By: Drs. H.M. Erwin Siregar, MBA
Head of Haji Agus Salim Educational Foundation
The World Environment Day is celebrated every year by all levels of the international society, especially those who have high awareness toward environmental sustainability. The celebration of Environment Day in 2022 took the same theme as 50 years ago, namely “Only One Earth” (Sustainably in Harmony with Nature). Meanwhile the Ministry of Environment and Forestry raised the Indonesian theme, “One Earth for the Future”.
The Earth is currently facing three crises: 1. Climate is warming too fast for humans and nature to adapt; 2. Habitat loss and other issues that resulted in around 1 million species are going to be endangered; 3. Pollution continues to contaminate our air, land and water. How to solve the dilemma is to change our economy and society to be inclusive and fair as well as to create a stronger connection to nature. We have to turn the activity of planet destruction to planet recovery. The history of World Environment Day initially focused on human life and how they interact with the environment. The environmental damage due to economic exploitation has led to a major impact on the climate other habitats damage suffered by living things that inhabit the earth, including humans.
We are required to be aware of and treat the environment as a valuable inheritance, which we will pass on to next generation in the future. Loving the environment should be initiated from our closest environment, starting from home, the community and the place where we work.
Universitas Medan Area should keep its sustainability as an intellectual area where students carry out their learning activities. The founders of UMA have gone along with each other to make the UMA a convenient, clean, and interesting campus area to be visited every day. It is proven by the availability of facilities and infrastructure that greatly support the UMA academic community in carrying out services and students as the service users, both academic and administrative services. The campus atmosphere is green and full of trees, especially with the existence of a campus forest park as a conservation site of kinds of rare animals and plants that makes the UMA is away different from other campuses.
The management of Universitas Medan Area starting from the Foundation, the Rector to the Deans has agreed to consistently maintain and improve the convenience in the UMA campus environment. This condition is also recognized by visitors from outside who come to UMA for the first time. We always hear positive comments and generally admit that they notice a different atmosphere compared to other campuses.
Several recognitions in the form of awards have also been obtained by UMA because of the condition of a clean, comfortable and convenient campus. It is started from achieving the rank 17th at the national level in UI GreenMetric World University Rankings, rank 203rd at the international level, and rank 2nd at the regional level right after USU. In addition, the Webimetrics Ranking of World Universities also awarded the title as the Best University at the University Level in North Sumatra. Currently, the Campus Forest Park owned by UMA is the Best Campus Forest at the University level in North Sumatra as a Conservation Forest of the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia.
This achievement will be keep maintained and upgraded as the commitment of the management of the Haji Agus Salim Educational Foundation to maintain and improve the convenience and aesthetics of the environment in the campus area of Universitas Medan Area.