Himakova IPB hosted Expedition of “Jelajah Negeri” through Surili and Rafflesia
Student Association of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecotourism (Himakova), Faculty of Forestry (Fahutan), Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) held a national seminar on the expedition themed "Jelajah Negeri/Exploring the Country" (18/11) at Andi Hakim Nasoetion Building, IPB Campus, Dramaga, Bogor. The seminar entitled "Revealing the Natural Enchantment of the Country as a Real Evidence of Devotion to the Motherland" was a seminar on the results of two great expeditions by Himakova in 2017. The two expeditions were the annual programs of Himakova. These expeditions were known as Surili and Rafflesia.
Surili expedition or Environmental Conservation Study 2017 has been conducted on 18-31 August located in Kutai National Park, East Kalimantan. While Rafflesia expedition or Indonesian Flora Fauna Exploration and Ecotourism has been previously carried out on 17-27 January 2017 at Leuweng Sancang Nature Reserve, Garut regency, West Java. These two expeditions had the same kinds of activities, namely biodiversity exploration, ecotourism potential inventory, and socio-cultural studies of local communities to produce a recommendation related to the development and management of the area. The difference between these two annual expeditions was the location of the activity. Surilli was held for the areas outside of Java, while Rafflesia for the area on the Java Island.
The seminar was consisted of three series, namely Studium General, the presentation of Surili results, and the presentation of Rafflesia results. Studium General was presented by Professor of Fahutan IPB, Prof. Dr. Hadi S. Alikodra, a senior advisor at WWF Indonesia.
Coordinator of the seminar, Catharina Yudea Utami, said that the Studium General on the importance of conservation became a differentiator from the seminar event conducted in the previous years. "The participants of this seminar were diverse and not only coming from the internal Faculty of Forestry. This was become the reason why we conducted Studium General, so that everyone can understand the importance of conservation," she said.
The next two series of activities were the presentation of Surili and Rafflesia expeditions by representatives of students joining Surili and Rafflesia; lecturers from the Department of Conservation of Forest Resources and Ecotourism; Head of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of East Kalimantan; Head of Kutai National Park; and Representative of Central Conservation of Natural Resources of West Java.
In this seminar, the results of observations and inventory during the expedition were presented. They found many species of mammals, butterflies, herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians), flora and ecotourism potential from each location. Some of the species were belong to endangered species, including orangutans, clay gibbons, and sun bears.
The event was enlivened by an expo exhibition of photographs of Surili and Rafflesia expedition activities, displaying various photographs of animals, plants, and socio-cultural values ??found at the expedition site. The seminar participants came from IPB, Lampung University, Malaysia, Balikpapan and South Sumatra. (TK)
