Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - The Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (Friends of the Bekantan Indonesia) when commemorating the 2020 Bekantan Day, Saturday (March 28, 2020) invited people to care about this proboscis monkey that has become the icon of South Kalimantan.
"Our hope by commemorating this Bekantan Day is to foster a sense of belonging and care for the iconic animal of South Kalimantan which is an endemic primate and key species whose existence is threatened with extinction," said Chairwoman of SBI Amalia Rezeki.
Amalia, who won the ASEAN Youth Eco Champion award in the field of environment in Cambodia last year, said Bekantan Day is a moral movement in the field of conservation that was initiated together by the environment loving communities in South Kalimantan.
March 28 was chosen as the Bekantan Day, because it coincided with the date of establishing the proboscis monkey as the mascot of the South Kalimantan by the province's Legislative Council (DPRD).
Bekantan Day commemoration this year is not as vibrant as previous years, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19 which limited the people's space.
Some previous planned agendas had to be canceled. Bekantan Day is usually filled with a series of activities, such as scientific seminars, conservation action in nature and the awarding of Bekantan Award to persons who care about the environment and preservation of the proboscis monkey.
The first in 2018 to receive the Bekantan Award was the Governor of South Kalimantan H. Sahbirin Noor, for his dedication in environment conservation and proboscis money by issuing regulation on the protection and preservation of bekantan and the originator of the Green Revolution Movement in South Kalimantan, which was highly appreciated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia.
