HSBC Indonesia in collaboration with communities in the upstream area of the Ciliwung River, Perhutani and WWF Indonesia Foundation launched the NEWtrees program at the end of November. The program, which is carried out to support the rescue of the ecosystem, is carried out on degraded land in Paseban Village, Megamendung, Bogor Regency, West Java. The NEWtrees program with HSBC Indonesia is planned to run for two years. This tree planting action is expected to help improve and increase the carrying capacity of the ecosystem in the area which is also the upstream of the Ciliwung Watershed (DAS).

The launch of the NEWtrees Program was marked with a tree planting kick off activity on November 26, 2022. This activity was attended by 70 volunteers who are HSBC Indonesia employees. A total of 100 trees of damar (Agathis dammara) and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) species were planted at the kick off event. This activity was also to celebrate the Indonesian Tree Planting Day which is commemorated on November 28 every year.

In addition to planting trees, HSBC Indonesia volunteers were also invited to tour the educational posts prepared by the WWF Indonesia Foundation team, including the Water Observation Post, Tree Observation Post, Environmental Observation Post and NEWtrees Post. The excitement of the event was felt in various posts, one of which was the NEWtrees Post, all participants looked enthusiastic when invited to work together to compose words and assemble information as a whole, in order to convey information about the restoration program properly. By participating in this activity, participants can learn various environmental information facilitated by the WWF Indonesia Foundation team.

President Director of HSBC Indonesia, Francois De Maricourt mentioned that sustainability is one of the important things for HSBC Indonesia. "Of the many sustainability efforts, NEWtrees is one of the initiatives that we support," he said. The program is important because the trees are planted to absorb and store CO₂. "More than that, this program is also important because it educates the community, especially our staff, to better understand and be directly involved in protecting the environment," Francois said.

One of the participants of the NEWtrees tree planting kick off, considered this activity as an interesting one. "Planting trees can reduce carbon emissions, which is in line with my office's efforts to run a sustainable business process," he said. In addition, the participants, including himself, gained a lot of insight at the environmental observation post. An example is how plastic waste has a negative impact on the environment because it can only be decomposed after hundreds of years. "It is quite difficult for me not to produce waste, but with the information presented, I am committed to reducing waste and starting to sort and manage it," said one HSBC Indonesia volunteer.

By participating in this kind of activity, she was able to grasp the important message of understanding that the paper and tissue used daily takes decades to make because it is taken from trees. Therefore, everyone should be wiser in their use. "We hope that there is a very high commitment from the various parties involved, and through this program it can also be an economic added value for the surrounding community," he continued later.

The NEWtrees program is also a support for restoration efforts in partnership with the Batu Layang Tourism Village Cooperative Farmer Group from the area managed by Perum Perhutani. Ade Rusmana from the Batu Layang Tourism Village Cooperative Farmer Group explained that his group took part in planting 2,000 trees of damar, pine, jackfruit and avocado species in an area of 5 hectares. The trees that have been planted will be maintained and their ecological impact measured. Together with the Batu Layang Tourism Village Cooperative farmer group, the planted trees will be monitored every three months using the Geo Tagging method, so that the condition and growth of the trees can be monitored directly through http://map.newtrees.org provided by WWF Indonesia Foundation in real time. "If we find dead trees, they will be replanted," Ade added.

The farmer groups involved in this program hope that the support of various parties can be even wider for reforestation in the upstream area of Ciliwung. The reason is because the area is a water catchment area for the upstream Ciliwung River and is a source of water for the surrounding community to the people in Jakarta. "In addition, this area is also at risk of landslides so it needs to be planted with trees," he said.

CEO of WWF Indonesia Foundation, Aditya Bayunanda said that WWF Indonesia Foundation acts as a facilitator and catalyst for tree planting programs with the surrounding community in relation to conservation efforts. So that in addition to being an effort to restore degraded areas, this program also aims to increase public awareness to be able to take concrete steps in protecting the environment. The hope is that more and more parties will be involved in conservation efforts. "Both from the private sector, academics, and corporations, so that later conservation efforts are carried out and continue to move from the community in Indonesia," said Aditya.