VZCZCXRO6302
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1141 1630748
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110748Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9260
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2634
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5128
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2091
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4668
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 2202

UNCLAS JAKARTA 001141 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO SENV TPHY TRGY ID
SUBJECT: FROM EARTH DAY TO WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, CONSULATE MEDAN 
GOES GREEN 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: On May 24 a total of 421 students, 2 rock bands, 3 
cheerleading squads, 4 environmental NGOs and a dozen journalists 
flocked to Consulate Medan's first-ever Environmental Fair.  At the 
Fair Medan unveiled 10 student-produced panels designed to promote 
environmental awareness, and prominent environmental NGOs talked 
with students about what they can do to protect the environment. 
After the event the panels were displayed at a busy Medan shopping 
mall.  The fair was but one of numerous environment-themed outreach 
efforts organized by Consulate Medan between Earth Day on April 22 
and World Environment Day on June 5.  Other events included planting 
mangroves with villagers and students, distributing seedlings, 
organizing an environmental film festival, and arranging school 
assemblies on environmental issues.  End Summary. 
 
Painting the Town Green 
----------------------- 
¶2.  (U) Between Earth Day on April 22 and World Environment Day on 
June 5 Consulate Medan organized a series of environment-themed 
events in North Sumatra.  To start things off, the Consulate invited 
10 of Medan's largest high schools to create 5' x 8' panels to 
educate people about the problems facing the natural environment and 
what can be done about them.  The colorful panels were formally 
unveiled at an Environmental Fair that also featured presentations 
by 4 major environmental NGOs and performances by 2 rock bands, 3 
cheerleading squads and several dance troupes.  More than 400 high 
school students and a dozen journalists flocked to the event. Press 
coverage was outstanding and local personalities, ranging from high 
school principals to journalists to government officials, praised 
the event and encouraged the Consulate to organize more activities 
like it. 
 
Picking the Winners 
------------------- 
¶3.  (U) After the fair the Consulate put the panels on display at 
one of Medan's busiest shopping malls.  From May 27 to June 4 nearly 
1000 patrons cast their vote for outstanding display and well known 
environmental activists and famous local artists were recruited to 
select the most informative and most creative panels.  Each winning 
school received a plaque and special prize: one winner won a student 
body assembly about environmental issues by a prominent conservation 
NGO while another won hosting rights to a Consulate-organized 
environmental film festival.  The third winning school was given 30 
seedlings of rare or endangered trees endemic to Sumatra.  The 
mall's owners and management considered the exhibition to be so 
successful that it offered free space for future programs and has 
allowed the Consulate to display the panels at another of the 
group's properties. 
 
Other Activities 
---------------- 
¶4.  (U) In addition to the exhibition and environmental fair, the 
consulate conducted numerous other activities. In one event, for 
example, the consulate joined with students from Muhammadiyah 
University to plant 500 mangroves along a degraded coastline.  In 
another, the Consul and District Chief arranged a seminar for 300 
villagers about global warming and the environment before planting 
trees along the edge of the village. To help ensure that the 
seedlings survived till maturity, a representative from the Ministry 
of Forestry was on hand to show villagers how to care for the young 
trees. At the end of the event, the District Chief and Consul 
symbolically presented the "forest" to the village chief. 
 
Impact 
------ 
¶5.  (U) Consulate Medan's environmentally-themed activities garnered 
extensive coverage in the local media, both in print and on 
television.  The Jakarta Post ran a very positive piece on the 
Environmental Fair and panel competition on June 11.  More than a 
dozen articles also appeared in Sumatran papers, including a local 
Mandarin Chinese-language daily, most featuring photos of the 
activities and commenting on the positive tone set by the fair and 
competition. TV-ONE, for example, ran a segment interviewing 
students and consulate personnel about what regular people can learn 
from the environmental displays.  More importantly, by focusing 
attention on Indonesia's environmental challenges and how the U.S. 
is helping overcome them, it reinforced to critical audiences the 
concept that the U.S. is an interested partner in Indonesia's 
development. 
 
HUME