Dodent get Kalpataru from President of Indonesia
11/06/10 Posted by isfan
After the 2004 tsunami tragedy in Aceh, Mahyiddin (Dodent) restored the marine tourism business with the transplantation of coral reefs and was later chosen to receive the Kalpataru 2010 award for environmental awareness.
The tragedy of the tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004 destroyed almost the entire province of Aceh. The tragedy, which claimed many lives and property, also devastated almost all economic activities in the region, forcing an immediate halt to land, sea, and coastal economies. The fishermen and their communities who relied upon the seas for their livelihood had suddenly lost their source of income.
Mahyiddin suddenly lost his business in the field of marine tourism as well. Vowing to return the business as quickly as possible, Mahyidden used his knowledge and experience from 30 years in the area to bring tourism back to the area and began to transplant sea coral reefs in Pulau Weh.
Mahyiddin believed that by restoring the damaged coral reefs and transplanting new reefs via "artificial" reefs, tourism and its revenue would rejuvinate in a quick time. “Now that very focus is coral reefs because they can return the money in a faster time,” he said.
Mayiddin's ideas were not in vain. New growth on artificial reefs is evident, tourism has returned to Pulau Weh, and the local economies based upon tourism are returing economic prosperity to the area.
In response to Mayiddin's hard work and efforts to replace destoyed and damaged coral reefs, in helping return Pulau Weh to a marine tourism destination, he was rewarded as one of 12 recipients of the Kalpataru environmental award, labelling him as an environmental pioneer in the Aceh province of Indonesia.