BOGOR BOTANICAL GARDENS CELEBRATE 200TH ANNIVERSARY by Fardah

Jakarta, May 20, 2017 (Antara) - Located in downtown Bogor, West Java, the Bogor Botanical Gardens, Indonesia's oldest and largest botanical garden, celebrated its 200th anniversary on May 18 this year.

        The celebration was marked by a series of activities, such as the issuance of the first-day cover of the special-edition stamps of orchids from 34 provinces along with a four-day plantation exhibition on May 18-21, the 200K Run on May 20-21, environmental education programs on May 19-21, fun bike event on Aug 20, an international seminar, art and cultural festivals, botanical photography contests, and sports competitions. 
    Among several VIPs present during the celebration were former president Megawati Soekarnoputri in her capacity as chairperson of the Indonesian Botanical Garden Foundation, Communication and Informatics Minister Rudiantara, Chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Prof. Iskandar Zulkarnain, and Head of the Presidential Staff Teten Masduki.     
    The Bogor Botanical Gardens are the largest center of off-site conservation and research on plant species in Indonesia, the botanical garden's spokesperson, Roniati A. Risna, stated recently.

         "The Bogor Botanical Gardens have an area of about 87 hectares, with a total collection of 12,531 species of plants that are grouped into 3,228 species, 1,210 genera, and 214 families," she said.  
    It boasts over 400 species of palm trees, five thousand trees from around the tropical world, and an orchid house containing three thousand varieties.

        The gardens are the pride of Indonesians, as they are also the oldest in Southeast Asia and the third-oldest in the world after the three-century-old Pandova Botanical Garden in Italy and the Royal Botanical Garden of Sydney in Australia, which had just turned 200 in 2016.

CILIWUNG RIVER IN BOGOR BOTANICAL GARDEN NOW CLEANER by Fardah

 Jakarta, Dec 20 , 2016(Antara) - As holiday season to celebrate Christmas and New Year is approaching, many Indonesians are getting ready to spend the holidays with their families in tourist resorts and parks, including Bogor botanical garden.

         To help beautify the botanical garden, members of the Presidential security unit (Paspampres) on Dec 17 joined a clean-up activity for Ciliwung River, which crosses the garden, located in Bogor City, West Java.

          President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and the First Lady live in the Bogor Presidential Palace, located within the complex of the 87-hectare botanical garden, against the backdrop of Mt. Salak.

         Wearing a sport shirt, Jokowi came out of the Bogor palace at 10:30 a.m. local time on that day to watch his guards cleaning the river. He also toured the botanical garden and greeted the garden's visitors.

         "Ciliwung River is cleaner now. It's still dirty, but it is cleaner than it was in the past," the Head of State said.

         The Commander of Paspampres Major General Bambang Suswanto noted the clean-up was organized to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the unit.

         The event drew participation from more than 200 people, including police and military officers and members of the Ciliwung Care Community (KPC), among others, who picked up trash in the Ciliwung River.

         "We hope to see a cleaner Ciliwung River passing through the botanical garden, but so far, we have seen garbage on both sides of the river," he stressed.