forest rehabilitation costs a lot of money," she said Thursday during the launching of the project.
The Mobile Information Conservation Center, nicknamed Cimo, will campaign in Sumatra using books, posters, leaflets, stickers, magazines, banners and comics.
In addition to disseminating crucial information and getting more voices on board, the campaigners also plan to hold seminars and creative activities such as drawing and story telling competitions.
There was 19.6 million hectares of forestland on Sumatra, but in 2000 this area was reduced by 5 million ha. The Sumatran tropical rainforest was named a world heritage site in 2004 by UNESCO.
Sumatra currently has three national parks -- Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Southern Bukit Barisan -- with a total area spanning some 2 million ha.
Environmentalists traveling with Cimo will visit the cities of Bandar Lampung, Jambi, Padang and Medan, which represent the national parks, from June through to July.
Established in 1985 under the name New York Zoological Society, WSC receives support from a number of NGOs.
Using a scientific, educational and human resource developmental approach, the organization has 100 conservationists and 100 researchers working on various projects around the world.
Former environment minister Emil Salim said education about conservation would determine the future growth of Indonesia.
"Political and social science subjects teach knowledge that will be of secondary importance to the subjects of biology, genetics, marine biology and nanotechnology. The future belongs to people who excel in these subjects," he said.
Emil said that Sumatra's forests had been damaged predominantly by forest fires and both legal and illegal logging.
"Conservation of tropical rain forests is not only for the tigers. It is also for the survival of human beings. Moreover, compared to other countries, our greatest strength lies in our forest resources.
"Biodiversity in our forest is a source of important health products. Some of them can be used as materials to cure cancer and asthma and to treat strokes," he said.
A lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Sujono, said the principal of sustainable growth in Indonesia's forests was in accord with the Constitution and should be enacted promptly.
"The people would be better off if our forests are in good shape. However, now the forests are damaged and our people are not yet better off," he said.
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