FPM Bali Cleaned Mangrove in Benoa Bay
February 21, 2016
Denpasar, Pos Bali – Commemorating the Trash Day which was held on every February 21st (today), Volunteer of Mangrove Care Forum (FPM) Bali together with the Artha Graha Network employees and the local communities, carry out cleaning action around Benoa Bay mangrove area, South Kuta, Badung. The Cleaning action starts from 07.00 WITA and was initiated by FPM Bali and PT Tirta Wahana Bali International (TWBI) which was focused on locations that has been used to transfer trash including organic and plastic trash.
Chairman of Bali Mangrove Care Forum, Steve Wilson David Sumolang explained, that all this time, transferred trash always come at any time, either from upstream or downstream into the surrounding of Benoa Bay. "As a volunteer of Mangrove Care Forum, we want to clean the mangroves in Benoa Bay from various kinds of trash in our region," he said on Saturday (20/2).
Accompanied by FPM Bali Public Relation, Wayan Lanang Sudira, according to Sumolang, the real action to clean trash this time once again involved many employees of Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel (DKPH), PT. TWBI and FPM volunteers including the people of Tanjung Benoa. This activity is also part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of TWBI and Artha Graha Peduli. The cleaning action was routinely done, together with elements of society, and provincial and regency government.
Without any hesitation, they collect the trashes that has been accumulates on coast and inland. "Besides taking action as a concern for the environment, we also keep educating the society to be more concerned to the environment around them, by not throwing trashes carelessly," he hoped.
One of Benoa Bay civilian, Ni Wayan Daningsih admitted that all this time not a few mangroves threatened of its life. As a result of massive flooding of trashes that covers the growing mangrove trees. Only in one day, tons of trashes can cover the mangrove areas. Evidently, after the cleaning action and being sorted, the organic and non-organic trash can reached half a ton of trashes when weighed, before finally taken by the company which is a specialist in waste processing. "Every day, trashes arrive and polluting Benoa Bay, as we continue to clean up," he added.
Meanwhile, the founder of FPM Bali, Heru B. Wasesa asserted, if the trashes are not cleaned, it will inhibit the growth of mangrove trees that had been initiated by FPM since three years ago. In fact, the mangrove trees can die because of buried trash. According to him, planting mangrove trees in that location is not easy and should continue to be monitored for 24 hours, as the FPM station did.
Furthermore, according to Heru, planting mangrove is a very important thing to do. But more importantly is how each one of the planted tree was maintained, cared for, so it can grow and not die. "Our focus is at this location, because this place is mostly polluted by trashes, even though there are so many mangrove were planted here," said the President Director of PT TWBI.
Heru added, what we have done is also related with commemoration of national trash day, which falls on this February 21st. Therefore, he asks all elements of society, to be more concerned with the conservation of nature such as in Benoa Bay that doesn’t stop being flooded with junk. "We have been working on this matter for three years, FPM invites all elements of society to do the cleaning of trashes. Do not forget, one of our main enemies in Bali, is trash, so let's make the real work, to clean up the trash, so that Bali is said really loved the environment", he explained.
The actors of tourism business who are also people of Tanjung Benoa, Nyoman Cakra appreciate FPM’s trash care act in the Benoa Bay. According to him this is the real proof of FPM Bali and PT TWBI concern, to preserve mangrove forest, where all this time only became a discourse among the society. "The real action is not merely to commemorate the national trash day. However, trash cleaning activities were conducted by the Forum Peduli Mangrove every day. These trashes that are collected also are generated from people's daily activities, "he said. 016