REVITALIZATION OF CITARUM RIVER BY MULTI SECTOR APPROACH
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Date:
30 Apr 2020 -
Author:
KEHATI
Collaboration to support the acceleration of the revitalization program with advocacy and appreciation for the community and businesses.
Bandung, 20 November 2019 – PT Bank HSBC Indonesia (HSBC), KEHATI Foundation, and GIF (Green Initiative Foundation) initiated a project titled Revitalizing and Rehabilitating Citarum River as a Sustainable Source of Life. This is a form of participation in the Citarum River revitalization program in 2018 and support for the Citarum Harum Program, which has been ongoing since 2018. More than 1 year running, the Citarum revitalization project has several notes to follow up on.
In order to achieve the target, revitalization of the Citarum River requires the support of all parties, including businesses and communities in the Citarum River watershed. “We believe in the vital value of the river for the life and well-being of the surrounding community. To rehabilitate the Citarum River, collaboration and active roles from all parties are key. One approach we take is to educate and provide information that is useful for increasing public understanding and awareness of healthy behavior to preserve the river, so as to create better welfare and ultimately encourage economic development. While for businesses around the river, we appreciate those who consistently apply the principle of sustainability in their business. ” said Head of Corporate Sustainability of PT Bank HSBC Indonesia Nuni Sutyoko.
Of the 2,700 companies in the Citarum River watershed, some of them have managed their industrial waste well. Therefore, PT Bank HSBC Indonesia, KEHATI Foundation and GIF are trying to advocate and educate other companies and communities in the Citarum River Basin to do the same thing, including organic and non-organic waste management.
Based on the results of studies by HSBC, KEHATI Foundation, and GIF, there are 3 programs that can help the Citarum River revitalization process; the establishment of a communication forum for businesses in the Citarum watershed, an award program for business people in the Citarum watershed who succeeded in running environmentally friendly business practices, and community strengthening. The establishment of a communication forum is aimed at enabling businesses to share best practices on business waste management. In addition, this forum allows businesses to consult with experts to discuss technical, financial, legal and community empowerment issues.
Furthermore, the rewards and recognition program is expected to motivate businesses to continue to run environmentally friendly business practices. KEHATI Foundation sees that in the future environment-based businesses will no longer be something that will be forced by regulators and shouted by environmental NGOs. “It will become values that will be adopted by the market,” KEHATI Foundation Executive Director Riki Frindos said. Furthermore, strengthening the Citarum watershed community will also be carried out through training and outreach on environmental, health, hygiene and sanitation issues.
Household waste generated by the community not only damages the environment, but also endangers the health of the local community. Although claimed to be improved by several parties, community participation must continue to be improved to improve the quality of Citarum water.
“Revitalization of Citarum is still long, and this project aims to support government programs to improve the water quality of the Citarum river by encouraging the active involvement of all parties, especially those in the Citarum watershed. It has become a joint task to restore Citarum to become the source of life as it used to be, “Riki concluded.
About Sustainability at HSBC
At HSBC, sustainability is defined as an effort to build a long-term business by always paying attention to social, environmental and economic considerations in doing business. This helped spur business activities while contributing to the growth and sustainability of the community. HSBC provides financial contributions to various social programs in the world and engages thousands of employees throughout the world to contribute their time and skills to volunteer programs. The focus of community investment at PT Bank HSBC Indonesia is the 21st Century Skills program, sustainable networking and business as well as financial sustainability.
KEHATI Foundation
The Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI) has been established since January 12, 1994 to collect and manage resources which will then be distributed in the form of grants, facilitation, consultation and various other facilities to support various biodiversity conservation programs in Indonesia and their use in a fair and sustainable manner.
The existence of KEHATI is closely related to Indonesia’s commitment in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, which resulted from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the Tokyo Declaration in 1993. In accordance with the agreement in the Tokyo Declaration, the United States Government provides support for biodiversity conservation in Indonesia, which subsequently became the forerunner to the existence of KEHATI organization. This support is manifested in the form of an endowment fund, which is then played on the capital market in the form of shares and bonds.
The proceeds from the turnover of these funds are obtained rewards that are used to finance grant aid programs implemented by KEHATI partners. KEHATI assistance can take the form of grants, experts, consultations and various forms of facilitation for the activities of NGOs, CBOs, research institutions, education and training as well as various civil society organizations and components that have programs and activities in line with the KEHATI program, conservation and utilization of biodiversity in a manner just and sustainable.
Various forms of cooperation are established with institutions that can support the KEHATI mission, such as the central and regional governments, the business community, universities, NGOs / CBOs, professional associations, and the mass media.