By: Sani Firmansyah and Natalia Trita Agnika

Forests have an important role for life on earth. Not only as a place for conservation and tree growth, forests are also the lungs of the world and natural dams. To educate the people of West Java about the utilization and function of forests, the West Java Provincial Government initiated a festival entitled "West Java Forest Festival". The festival took place on Saturday-Sunday, (October 10-11, 2015) and was located at the Djuanda Grand Forest Park, Bandung.

In his speech, the Secretary of West Java, Iwa Karniwa outlined the condition of the forest in West Java which has not reached a balance. Ideally, West Java should have at least 30% of its total land area in the form of forests. "Now the condition of forests in West Java has only reached 22.8%," he explained. Iwa also added that currently the paradigm of forest area management leads to forest development oriented towards resource and community based development. Forests are no longer only relied upon for forest products in the form of wood but can also produce value for the surrounding community. This means that the forest also functions as an economic, social, and environmental resource.

Bumi Panda as an environmental information house in Bandung took part in the festival. A team from Bumi Panda educated people who visited the festival about the environment. Various activities were held at Bumi Panda's booth , such as drawing and coloring competitions for umbrella animals that are the object of WWF-Indonesia's conservation work and screening of short animated films with environmental themes.

An educational game in the form of snakes and ladders with the theme "Gajah Main ke Sungai" was also held at Bumi Panda's booth. While playing, visitors can better understand the condition of the Sumatran Elephant. "It's a pity that elephants are hunted only for their ivory," Nina said after playing snakes and ladders. The festival visitors also enthusiastically tried face painting with animal themes by WWF-Indonesia volunteers.

""Thank you to the WWF-Indonesia team for attending this event because it has helped educate. Hopefully, by providing an understanding of the environment, people can foster a sense of love and responsibility for the forest," said Iwa Karniwa during a visit to WWF-Indonesia's Panda Earth booth.