"We are optimistic that in future, more local champions would appear as the vanguards that lead efforts to restore and manage the environment to maintain our Earth's sustainability," Dohong stated at the 2022 Kalpataru Award and 2021 Nirwasita Tantra Award conferment ceremony here, Wednesday.
The Kalpataru Award is bestowed by the ministry annually on individuals and groups that excelled in the field of environment. This year, the award is given to 10 individuals in the environmental pioneer, servant, and rescue categories as well as special category of collaboration in environmental works.
Improvement in the quality of forests and the environment is one of the positive aspects that champions for the environment could incur, he stated.
The deputy minister expressed hope that concrete examples exhibited by 10 Kalpataru Award recipients could serve as an inspiration and motivation to encourage initiatives and active participation of individuals or groups in respective communities to maintain their environment.
"We are thankful that there are still plentiful environmental fighters sincerely devoting and sacrificing themselves to maintain and preserve the environment and forest," Dohong remarked.
The ministry also bestowed the Nirwasita Tantra Award on government officials, who had been successful in conceiving and implementing sustainable development policies to maintain the environment and forests, he affirmed.
This year, the Nirwasita Tantra Award is bestowed on 42 regional leaders, comprising governors, mayors, and district heads, as well as regional legislatures and regional administrations.
Residents must be attentive to their leaders' stance on the environment, as a properly maintained environment is the nation's asset and without which sustainable development and prosperity could not be achieved, the deputy minister remarked.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna V, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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