By: Pratama Aditya Haryanto

The Faculty of Arts and Political Science (FISIP), University of Indonesia, Depok invited WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile to take part in an event themed "What's with the Love of the Environment?". This activity was held on Thursday (17/11) with the aim of raising awareness of environmental damage and the large number of wildlife with near extinction status (critically endangered).

The event, which took place at the Auditorium Building M FIA UI Depok, presented several speakers related to the theme, including Yovita Iskandar (Miss Intercontinental Indonesia 2015), Luthfi Rofiana (Greenpeace Indonesia), and Novi Hardianto (WWF-Indonesia). WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile team also provided a booth at the entrance to facilitate students who are interested in becoming a volunteer at WWF Indonesia.

The first session started with a presentation and knowledge sharing by Yovita Iskandar. Miss Intercontinental Indonesia shared her experience about the environment and what she has done to preserve the environment. Not to forget, Yovita Iskandar also gave a short video related to the utilization of used goods to be recycled, starting from straws, milk boxes, and plastics. "The smallest thing a human does can have a big impact on the environment around them," she said. Therefore, Yovita aggressively invited the students to really maintain green behaviors and lifestyles in their daily lives.

The second session continued with a presentation and knowledge sharing by Luthfi Reflana from Greenpeace Indonesia. Luthfi explained about the Plastic Debris Research project that is being intensively carried out by Greenpeace Indonesia, especially on the islands around northern Jakarta. By involving the community and young people, this project is one of the most effective ways to reduce waste.

The third session was continued by Novi Hardianto from WWF-Indonesia who works as Law Enforcement and Wildlife Crime focusing on the illegal wildlife trade and its mode and handling in Indonesia. According to Novi Hardianto, illegal wildlife trade is a criminal activity that occurs because it has a large turnover that tends to increase every year. This activity is a serious and organized crime that has a wide network and is a business that has little risk with large profits.

According to Novi Hardianto, illegal wildlife trade continues to occur because law enforcement is still not optimal with low penalties. In addition, many people have the wrong perception of 'loving' animals, where many people keep animals at home under the pretext of 'loving' them. Illegal trade in animals is also still ongoing as animals are used as prestige and gifts by some people. Tigers, for example, are often displayed in homes where the owner considers it a matter of pride and prestige. Similarly, branded leather bags are expensive because they use the skins of endangered animals illegally. These consumers should be ashamed of themselves for breaking the law on the use and sale of wildlife parts.

On that occasion, Novi also explained the steps that WWF-Indonesia has taken to tackle the crime. One example is by emphasizing the government to continue to improve the applicable laws as well as extra supervision of parties that carry out animal trade.

The event "What's with the Love of the Environment" opened the students' insights about the environment. "The sustainability of animals is one of the duties of humans. Because the changes obtained by these animals come from human behavior and habits. Environmental factors, lifestyle are the main causes of the threat of damage to the ecosystem and the animals themselves," Abel, a student majoring in Communication Science UI gave his opinion.