FKIP – Student Activity Unit (UKM) Brahmahardhika Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP) Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta held a national webinar in commemoration of National Nature Conservation Day on Sunday (15/8/2021) online via Zoom Meeting.

This time the Brahmahardhika Festival National Webinar was titled “How Zero Waste Habit Relates to Eco Conservation”. The activity was moderated by Halimah A.R. This event presented a single speaker, namely Prigi Arisandi, S.Si., M.Sc. as Founder of Ecoton Environmental Observation and Wetlands Conservation. This webinar activity aims to raise awareness about the importance of conservation and prevent the public, especially young people, from producing waste, as well as encourage the movement to combat environmental issues, in this case, plastic waste.

The webinar activity was officially opened by UNS Deputy Chancellor 1 Prof. Dr. Ir. Ahmad Yunus, M.S. and welcome by Dr. Septi Yuli Setiyani, M.Pd. as the Head of the Student Affairs Unit of FKIP UNS. Both reminded of the importance of human duty to always protect and preserve nature and the environment without damaging the ecology and ecosystem.

Entering the material presentation session, Prigi Arisandi started his explanation by providing an overview of various research results regarding the existence of plastic waste which turned out to be quite damaging to the environment.

“When we talk about protecting natural resources, we are having problems with rivers. Indonesia has about 28 rivers with national river types. However, most rivers are now a bridge for plastic waste to enter the ocean. Indonesia is also included in the top 10 rivers in the world that have been contaminated with plastic waste, one of which is Bengawan Solo,” he explained.

Prigi also said that the awareness of the Indonesian people about the importance of the existence of rivers is still considered low. This is evidenced by a large amount of garbage piled up at the mouth of the river. Based on the results of research conducted in 2015, Indonesia is ranked second in the world as the largest contributor of plastic waste after China. Every year, Indonesia leaks 3.2 million tons of plastic waste into the ocean from various major rivers.

The community-initiated by Prigi has also carried out various activities in the context of saving the environment by empowering the younger generation. These activities include implementing a zero-waste culture, encouraging waste segregation policies, warrior education programs, and initiating action to prevent river damage by initiating a brand audit forum that has 3A tasks (analysis, ambition, and action).
“Analysis is observing and understanding the problem of environmental damage. Ambition is to determine the target for changes in river environmental conditions to be realized. The action makes groups take action to restore river damage,” he explained.

The series of Brahmahardhika festival activities ended with a question and answer session and the announcement of the winners of the photography and videography competitions which had been held a few days earlier.

Reporter : Aulia Anjani
Editor: Zalfaa Azalia Pursita

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