Hosts 5th ICEFC, IPB University Gathers Academics to Explore New Era of Environment and Forest Conservation
IPB University once again hosted the 5th International Conference on Environment and Forest Conservation (ICEFC). This year’s theme is “Forest Conservation in the Anthropocene: Adapting to New Environmental Realities.”
The Anthropocene itself is a description of the current ecological conditions that are significantly affected by human activities on the earth’s geology and ecosystems. Innovative and sustainable solutions to face the challenges of forest conservation in this new era are expected to be generated from this forum.
This annual international conference regularly serves as a platform for academics, scientists, and students from all over the world, especially Asia, to share and discuss environmental and forestry issues.
“This conference is also a call to action to provide concrete solutions to the impact of human activities that affect environmental change. The hope is that it can become the basis for long-term policies,” said Dr Alim Setiawan, Vice Rector of IPB University in the field of Resource Resilience and Infrastructure in his speech at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM), Thursday (5/12).
Furthermore, Dr Alim explained that the activity was part of IPB University’s collaboration with members of the organizing consortium, namely the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Tropical Biology (SEAMEO BIOTROP), Mindanao State University, and Kastamonu University, as well as several international universities in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Turkey. The event also partnered with APRIL Group and PT Freeport Indonesia.
“The Anthropocene theme was raised because human activities cannot be separated from the damage they cause to the environment. Through this collaboration, we want to explore solutions to preserve and utilize the environment in a new way,” explained Dr Syafitri Hidayati, Chairperson of ICEFC 2024 in her statement.
Meanwhile, Sri Widayanti, Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP said, through this conference, it is hoped that the relationship between humans and the environment will be closer.
“Seeing the stagnant development of the forest world, we want to increase it again. Through this conference we can make agreements and increase real action for environmental conservation,” she said.
The conference facilitated by the Faculty of Forestry and Environment (Fahutan) IPB University involved around 150 participants. Starting from academics, international researchers, students, environmental practitioners, industry partners, and policy makers.
Previous ICEFC events were held in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines (2018); Bogor, Indonesia (2019); Kastamonu City, Turkey (2022); and Davao City, Philippines (2023).
On this occasion, the Expert Staff of the Minister of Forestry Prof Haruni Krisnawati was also present as the keynote speaker. She discussed future challenges in conservation and environmental management. (MW/Rz) (IAAS/RUM)
