WENANAM – A Joint Effort to Green the Planet

Cibulao, West Java, May 30, 2025 – Planting trees is a small act that can make a big impact. Trees play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide, producing oxygen, maintaining ecosystem balance, and slowing down climate change and preventing natural disasters.

Starting from the awareness of the importance of real action for the environment, environmental influencer Jerhemy Owen initiated the WENANAM initiative, which began on his birthday on April 29. In its early days, Jerhemy committed to planting 5,000 trees by inviting his followers to contribute. The mechanism is simple: for every 15 shared content, one tree will be planted, up to a maximum target of 5,000 trees.

However, within only 8 hours since the first content was published, the enthusiasm of netizens exceeded expectations. The target of 5,000 trees was achieved, and even continued to rise until reaching 10,000 trees. This movement does not stand alone. WENANAM became a collaboration between Jerhemy Owen, WWF Indonesia, the Ministry of Forestry, TikTok, and Jejakin.

“The public response was extraordinary, proving that environmental awareness is already very high,” said Jerhemy Owen. According to him, planting trees is not only for today, but also for the future. He invites environmental communities across Indonesia to plant trees. “Anyone can organize tree planting in their own area and get free seedlings from KLHK by bringing an ID card to the nursery, where one ID card gets 25 free seedlings.”

As many as 10,000 tree seedlings will be planted in Kampung Cibulao, Tugu Utara Village, Cisarua District, Bogor Regency, West Java. This location is the upstream area of the Ciliwung River and part of the forest management area of PT Perhutani and WWF Indonesia’s assisted area for sustainable coffee farming.

The location choice is not without reason. Besides being a vital water catchment area contributing to Jakarta’s water supply, Cibulao is also prone to landslides and droughts due to deforestation. The roots of large trees can hold rainwater and allow it to flow directly downstream, helping prevent flooding in Jakarta.

More than just a planting location, this area also has an active community of coffee farmers. The Cibulao Farmers Group (KTH) will be responsible for caring for the planted trees for the next three years. Since 2016, Cibulao has been known for its robusta coffee and has won awards in the Indonesian Specialty Coffee Contest. This planting effort also supports biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability, as coffee farming requires shade trees such as Suren, Pine, Puspa, and others that play an important role in maintaining soil moisture and reducing erosion.

Dewi Yani Rizki Lestari, Conservation Director of WWF-Indonesia said, "WWF-Indonesia is very proud to support the youth movement to save the environment." Dewi continued, “This important movement inspires everyone that even the smallest environmental act has a positive impact on the planet, like something as simple as planting trees.”

As many as 10,000 trees will be planted, including various types of hardwood and fruit trees such as Pine, Damar, Jackfruit, Coffee, and Mango. Based on Jejakin’s calculations, in 3 years the average carbon that can be stored is 16.57 tons of carbon with a potential carbon absorption of 303.86 tCO2e. Not only limited to the planting process, Jejakin will also conduct digital monitoring of these trees’ growth regularly, including their carbon absorption potential.

“Through IoT sensor technology and a tree growth monitoring platform based on Artificial Intelligence, the growth of planted trees will be monitored and reported for 3 years. The public can also view the progress of the trees transparently, from the planting location, growth, to environmental impact. We also provide public reports that can be accessed online by anyone, as a form of accountability and an effort to inspire more collective action for a greener planet,” said Arfan Arlanda, Founder & CEO of Jejakin.

The WENANAM movement is expected not to stop here. This initiative opens doors for similar actions in other regions throughout Indonesia. Because by planting trees, we are not only planting life, but also hope for a more sustainable future.