Some 400 community members, who care for environmental conservation and preservation, conducted a cleanup event at Kupang City’s mangrove ecotourism park in Oesapa Barat Village on Saturday.

As a result of the cleanup event that started at around 7 a.m. local time, the volunteers, including those from "I Choose Earth" Community, could collect several hundred bags containing organic and inorganic waste from the city`s tourist site.

Head of Kupang City Government’s Office of Environmental Affairs Yeri Sabtuhar Padji highly lauded the residents` care for the environment by helping the government handle the trash-related problem.

Different forms of trash, particularly domestic waste, are still easily found in and around the areas of the city’s mangrove ecotourism park and Oesapa Beach. The waste might be dumped into rivers and carried to the sea, he remarked.

Padji said it was necessary to make the people living along the river banks aware of the importance of keeping rivers clean by not dumping household waste into them and by implementing the reuse, reduce, and recycle (3R) system.

"May this cleanup event help encourage the Kupang city residents to be willing to keep their respective neighborhood areas clean and stop littering," he noted, adding that the trash picked up by the volunteers was then transported by trucks to a dumpsite.

Indonesia has been facing a major problem related to plastic waste over the past several decades amid the government`s serious endeavor to deal with the menace by highlighting its detrimental impacts on the country’s environmental sustainability.

Plastic waste, which has a serious impact on the quality of soil and water and may threaten the existence of living creatures, is closely related to the amount of the trash produced and used by Indonesians every day.

Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya noted that some 9.8 billion plastic bags are used in Indonesia every year, and almost 95 percent of them will end up as waste.

The ministry`s waste management directorate also estimated that the total number of plastic straws used by Indonesians every day reaches some 93 million, increasing from nine percent in 1995 to 16 percent this year. (ANTARA)

The Chilean government, as the host of APEC 2019, stressed to APEC economic members that multilateral cooperation is needed now more than ever amid global uncertainty.

This was noted in a written statement issued by the APEC Secretariat and received in Jakarta, Saturday.

Regional and global threats need multilateral responses that APEC can lead, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Ampuero stated while addressing a delegation of prominent individuals from the government, business, and academia charged with helping to shape the multilateral forum’s post-2020 vision.

"The challenges that we face, such as stagnant growth, cyberattacks, natural disasters, terrorism, and marine debris, are not nestled within the limits of our borders," Ampuero remarked when the group met in Santiago, Chile, earlier this week.

"As the challenges often involve multiple economies or regions, they require a global and multilateral response," he added.

Ampuero argued that the 21 economies of the Pacific Rim can build on its collaborative successes, such as supporting trade facilitation to advocating for lowering tariffs on environmental goods and leading more efficient travel for businesses in the region, in planning for the future.

APEC’s economic growth and trade trajectory have outpaced the rest of the world since 2008. The region’s forecast of a 3.9 percent growth remains rosier than the outlook for global growth, partly due to strong regional integration.

Ampuero further noted that APEC has been a fundamental pillar of development, and it will continue to be so. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the forum.

Ampuero also described APEC’s goal of free and open trade and investment as "only a means to an end" with "balanced and equitable economic growth" as the end goal.

"To achieve this goal, strengthen fora that encourage collaboration. We should fight against the concerning trends that are countering multilateralism precisely at a time when multilateral cooperation is needed more than ever," he noted. (ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) urged Indonesian millennials to remain cautious in terms of their and other people`s safety while driving cars and motorbikes by respecting and implementing all traffic rules and regulations.

"Hence, if you want to ride your motorcycle, please check first its headlight. Also, make sure that it has a pair of mirrors, and before riding it, you have worn your helmet," he told attendees of a Millennial Road Safety Festival in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday.

At the festival, attended by several thousand people, particularly millennials, the incumbent president also warned car drivers and motorcyclists throughout the country to avoid using their smartphones while driving.

"Using cellular phones while driving is so dangerous. Hence, please avoid using our hand-held phones (while driving) because our parents and family members are waiting for us at home. Please, be careful while driving," Jokowi suggested.

Respecting the traffic rules and regulations was also deemed necessary for road safety, as road accidents were recorded to be the fifth leading cause of death in the world after illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, he pointed out.

To this end, Jokowi urged the drivers to pay serious attention to road safety to prevent them and others from getting involved in road accidents.

As part of the Millennial Road Safety Festival`s programs, an art performance was also showcased to welcome the president and his entourage.

At the same time, several attendees also showcased Batik clothing that they had displayed along Palembang City`s iconic Ampera Bridge in their endeavor to draw the president`s attention.

They also called out the president`s nickname, Jokowi, in the hopes of being granted the opportunity to take selfies with him on the sidelines of the event, which was also attended by First Lady Iriana Jokowi, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, and South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru.(ANTARA)

President Joko Widodo handed over 814 waqf certificates or endowment at the Istiqlal Mosque in Bandarjaya sub-district, Central Lampung, during his working visit to Lampung Province on Friday afternoon (8/3). Before the local people who were present, the President said that land conflicts occur in many regions because without a certificate as proof of ownership. He claimed to have ordered related agencies to immediately complete land certification so that the agrarian conflict could be resolved within the country.

"This is why I ordered the minister. This waqf land must be settled. If not, it will be troubled later. The land has become a mosque or Madrasah school, but this is disputed. Who is shy? We are all. But if you have a certificate like now, this is legal proof of land. It's clear; there's no problem. That’s why in all provinces, we speed up land certificates, especially the waqf land," said Joko Widodo.

Furthermore, President Joko Widodo advised the community not to be easily informed by false issues that spread widely among the people. He hopes that community and religious leaders can straighten out hoaxes that can create unrest among the people. Some of the slanders that have been circulating lately include the issue of banning the Adzan, the legalization of the same genders’ marriage as well as the criminalization of Ulama. (Ndy)