Indonesia Inaugurates Bromo Edelweiss Garden

Pasuruan (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, has inaugurated the Edelweiss Education Garden in Penanjakan Mosque of Mount Bromo National Park, Pasuruan District of East Java, to conserve the ecosystem.

"The ecosystem in the Bromo Park needs to be preserved, and conservation of ecosystem, ecotourism and peoples empowerment must go hand in hand," Nurbaya said here on Monday.

The minister also gave 200 edelweiss seeds and planted saplings in the area along with students of Ngadisari Elementary School of Probolinggo District.

Siti wrote a message on an inauguration board that stated: "The Bromo Park is for our country and nation. Lets assist each other to support edelweiss and our nation. Keep innovating and loving Indonesian nature and culture."

Additionally, the Head of Mount Bromo Park Center, Ayu Dewi Utari, said edelweiss planting is a campaign for preserving the ecosystem through empowerment of people that prioritizes local wisdom of the Tengger tribe.

"The edelweiss Latin name is Anaphalis javanica. It grows in 1,000 hectares of area in Mount Bromo zone. However, it is endangered due to human activity," Utari said.

According to Utari, area under edelweiss is decreasing each year. The Bromo Center has been consistently working to recover the ecosystem by re-planting the edelweiss seeds.

The Edelweiss Education Park also provides a seedbed area for replanting effort.

"The educational garden also has other plantations, such as mentingen, cemara gunung, acer, putih dada etc., so that the tourists can enjoy these," Utari added.

The minister also visited other national parks, such as Baluran National Park and Alas Purwo National Park in East Java.

In the 28th session of the Man and the Biosphere Program International Coordinating Council (MAB-ICC) in Lima, Peru, on March 18-20, 2016, UNESCO decided to include Blambangan biosphere reserve in the World Biosphere Reserve Network.

The Baluran National Park, Alas Purwo National Park and Meru Betiri National Park in East Java are included in the Blambangan biosphere reserve.(WDY)