One of our best geosites in Ciletuh Palabuhanratu Unesco Global Geopark (CPUGGp) is Cimaja Beach. Many amateur and professional surfers around the world gather to challenge the waves of Cimaja Beach. Not only for the excursion but also to participate in the International Surf League.
Indonesian best surfer, a quicksilver rider holding two times the championship of Asian Surf League from Cimaja, Dede Suryana, is inspired to prepare another young Indonesian talented professional surfer. To support the education and conservation activities in geopark, He and his colleagues established Palabuhanratu Surf Club and Dede Suryana Surf School. In some surfing sessions, they were taught paddling, popping up, and life-saving techniques. He also invited participants to have a high awareness of the environment, mainly to keep the beach and sea clean. Dede Suryana's program is called Cimaja Berseri (as the abbreviation of Bersih = clean; Sehat = health; and Lestari = everlasting). In environment-related classes, he encourages participants to love the beach, not only to keep it clean but also to minimize plastic usage and work together with all of the stakeholders in the movement of the Unplastic Garbage Campaign. They also socialized the usage of tote bags and tumblers to avoid and minimize plastic usage.
The socialization of environmental awareness must strengthen because plastic waste is a severe problem for our planet and everything that lives in it. It needs participation from everyone from every segment. Plastic is a hazardous waste that requires hundreds of years to be recycled since it is not biodegradable. Many plastic materials are discharged into coastal water every day, and it has decremental effects on the local marine environment. Marine life has reported multiple times to have suffocated from plastic materials. Many of them are get tangled or trapped, unable to escape, and therefore died due to starvation. Many died due to poisoning when they accidentally ingested small plastics that are spreading throughout the ocean. These are only a few of the countless disasters caused by plastic waste, including tourism. Many beaches had lost the beauty due to plastic waste.
Thankfully, many organizations worldwide have been helping to repair, prevent, and raise awareness of plastic waste. One of those is Dede Suryana's Cimaja Berseri project. Now, it's time for you, me, and everyone else to join the fight.
In pandemic of the covid-19 era, health protocol is applied to all participants during the lesson by using mask, washed hand and social distancing.
The program was supported by private sector of the Aqua Danone and State owned enterprise the Indonesian Power as part of penta helix stakeholder of the Ciletuh Palabuhanratu UNESCO global geopark..