JABAR EKSPRES – Head of the East Kalimantan Provincial Environment Office E.A. Rafiddin Rizal said that two representatives of the region are strong candidates for the national environmental award or Kalpataru in 2023.
The two award winners referred to by Rizal are Misman, a journalist and environmental activist as the hero of Samarinda’s Karang Mumus River garbage, and the second recipient is the Ulin Foundation, an organization that focuses on the preservation of the Badas Hitam crocodile and Sumpit crocodile in the East Kutai region.
“It was a surprise for us for the achievements of the Ulin Foundation and Mr. Misman, indeed both were included as candidates for the Kalpataru award, but it is very rare in one assessment period for one province to win two National Kalpataru awards simultaneously,” continued Rizal, in Samarinda, Wednesday (5/31).
Based on Decree SK.545/MENLHK/PSKL/PSL.3/5/2023 dated May 25, 2023 concerning the 2023 Kalpataru Awardees, the Ulin Foundation won the Environmental Savior category, while Misman won the Environmental Pioneer category.
“This achievement is quite a surprise for East Kalimantan,” said Tizal.
Rizal assessed that in the midst of rampant economic activities that have little impact on environmental damage, there are still East Kalimantan people who still have high concern for environmental conservation efforts.
This is also in line with one of the East Kalimantan Provincial Government’s missions, which is to be sovereign in sustainable natural resource management.
He hopes this result will provide a spark of enthusiasm for anyone to contribute to the environment.
“With this award, hopefully it can provide motivation to the community to continue to participate in protecting nature and the environment,” Rizal explained.
Both Misman and the Ulin Foundation have gone through a series of selection processes, both by the district / city and provincial Environmental Offices (DLH), to a team from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
