VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo launched the Wanagama Nusantara forest to support the development of the new capital city -Nusantara in the City Forest Zone B of the Government Centre Core Area in East Kalimantan. The declaration of the education and research forest, which will be managed by Gadjah Mada University, was marked by the signing of a charter in Kayu Sukai by President Joko Widodo, and witnessed by Rector of Gadjah Mada University and someMinisters. After the declaration of Wanagama Nusantara forest, President Joko Widodo along with his ministers symbolically planted trees and released several birds followed by the Ministers, UGM Rector, students, partners and communities around Nusantara Capital City.

Wanagama Nusantara is an interdisciplinary and educational research forest development ecosystem that is initiated by Universitas Gadjah Mada in collaboration with the Authority of the Nusantara Capital City and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The forest is located in the core area of the Nusantara Capital Government Centre with an area of 621 hectares. For the initial stage, an area of 28 hectares was developed. Of the total area, in the future there will be expansion by deforestation based on zones. Some of them are tropical forest zones, energy forests, forests for pharmaceuticals, and forests for eco-tourism.

Rector of Universitas Gadjah Mada Prof. Ova Emilia hopes Wanagama Nusantara supports the vision of the Nusantara Capital City as Forest City. In addition, he also hopes that Wanagama Nusantara will become a window of the tropical world, with the main programme, including the development of educational forest zoning, the development of the Institute for future life, restoration, reforestation and enrichment planting. The existence of Wanagama Nusantara is certainly part of Universitas Gadjah Mada's commitment in supporting the development of the Nusantara Capital City as a sustainable city.

As an educational and research forest, Wanagama Nusantara Forest is integrated with various disciplines and faculties at Universitas Gadjah Mada. This forest is also expected to be a model of tropical rainforest restoration in regulating hydrology and microclimate in the Nusantara Capital City as well as conservation of native species of tropical rainforests from extinction in the future.