Sahut Help Save Forests and Make It Easier for People to Access Health Services
Forest Friends Meetings (Sahut) are held periodically at the ASRI Clinic. However, on Wednesday (25/08/2021) it was held at Mutiara Beach, Sebadal Hamlet, Gunung Sembilan Village, Sukadana District.
At this meeting, not only was the meeting location different. Because there were also 2 competitions being presented in the middle of the meeting. These competitions are still related to environmental concerns. Such as the trash picking competition at Mutiara Beach and the trash can making competition.
The two competitions are intended so that Sahut, the community around Mutiara Beach, and visitors who travel there can realize the importance of keeping the beach and the environment clean. Sahut was divided into 4 groups. An atmosphere of competitive spirit was visible in each group.
ASRI Conservation Program Manager, Muhammad Rusda Yakin said that Sahut is the term for community representatives from hamlets who live adjacent to forest areas.
“Sahut is an agent in transferring information from ASRI to the public. Both related to health, conservation, and education. "Meanwhile, Sahut's main task is to monitor deforestation in their hamlets, such as illegal logging activities and other activities that cause deforestation," he explained.
Meanwhile, promotion of the ASRI program and monitoring of illegal logging are carried out by Sahut with 5 agendas. Such as facilitating community meetings to take part in socialization activities organized by ASRI, visiting fields or rice fields and talking to farmers, participating in local village and hamlet community activities, as well as visiting places where hamlet residents gather to chat. The five activities carried out by Sahut will be reported to the Sahut Coordinator every 2 months.
Sahut's own monitoring results are also related to the discounts that the public can get. Because it helps provide assessment material to determine the status of the hamlet in protecting the forest. The better the community's efforts to protect the forest, the higher the discount on treatment that can be obtained at ASRI.
There is some data that will be collected by Sahut. The data contains information that will be a determining indicator of the status of the hamlet. Among them are loggers (illegal loggers), logging access points, wood stacking points, gardens in forest areas, fields in forest areas, serkels, and sawmills.
“This data is updated every 2 months. However, it will be collected in its entirety every 4 months. "The result is the result of monitoring by Sahut, the output of which is the color of the hamlet which determines the discount for treatment at the ASRI Clinic," he said.
Regarding the work of the Sahut in assisting the government in carrying out reforestation, Rusda said that the results of this work were already visible. Not only does it stop the rate of deforestation, but it also helps people access health more cheaply and easily.
“Sahut's work shows a significant change in the status of the hamlet. Hamlets that were previously red became yellow or green. The status of the hamlet improved with the presence of Sahut. "There is a reduction in loggers, logging transport points, points, wood piles, and so on," he concluded.
