[Unpad.ac.id, 26/06/2013] Unpad was awarded in Indonesia Green Awards (IGA) 2013 in the Water Resources Sustainability category. It is an awarding program initiated by The La Tofi School of CSR for the people or institutions that have participated in environmental preservation, including companies with social responsibility of applying green economy principle. The award was handedly given by the General Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry Republic of Indonesia, Hadi Daryanto, to the Dean of Faculty of Geology (FTG) Unpad, Prof. Dr. Hendarmawan, Ir., M.Sc. on Tuesday (25/06) in Jakarta.
This award related to Unpad’s program of building waterpond, infiltration well, and biopori in Kampung Cikurutug, Pesawahan Village in the area of Cicurug, Sukabumi. The establishment was a joint-operation of FTG Unpad and PT. Aqua Golden Misissipi.
According to Prof. Hendarmawan, who has developed eco campus technology to preserve water in Unpad, the program, involving experts from various disciplines, such as Anthropology, Communication, Agriculture, and Economy, was carried out based on research on water conservation since 2006. FTG Unpad has developed expertise in Hydrogeology, particularly in conservation using stable isotope technology for water conservation system. “This technology apparently is still rarely used in Indonesia, in spite of its importance for higher precision conservation,” said he on Wednesday (26/06).
The area of Cicurug, Sukabumi was selected because it is an industrial area, and as the result of discussion with Aqua. “Many industries have been closed in other areas because of water problem. Therefore, this research aims to preserve water in industrial areas,’ he added.
The technology, which has been developed for 8 years, is said to have many advantages, one of which is to prevent land subsidence. It is because the technology is capable of balancing water foiling land surface from decreasing. Besides that, it can be used to maintain the fertility of soil and plants, to sustain ground water, and to be used for the community for daily needs. It is also important for the sustainability of industries because the water supply is still maintained.
