KEHATI AND THE BODY SHOP’S ACTIONS TO SAVE THE ECOSYSTEM OF HARAPAN ISLAND
-
Date:
30 Apr 2020 -
Author:
KEHATI
The Body Shop® telah hadir di Indonesia selama 27 tahun dan dikenal sebagai brand kosmetik asal Inggris yang bukan hanya menghadirkan produk kosmetik berbahan dasar alami terbaik yang 100% vegetarian, tetapi juga secara konsisten menjalankan aksi-aksi terkait lingkungan, sosial hak asasi manusia dan women empowerment dalam rangka membawa perubahan positif. Dalam menjalankan kampanye tersebut, The Body Shop® tidak hanya mengajak para customer untuk turut mendukung tetapi juga mengajak para karyawan untuk juga ikut berperan dalam kampanye yang sedang dijalankan.
The Body Shop®, a cosmetic brand originally from England, has been established in Indonesia for 27 years and is not only known to offer 100% vegetarian nature based cosmetics made from the best resources, but also consistently participates in actions related to the environment, social rights, human rights, and women empowerment. The Body Shop® includes both their customers and employees to engage and support their campaigns.
Human Capital Director of The Body Shop® Indonesia Mira F. Soetjipto stated that volunteering is a routine activity of all The Body Shop® employees in Indonesia. “We mandate 8 hours per year for each employee to volunteer in events that impacts their surrounding environment or community. Employees may volunteer in events organized by the company, such as this event, or individual volunteering. For this event 60 employees are volunteering. Today we will be adopting 170 corals, clean up beach, and an upcycling workshop is being held in Harapan Island to save the ecosystem here, in Thousand Islands archipelago” Mira F. Soetjipto said.
As one of the archipelago in Thousand Islands, Harapan Island supports settlements for locals and tourists in neighboring islands. Two thousand three hundred and forty three people populates this 6,70 hectare island (BPS data 2017) and has successfully accommodated 83.982 tourists in 2015-2017 (83.471 local tourists and 511 foreign tourists). The rise in tourism has presented a new problem, an influx of garbage both left by tourists or from Jakarta via the ocean. “The increase of tourists in Harapan Island is similar to two sides of a coin. The tourism sector gives positive impacts and negative impacts, including plastic waste. The involvement of all parties, such as KEHATI and The Body Shop® is needed to educate on continuing environmental management,” Rony Megawanto, KEHATI Programme Director.
Harapan Island, a part of the Thousand Islands, is the only National Park located in an urban area. This island possesses marine biodiversity and tremendous potential for marine tourism. Every year, more than 2 million tourists visit the Thousand Islands. Unfortunately, many of the islands are left dirty with rubbish by tourists. Both those brought by tourists and because of their activities while on the island. As a result, trash pollutes the beach and goes into the sea, becoming a threat to marine animals. Moreover, tourism activities and garbage also threaten the growth of coral reefs. Coral reefs are marine animals that have a crucial function, namely as habitat and food source for marine life. Coral reefs also produce 50% of oxygen in sea water. When coral reefs are destroyed, marine ecosystem will be disrupted.
For this reason, The Body Shop® in collaboration with KEHATI Foundation feels it is necessary to carry out a program to help the community to be independent in managing their waste, as well as educating visitors about the dangers of waste to our seas. This is done to preserve marine ecosystems and wealth and prevent Harapan Island from having the same fate as the other islands.