By: Maya Bellina
Cikoneng, Bogor - For most Jakartans, the Puncak area is a family tourism destination and shopping paradise. However, not many people realize the ecological role of the Puncak area which has contributed to sustaining the lives of Jakarta residents. Because in Puncak there is a protected forest area which is the Upper Ciliwung Sub-watershed area. But unfortunately, the density of vegetation in protected forests is decreasing due to land use change, causing critical and deforested areas that need rehabilitation.

Starting from a form of concern and active participation in environmental sustainability and improving critical land, LOTTE MART Indonesia collaborates with WWF-Indonesia to take concrete action to improve the Ciliwung Sub Watershed area by planting 2000 trees, today (15/5). Through WWF-Indonesia's NEWtrees initiative, reforestation is carried out by involving local community groups as the main pillar of management and monitoring of planting. So that social and economic aspects can be simultaneously achieved in addition to the target of restoring the protected forest area.

President Director of LOTTE MART Indonesia, Mr. Jun Yang-Yoon, said that LOTTE MART is pleased to be able to help with the planting and hopes that it can increase the absorption capacity of the protected forest so as to reduce erosion and flood risk. "And we also invite the support of various other parties to be able to plant trees to be sustainable so that this good activity can be benefited by everyone. The seeds of life must be watered and with the support of LOTTEMART friends, it will be the first step and can then be applied at home to protect the environment," added Jun Yang-Yoon.

"Our tree planting initiative is not only for the sake of conservation but also as part of the empowerment of local communities who participate in the management of the NEWtrees program," said WWF-Indonesia Marketing Director, Devy Suradji. "Because the NEWtrees reforestation program in the Ciliwung watershed is not only an action to maintain the existence of water sources upstream and overcome floods. However, the existence of preserved forests can also have an impact on the welfare of the surrounding community," added Devy Suradji.

Based on data from Perhutani, the protected forest area of the Upper Ciliwung sub-watershed reaches 2600 ha and now the critical area that has been replanted is only about 110 ha. The Ciliwung sub-watershed protected forest is currently under the management of Perum Perhutani Bogor Forest Management Unit, Cipayung Forest Management Unit Section. Greening in the Ciliwung sub-watershed is a tangible proof of the concern of various parties for the earth we love.