APLGI and IGOLF Stage First Indonesian Golf and Environment Forum

Some highlights:

• Golf courses have a responsibility to be good environmental citizens, according to Murdaya Widyawimarta (Poo), chairman of  APLGI.  Making the welcome address on behalf of Mr  Poo, S. Christine Wiradinata, secretary general of APLGI, noted that APLGI is committed to helping Indonesian golf courses become environmentally-responsible, and to helping government agencies recognize those contributions, partly to offset high tax rates paid by golf courses.
• Paul Sochaczewski, chairman of IGOLF, spoke about "Passion for Golf, Passion for Nature". Recognizing that there is no more “business as usual”, and note that golf faces environmental, social and “intangible” challenges.  He issued a challenge to Indonesian courses to do a better job of conserving nature and becoming good community citizens. He invited courses to apply to become IGOLF Laureate Courses by adhering to the 8-point IGOLF Charter.
• Standard maintenance equipment contributes to pollution and global warming, but new hybrid technology can significantly reduce emissions and fuel consumption, according Edward Yeh, regional marketing manager of John Deere-Asia. In his presentation Mr Yeh showed how courses can benefit from new green technology being introduced in maintenance equipment.
• Golf courses can be de facto nature sanctuaries and provide important bird habitats, according to Agus Budi Utomo, managing director of Burung/BirdLife Indonesia. In his presentation “Birds Around Us” he provided an overview of easy steps that golf courses can take to improve habitat for birds and other wildlife. He noted that birds require shelter, food and water and suggested some simple and inexpensive steps that can be taken to improve bird habitat, such as not cutting between fairways, letting vegetation grow to the edge of ponds, and planting a variety of trees suitable for food and shelter.
• Heddy S. Muknan, assistant to the deputy for Land and Forest Degradation Control in the Indonesian Ministry of Environment, made an important presentation in which he noted that the “intangible” benefits of golf are not fully appreciated by his colleagues in various government offices, and that Indonesian golf courses need to better present their case and re-position the sport.
• Chemical use is often cited as an environmental issue by golf course critics. Micah Woods, president and research director of the Asia Turfgrass Center, Thailand, identified “five easy steps to identify turfgrass problems and solve them using a minimum of chemicals”.  His advice: Choose the right grass, create a healthy growing environment, apply an optimum amount of fertilizer, mow with a plan, and use chemicals with care.
• Per Dahlen, director of Singapore-based AumBiz, spoke about several innovative technologies that save nature and save money.  His presentation covered biogas generators, solar power and other renewable energy sources, and new water treatment systems.  His creative solutions include small biogas generators to recycle waste from organic waste to produce biogas (for cooking) and biofertilizer (to obviate the need to purchase fertilizer) , large-scale biofuel plantations to help a course become energy independent, using solar power to heat water and generate electricity for course operations.

In concluding the session, the chair, Daniel Navid IGOLF  president, thanked the speakers for their contributions, expressed appreciation to APLGI for its partnership and recognized the active and valuable input from the participants. He noted that in follow-up IGOLF would be working in close cooperation with APLGI to promote increased environmental and social responsibility by Indonesian golf course operators. Courses would be invited to apply to join the IGOLF Laureate Course program and expert information would continue to be provided. IGOLF was looking forward to further activity in Indonesia and helping to position Indonesia as a center of golf excellence.