Jakarta - Today (24/10) WWF-Indonesia, in celebration of its 50th anniversary in Indonesia, launched the book "Conservation of Natural Resources and Environment. An Ecosophy Approach to Save the Earth" written by biodiversity conservation expert Prof. Dr. Ir Hadi Alikodra MS, who is also a Professor at Bogor Agricultural University and Senior Advisor of WWF-Indonesia.

Natural resources and environmental issues have evolved into a global environmental crisis that has a serious impact on the sustainability of human life and development. As a reaction to this crisis, since entering the 20th century, the environmental movement has grown and developed, which is based on the ecosophy approach where the philosophy of saving the earth includes ecological and spiritual dimensions. The philosophy of ecosophy or deep ecology was first introduced in 1972 by Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher.

"The content of this book addresses the three dimensions of ecosophy, an approach that integrates the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional dimensions. The intellectual dimension means that human beings are asked to continuously study, research, understand and appreciate their natural environment. The spiritual dimension means believing that natural resources were created by God Almighty, need to be protected and preserved because they function to support human life," said Prof. Alikodra. Meanwhile, the emotional dimension, according to him, is meaningful in forming ethical and moral human beings to ensure the quality of human life from generation to generation.

In addition to the author, there were also various speakers at the book launch event, such as Prof.Dr. Azyumardi Azra MA, Professor and Head of the Postgraduate Program of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah-Jakarta, and Nadine Zamira, Miss Indonesia Earth 2009.

"WWF welcomes the publication of this book. It is time for us to fill the need for Indonesian-language reading materials on conservation of natural resources and the environment which are still very scarce. Hopefully this book can raise awareness and encourage human morals to be more noble in managing the trust and grace of the Creator," said Dr. Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia, who is also the editor of this book.

Before being published, this book has been tested and discussed in teaching courses at various universities, including Bogor Agricultural University, University of Indonesia, UNSIL-Tasikmalaya, UIN-Jakarta, USU-Medan, and UNSOED-Purwokerto.

"This book invites us to believe that efforts to conserve the environment without being followed by the ethical and moral basis of conservation will not be optimal in solving environmental problems as a whole. This approach must be applied by conservationists as well as in the way they communicate environmental messages and issues to the general public so that they are moved to act," said Nadine Zamira, Miss Indonesia Earth 2009 and Environmental Communication Consultant (LeafPlus). "This book invites us to believe that efforts to conserve the environment without being followed by an ethical and moral basis for conservation will not be optimal in solving environmental problems overall.

Note to the Editor:
A brief information about the book "Conservation of Natural Resources and Environment: An Ecosophy Approach to Save the Earth" can be read in the Book Synopsis of Nature and Environment Conservation.

About WWF-Indonesia:

• WWF-Indonesia is a national conservation organization that is part of the WWF global network, the largest and most experienced independent conservation network in the world. WWF-Indonesia is active in 27 fieldwork areas in 17 provinces.
• WWF-Indonesia's mission is to save biodiversity and reduce the impact of human activities through: Promoting a strong conservation ethic, awareness and conservation efforts among Indonesians; Facilitating multi-stakeholder efforts for the protection of biodiversity and ecological processes at the ecoregion scale; Advocating for policies, laws and law enforcement that support conservation, and; Promoting conservation for human well-being, through the sustainable use of natural resources. For more about us, please visit WWF's main website at www.panda.org; local sites at www.wwf.or.id

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For more information, please contact:

• Prof. Dr. Hadi Alikodra, Senior Advisor WWF-Indonesia, +62 8121101537, halikodra@wwf.or.id
• Desmarita Murni, Communications and Campaign Manager WWF-Indonesia, +62 811793458, dmurni@wwf.or.id