Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SURABAYA53
2008-04-29 05:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Surabaya
Cable title:  

SURABAYA CELEBRATES EARTH DAY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPACT OF

Tags:  SENV KPAO ENRG KWMN EAID TPHY TRGY ID 
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VZCZCXRO0294
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0053 1200539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290539Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0204
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0105
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0107
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0209
UNCLAS SURABAYA 000053 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KPAO ENRG KWMN EAID TPHY TRGY ID
SUBJECT: SURABAYA CELEBRATES EARTH DAY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPACT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

REF: A. 07 SURABAYA 83 (SURABAYA AND EAST JAVA: ELIMINATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)


B. JAKARTA 807 (EMBASSY JAKARTA "GOES GREEN")

Portions of this message are sensitive but unclassified. Please
protect accordingly.

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000053

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/PD, OES/ETC, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/PCI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KPAO ENRG KWMN EAID TPHY TRGY ID
SUBJECT: SURABAYA CELEBRATES EARTH DAY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPACT OF
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

REF: A. 07 SURABAYA 83 (SURABAYA AND EAST JAVA: ELIMINATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)


B. JAKARTA 807 (EMBASSY JAKARTA "GOES GREEN")

Portions of this message are sensitive but unclassified. Please
protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: ConGen Surabaya celebrated Earth Day by
joining a clean-the-beach campaign organized by a local NGO and
planting trees in a nearby park. Later in the week, the
Principal Officer participated in a well-attended seminar
organized by a group of women's issues activists to discuss the
importance of environmental awareness and the role of women in
local communities to protect the environment. The activists
linked Earth Day celebrations with Kartini Day, which
commemorates Indonesian women's emancipation, to highlight the
impact of environmental degradation on women and children. The
activists organized a well-publicized meeting with women
displaced by the Sidoarjo mudflow to illustrate their concerns.
End Summary.

Clean the Beach: Plant Trees
--------------


2. (U) In celebration of Earth Day, members of the Consulate
community joined a clean-the-beach event organized by local NGOs
and sponsored by local government leaders on April 20. Members
of the Consulate, local politicians, several NGOs, and school
children picked up and removed trash from a beach located in
North Surabaya, about 45 minutes from the city center.
According to the organizers, 2,400 students from 50 schools
participated in the event. Surabaya's Public Affairs Officer
and the Head of Surabaya's Tourism Office gave remarks from a
pier about the significance of Earth Day and environmental
awareness. The group then proceeded to a local park where they
planted 80 trees, 20 of which were donated by the Consul
General. The event received wide-spread positive media coverage.

Women and the Environment
--------------


3. (SBU) On April 25, the Principal Officer participated in
activities organized by the Forum Perempuan Peduli (FPP -- Women
Who Care),a group of women's issues activists, NGO leaders, and
political leaders who coordinate their individual efforts to
address common concerns. FPP, which originated at a regular
lunch gathering hosted by the Consulate, first organized around
the issue of domestic violence (reftel). FPP linked Earth Day
celebrations with Kartini Day (April 21),which honors a
nineteenth century Javanese woman who advocated women's
empancipation. More than 300 women activists from Surabaya and
the regency of Sidoarjo gathered together to discuss increasing
environmental awareness, the impact of environmental disasters
on communities, and strategies for protecting the environment.
The participants also watched the movie "An Inconvenient Truth."


4. (SBU) As part of the day-long event, the wife of the Sidoarjo
regent arranged a visit to a tent camp for families displaced by
the Sidaorjo mudflow. The activists hoped extensive media
coverage of the visit would highlight the impact of
environmental degradation on women and children and spur the
central government to action. More than 1,000 people from 272
families have been living in this camp located on the abandoned
toll road since their homes were engulfed by mud almost three
months ago. The central government has yet to disburse
compensation funds from the national budget as promised. The
visit and the seminar generated substantial positive media
coverage.

MCCLELLAND