Darmawan Dennasa, the founder of Rumah Hijau Denassa (RHD), won the highest award of environment and forestry, Kalpataru 2021, for the Environmental Pioneers category. Dennasa is an alumnus of Universitas Hasanuddin (Unhas) who graduated from the Indonesian Literature Department, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, in 1996. He currently focuses on building a Literacy Village with the concept of natural beauty.
Rumah Hijau Denassa (RHD) was established in 2007 as a conservation and education area. It is located in Gowa Regency, Sulawesi Selatan and has an area of 1.1 hectares.
In the interview on Wednesday (27/10), Darmawan Dennasa said that the award is a valuable opportunity to elect one of the representatives of South Sulawesi out of ten people from various regions in Indonesia.
After completing his study in 2002, Denassa first served as a lecturer in the faculty of cultural sciences. However, in 2007, he decided to return home and establish Rumah Hijau Denassa to preserve biodiversity, especially local, endemic and rare plants/flora.
Rumah Hijau Denassa (RHD) has managed to save 563 plans species. RHD also has a uniqueness to maintain every culture and story behind plants from the sociological, ecological and cultural perspectives.
“We can observe the communities’ perspective, especially Bugis-Makassar-Mandar-Toraja, towards one type of plant. So we can understand the utilization of some plants that have been used since a long time ago. Some plants are used as a medicine or antidote and also processed into local cuisines and traditional instruments of cultural rituals,” explained Dennasa.
In the process, Denassa aims to remind other people that Indonesia is the second mega-biodiversity country in the world after Brazil. The condition has been a challenge for Indonesia to preserve and increase awareness to protect its nature from environmental damage and extinction of living things.
According to Denassa, Indonesian people have not been fully aware of the preservation of biodiversity, especially people in South Sulawesi. Many of them have not taken real action on the management of the conservation of flora and fauna, which are the characteristics and representation of each region.
“Through Rumah Hijau Denassa (RHD), we hope that this action can contribute to the conservation of the ecosystem of flora and fauna in Indonesia, especially South Sulawesi. We invite young people in South Sulawesi to come here and learn how to love nature and care more about endemic animal species populations,” said Denassa.
Furthermore, Denassa conveyed his hope to students as the next generation to serve the community by developing their home town using their scientific knowledge and experience.
After graduating from university, students can see the opportunity to create innovative and productive work on the optimation of Natural Resources (SDA) potential to improve the community welfare.
“We as people who live in Indonesia with cultural diversity are expected to maintain and respect each other’s traditions, especially attention to preserving the environment around us. Indonesia is also blessed with the maritime culture, which of course cannot be separated from underwater biodiversity,” explained Denassa.
In Conclusion, Denassa advised that future generations have an opportunity to create ever-lasting works and contribute to Indonesia, so they can be remembered for their works.
On the Kalpataru Award 2021, Rumah Hijau Denassa (RHD) competed with approximately 170 competitors in Indonesia for four categories, namely: Environmental Pioneers, Environmental Servants, Environmental Rescuers, and Environmental Trustees.
Kumara Tungga Dewa, S.S.
Editor : Ishaq Rahman, AMIPR
