[Unpad.ac.id, 4/12/2013] Fully aware of the deteriorating condition of Indonesian forests, Unpad Faculty of Geological Engineering (FTG) in collaboration with the Perum Perhutani, Indonesian State Owned Forest Enterprise, through its corporate social responsibility program, plant 1000 trees in Ciparanje, Leles Village in Jatinangor. The event is also to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the geological engineering faculty.
According to Elmo Ion Agita, the head of the event organizer, Ciparanje is a landslide prone area and therefore it is necessary that vegetation be grown there. What’s more, Ciparanje is included as a drainage basin that would benefit from the vegetations around it to help keep surface water underground. Not only will it keep the area from landslide hazards, but also beautify the area with green scenery.
In this program, Perum Perhutani donates 500 trees to be planted, to partly cover the 165-hectare-wide area. “It will reduces the runoff and the pace of erosion. It is also to support green campus and eco campus movement,” says Irvan Sophian, the head of committee for FTG 54th anniversary.
The trees planted are mahoganies due to their 50-year durability and ability to store water underground. Firman Syafrudin, the head of growing forest community (PBM) Perhutani, argues that the program is a piece of evidence that campus together with the society is committed to help save the environment.
