At the global level, the United Nations has launched the UN Decade Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. The UN Decade Ecosystem Restoration is a call for the protection and preservation of ecosystems around the world for the benefit of humans and nature. This aims to stop the rate of ecosystem degradation and restore it to achieve global goals. With a healthy ecosystem, it can improve people’s quality of life, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and reduce the rate of extinction of biodiversity.

According to the UN Decade Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, restoration efforts covering 350 million hectares of degraded land and water ecosystems have the potential to generate US$9 trillion in ecosystem services. In addition, ecosystem restoration can also remove 13 to 26 gigatons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. In Indonesia, ecosystem restoration has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 52.92 million tons of carbon equivalent, which includes the restoration of dry land, and peat and mangrove ecosystems (Griscom et al., 2020).

World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 every year. The theme for World Environment Day 2024 is “Our Land, Our Future, We Are #GenerationRestoration” meaning Our Land, Our Future, We are the Restoration Generation. This theme emphasizes the importance of restoring land, combating desertification, and increasing drought resilience.

One action that can be taken to restore degraded land is by planting and maintaining trees. In order to celebrate World Environment Day 2024, the Climate Change Philanthropy Cluster, Filantropi Indonesia, Dompet Dhuafa, Belantara Foundation, Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer (DDV), the Dompet Dhuafa Disaster Management Center collaborated with the Ciliwung Muara Bersama community, and other stakeholders organized simultaneous tree planting in 18 provinces throughout Indonesia.

The 18 provinces that carry out planting simultaneously are Aceh, North Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau Islands, Riau, East Kalimantan, Lampung, Banten, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Gorontalo, Southeast Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Nusa West Southeast and East Nusa Tenggara with a target of 3,000 tree seedlings. The types of seeds planted include mangrove, guava, avocado, durian, jackfruit, and mango.

Meanwhile, symbolic planting was carried out with a total of 20 loa (Ficus racemosa), water guava (Syzigium aqueum), mango (Mangifera indica), and coffee (Coffea sp.) seedlings on the banks of the Ciliwung River, Tanjung Barat Village, Jagakarsa District, South Jakarta on Thursday, June 13, 2024. This symbolic planting was attended by representatives from the Jakarta City Parks and Forest Service, philanthropic organizations, young environmental communities, and the general public. At the same time, there was a Talk Show with the theme “The Role of the Young Generation in Nature Conservation” #Generation Restoration. This activity is the culmination of a series of activities for World Environment Day 2024 organized by the Climate Change Philanthropy Cluster.

This type of seed was chosen because it can produce fruit that can be used by the local community. Not only that, these tree seeds are also a source of food for wild animals so they can attract various types of birds, bats, and squirrels. Planting trees is also one of the actions to overcome floods and landslides on the banks of the Ciliwung River. Thus, not only will this action enrich the potential for biodiversity, but it can also improve the welfare of the community, especially those around the Ciliwung River.

In his remarks, the Head of the Forestry Division of the Jakarta City Parks and Forest Service, Dirja Kusumah, S.H., M.H., who was represented by the Head of the Forest and Watershed Conservation Subgroup of the Jakarta City Parks and Forest Service, Arie Fajar Septa, S.Hut., said Efforts to restore the ecosystem, especially on the banks of the Ciliwung River, are a shared responsibility. Not only the government, non-governmental organizations and the community must also actively participate in this effort.

“With forest restoration, the forest ecosystem can contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts and preserve Jakarta’s biodiversity,” said Arie.

Belantara Foundation Program & Fundraising Manager, Diny Hartiningtias, who is also one of the talk show speakers, said that mainstreaming ecosystem restoration among the community, especially the younger generation, is very important to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of protecting and preserving the environment around them.

“We, together with the parties, will continue to invite the community, especially the younger generation, to actively participate in ecosystem restoration actions. “The hope is that through this movement, we can support the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Diny.

In line with this, the General Manager of Response & Advocacy of Dompet Dhuafa, Arif Rahmadi Haryono, explained that the aim of this activity is that apart from strengthening awareness about the role of the younger generation in environmental conservation efforts, we also want to encourage the active involvement of youth in real actions.

“By building networks and partnerships between youth organizations, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders, we believe the young generation has great potential to become agents of change in realizing a better condition of the earth in the future,” said Arif.

Separately, the Executive Director of Filantropi Indonesia, Gusman Yahya, hopes that this ecosystem restoration collaboration can be an inspiration for more parties to join in environmental conservation efforts.

“Through synergistic cooperation, we can create a more sustainable and healthy environment, creating a better world for all. “This collaboration emphasizes the importance of collaboration, co-creation, and shared commitment, which is in line with the vision of Filantropi Indonesia to create a sustainable positive impact,” emphasized Gusman.

The series of activities commemorating World Environment Day 2024 initiated by the Climate Change Philanthropy Cluster includes a digital campaign in the form of comics and educational content about the importance of ecosystem restoration on Instagram, simultaneous tree planting in 18 provinces in Indonesia, and talk shows. This series of activities was carried out in the period 28 May 2024 to 13 June 2024.

Also present were talk show speakers who had experience in the field of nature conservation, namely the Belantara Foundation Program & Fundraising Manager, Diny Hartiningtias; Partnership & Communication for Bumi Mandiri People, Diana Dwi Annisa; and Coordinator of Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer Bali, Nur Kholis Abdillah. This talk show was hosted by the Founder of Sendalu Permaculture Teras Kamala, Gibran Tragari.

The total number of activity participants present was approximately 60 people from various elements, including school students, college students, young environmental communities, the private sector, the media, and the general public. Participants came from SMA Negeri 49 Jakarta, National University Biology, University of Indonesia, Rumah Zakat, Bangun Jakarta Foundation, Growing Archipelago Trees, Clean Energy Generation, Student Care, Dompet Dhuafa Volunteer, Disaster Management Center Dompet Dhuafa and other organizations.