Committed in Creating a Green Industrial Estate, Jababeka Plants Tens of Thousands Vetiver Seeds Spanning Across 5 Kilometer
PT Jababeka Tbk held a collaboration program for environmental preservation, Jababeka Ecoweek 2022, by planting Vetiver plant seeds along the Cilemahabang and Cipegadungan riverbanks in Cikarang. The event is part of Jababeka’s 5-kilometer vetiver planting project, where tens of thousands of vetiver plant seeds will be planted.
The ceremonial event of planting the Vetiver plant took place on Tuesday (28/6) in the riverbanks of the Cilemahabang River, Jababeka Industrial Phase 2 Area- Cikarang, specifically at Sekolah Hijau road – around the Jababeka area.
The Jababeka Ecoweek event aims to promote sustainable development and the creation of the Jababeka Green Industrial Estate, particularly to save the environment for the sustainability of the riverbank area as part of an effort to revitalize and mitigate erosion, landslides, and flooding in the Jababeka Industrial Area.
In this activity with the theme “Green Industry in Action”, Jababeka Ecoweek 2022 continues to use vetiver plants as it did in 2021, in an effort to preserve the environment. This is due to the Vetiver plant’s effectiveness in controlling erosion and soil sedimentation. The vetiver plant is beneficial in terms of humidity and nutrition stored in the soil, as well as increased microenvironment to act as a catalyst to decompose heavy metals dissolved in river water. Whereas the Vetiver root growth can reach 4 meters in its first year, if planted tightly, the plant will be able to fix the structure of the soil and filter the sediments in the river. “The vetiver plant could withstand the onslaught of heavy rain flow and maintain soil stability as a disaster mitigation measure,” said Agung Wicaksono, managing director of Jababeka Infrastruktur.
The first planting of 10,000 vetiver seedlings was carried out as a pilot project on the outskirts of Kali Ulu in 2021, and it was relatively successful. All of those Vetiver plants have now grown to a height of 2 meters. The height of the Vetiver plant is known to be directly proportional to the length of its roots. In other words, if the height of the Vetiver plant reaches 2 meters, the length of the roots will also reach 2 meters. As a result, the erosion and sedimentation processes will be minimized.
The Jababeka Ecoweek 2022 was attended by representatives of the West Java Province Environmental Agency and the Ciliwung River – Cisadane Region Center, demonstrating the full support from regional government and related agencies for Jababeka’s efforts to maintain and care for the environment in the Jababeka Industrial Estate. In addition, eight tenants of the Jababeka Industrial Estate have also contributed to Jababeka Ecoweek 2022: Kao, Mane, BNI, Nippon Steel, Hanes, Hitachi Astemo, Komatsu, and Dexa.
The Associate Policy Analyst of the West Java Province Environment Agency, Eko Priastono, warmly welcomes the Jababeka Ecoweek program. He is confident that planting Vetiver plants spanning 5 kilometers will help maintain the environment’s ecosystem sustainability at Jababeka Industrial Area and the villages surrounding it.
“I am very pleased to see the enthusiasm for this activity to improve the environment. On June 5th, World Environment Day, we are reminded that the earth is the only place we live and that we must care for it so that it can become a better place to live. We warmly welcome this vetiver planting activity, it is amazing. We hope that this Jababeka Ecoweek program will be held annually in order to preserve the environment,” Eko said in his remarks.
Aditya from PT Hitachi Astemo, as a representative of the contributing tenants of Jababeka Ecoweek, makes similar remarks. He hopes that the Jababeka Ecoweek program will be held annually in the future, with more tenants participating in the event.
“Vetiver plant is a simple plant with a lot of benefits and is easy to take care of. Also, as tenant representatives, we’d like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to contribute. We hope that this event can keep going on, in order to preserve the environment in which we work together,” said Aditya.
In response, Agung Wicaksono, representing the organizing committee, thanked all parties and stakeholders for their contributions to Jababeka Ecoweek 2022, especially the tenants of the Jababeka Industrial Estate. He explained that the Jababeka Industrial Area is like a “home” for us, and that we should all work together to maintain and nurture it so that everyone feels at home when working or doing various activities in the area.
Also, he is confident that the well-coordinated efforts of the area manager, tenants, community, government, and environmental NGO will make it easier to maintain and nurture the environment ecosystem in Jababeka Industrial Area, particularly to avoid erosion, flooding, as well as landslides.
“It is our goal to become an environmentally friendly industrial area free of industrial waste that harms the environment, as well as free of the threat of natural disasters (erosion, flood and landslide). With the planting of Vetiver plants spanning 5 kilometers at Jababeka Ecoweek 2022, we are already taking one more step forward toward the creation of a Green Industrial Estate. This is one of Jababeka’s visions for Jababeka Industrial Area to be a leader in green industrial estate,” said Agung.