Probolinggo – In commemorating Youth Pledge Day which fell on October 28, 2018, PT Kutai Timber Indonesia held an activity with the theme of Youth Awakening, Conservation Awakening. The agenda of the event was planting 7,000 mangrove seedlings and beach clean-up. The chosen location is Pilang coastline because Pilang Beach was affected by Mount Bromo eruption which affect the ecology and mangrove ecosystem.
The mangrove planting and beach clean-up activities began at 6:00 a.m. and were attended by around 472 people consisting of PT KTI internal employees, Probolinggo Environmental Office, Probolinggo Fisheries Office, Pilang Lestari Community and Pantai Permata Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis), environmental communities such as LaskarHijau, SahabatGunung Forum, Probolinggo Macro Photography Community (PMP), Elementary Schools to High Schools Students and surrounding communities.
The event was opened by Head of CSR Department of PT KTI Mr. Agus Setiawan. In his speech, he revealed that this activity was the first realization of the MoU signed between the Probolinggo City Government and PT Kutai Timber Indonesia on October 25, 2018. Quoted from the website of the Probolinggo City Public Relations and Protocol, this cooperation agreement was one of the efforts of the City Government and PT KTI to improve environmental quality as written in Law No. 32 of 2009 on efforts to improve the quality of air, water and land.
This cooperation agreement is a commitment of PT KTI to be able to actively participate in efforts to improve the environment based on community empowerment to improve community welfare. Some activities have been scheduled as expressed by PT KTI's President Director, Mr. Satoshi Kawanami at the signing of the Cooperation Agreement, "Namely mangrove conservation, springs revitalization, environmental sanitation, Adiwiyata Green Schools mentoring, and several other activities," he said.
After mangrove seedlings planting and beach clean-upwere opened by Mr. Agus Setiawan, all participants who attended sang the Indonesia Raya song together and read the Youth Pledge vow. In addition to preserving the environment, this event also aims to foster a sense of love for the nation for all participants, especially for school students who attended the event. As taught In the event,a form of love for the country is by protecting the environment.
A Vocational High School student revealed when asked for the opinion about the program, "The program was fun and cool because I could meet with many schools and agencies. Hopefully there will be an event like this again next year."
The event lasted until 9:00 a.m. and closed with a discussion between PT KTI, sub-district officials and community groups discussing the joint management of Pilang Beach.
The activity was not yet finished, it continued to the second session where the activity coincided with the 10th November 2018 Heroes’ Day. The main agenda was the handover of 700 mangrove seeds to State Islamic High School 2 (MAN 2)that received Adiwiyata. The mangrove handover was given directly by the Executive Officer of PT KTI, Mr. H. Firdaus Dja'far and given to the school representative.