EcoNusa collaborated with the Scout National Chapter (Kwarnas Gerakan Pramuka) to educate a future leader of Indonesia with serious concern about environment. The collaboration was marked by the sign of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the participation of scout members to craft a sustainable natural resources management.
“We are in synergy with EcoNusa Foundation in a complete education of scout in the future. It is young people who will become a future leader who cares about environment. Now we have to nurture, conserve, sustain, and even develop the environment,” said the Chairman of Scout National Chapter, Budi Waseso, after the sign of MoU at Buperta Cibubur, Jakarta, on Saturday, 23 July 2022.
Budi said that the Scout National Chapter welcomed the cooperation with EcoNusa as it goes along with the Scout vision and mission as stipulated by the Law No. 12/2010 on Scout Initiative. In Article 4, it says that one of the Scout initiative objectives is environmental conservation.
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“Building the country in the future could be done, among others, by a comprehensive education. So, education should not be restricted. As from all aspects, education should be the tools to the upcoming young generation so that they could compete against youth from outside of the republic,” said Budi.
The scope of MoU of EcoNusa and Scout National Chapter deals with environmental campaign collaboration, capacity building for youth and Scout National Chapter members, and environment-based entrepreneurship involving Scout National Chapter at Maluku and Tanah Papua.
Besides, the collaboration of both institutions generates a “mangrove badge challenge” initiative which builds comprehension and participation of Scout National Chapter in mangrove ecosystem conservation.
“We also build some communication channels with international Scout so Indonesia could have badge which is proposed by Indonesia, with Indonesian characteristics, and thus the badge is applicable in the world, or at least in the Asia Pacific,” said Bustar.
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As to Bustar, the climate crisis has become a nature condition change that should be taken into consideration among the Scout National Chapter. In the context of disaster mitigation, mangrove ecosystem could serve as the frontline buffer against the village and small islands in Indonesia.
“President (Joko Widodo) also called for mangrove rehabilitation. And we want to contribute to the mangrove rehabilitation jointly with the Scout National Chapter. That is part our commitments with the Scout,” said Bustar.
The Government of Indonesia has been rehabilitating the degraded mangrove up through to 2024. The government also targeted the rehabilitation of 600,000 hectares of mangrove ecosystem. The size equals to more than nine times of Jakarta Province.
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Indonesia is on the top of country with the largest mangrove areas with 3.311 million hectares, or around 25 percent of the total of global mangrove areas. The followings are Brazil and Australia with around 8 percent and 7 percent respectively. The center of Indonesia mangrove ecosystem is located at Tanah Papua with the largest mangrove areas, or 1,634,041 hectares, in Papua Province and 473,059 hectares in West Papua Province.
Editor: Nur Alfiyah
