ETS, KARAWANG – The Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya launched the National Movement for the Recovery of Watersheds (GN PDAS) which was held at the Permanent Nursery Purwakarta, East Jomin Village, Kota Baru Subdistrict, Karawang Regency, West Java, 28 to 29 December 2018.
In his remarks, Minister Siti invited all sectors and layers of society to be able to agree that damaged river basins (DAS) were a source of disaster, and could only be restored if all stakeholders worked together.
“The effort to restore watersheds is enormous work. There are still other aspects that have not been touched, for example related to spatial planning and about this matter we need to sit back together to find a solution. ”
“Now it’s not a matter of how much we have planted trees, but whether it is alive or not, beneficial or not for the environment?” Said Minister Siti.
He believes that the indicator of a healthy watershed is the availability of adequate quantity and quality of water for various needs, maintaining soil fertility and land productivity, and reducing hydrological disasters such as floods, landslides and droughts.
“All of these are prerequisites for a prosperous society. Therefore, if the watershed is healthy, then the people living in the watershed will prosper, ”said Minister Siti Nurbaya in his direction on the launching program entitled” Healthy Watershed, People’s Welfare “.
He also asked governors and district heads to facilitate the preparation of Integrated Watershed Management Plans, among others, through the DAS Forum.
Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) in 2019 is the main focus of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s work program.
Specifically regarding RHL, Minister Siti also hopes that the governors and regents support the implementation.
While the Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, said that he would continue to focus on the Citarum watershed which had been badly global.
“In January, we will hold a Citarum Expo, inviting all levels to gather their knowledge and ideas,” said the man who was familiarly called Kang Emil.
According to him, after the Citarum Expo there will be a joint action plan to restore the condition of the Citarum watershed to be better.
“We will support, fund and multiply the tree nurseries that have been carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry so that our tree seedlings will be more numerous and planting in watersheds, maximized.”
“We still have big challenges, but at least we have started for the sake of nature and our environment together,” concluded the Governor of West Java.
Source tropis.co
