Indonesia
The Worldwide Dragonfly Association has decided to include Indonesia into its red list, pointing to the country's deteriorating environmental conditions posing a direct threat to the existence of dragonflies, the Indonesian Dragonfly Society chief said last Thursday. Wahyu Sigit said that rampant deforestation across Indonesia resulted in massive loss of spring water sources. "Dragonflies exist and are a clear signal of the existence of fresh, spring water sources," Wahyu said, adding that in Java alone, there were 110 types of dragonflies, some of which were now increasingly difficult to come across because of the deteriorating conditions of water resources. "I urge all of you to please keep your rivers clean. Do not dirty the Wendit River in Malang because this is where at least 34 kinds of dragonflies can still be found," he said. Separately, Surabaya's Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (Ecoton) director Prigi Arisandi said that rivers in East Java were badly polluted. "Toxic waste from industries and households are a chief threat to our rivers and dragonflies," Prigi said.
By Eko Widianto (Malang)
Tempo
No. 43/12, June 20, 2012
|
