“We have the right to clear the forest for planting, but we have decided to conserve hundreds of big and rare trees growing in that forest,” – Hashim, said
The word Kalpataru or Kalpawreksa is Sanskrit for Tree of Life. It is depicted in the carved reliefs of Mendut and Prambanan temples in Central Java. A symbol of balance and harmonious environment comprising forest, land, water, air and humans, the government of Indonesia adopted it in its awards program for an individual or a group who devote time and energy to the preservation of the environment.
Mr. Hashim Djojohadikusumo receives the Kalpataru Award from Indonesia Vice-President Boediono
The Indonesian government began to acknowledge the efforts of a select number of environmental ac-tivists, nominating them for the Kalpataru Awards in 1980. At that time, the government awarded eight organizations and groups with a plaque of appreciation. The following year, the plaque was replaced with the Kalpataru trophy, designed by Markus Djajadiningrat, an artist from the Bandung Institute of Technology. Kalpataru Awards have four categories, namely environmental pioneer, environmental devotee, environmental savior, and environmental patron
This year, 12 winners of the Kalpataru Awards were declared: 4 for the pioneer category, 3 for environmental devotee, 3 for the environmental savior category and 2 in the environmental patron category.
PT Tidar Kerinci Agung (TKA), a palm oil plantation owned by Pak Hashim in West Sumatra won the Kalpataru in the environmental patron category. The award was presented by the Vice President of Indonesia, Boediono, to Pak Hashim in a World Environment ceremony at his office on June 5, 2014.
TKA, located in Solok and Dharmasraya regencies in West Sumatra and Muara Bungo Regency in Jambi Province, has around 27,000 hectares of palm oil plantation and 2,400 hectares of conservation rainforest. The forest is located in the TKA’s palm oil plantation and named after Pak Hashim’s late father. The “Sumitro Djojohadikusumo’s Conservation
Forest” is dedicated to the study, research and development, and preservation of natural resources, including wildlife in it. TKA is one of the palm oil companies in Indonesia with a strong commitment to preserve the rainforest in its plantation site. Moreover, an agreement has been made between Badan Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA) Sumatera Barat or Nature Conservation Agency of West Sumatra and TKA to build a facility center for Sumatran tigers within the plantation site with YAD acting as the executor of the said project in behalf of TKA.