All About Garuda Surabaya

Started from a chit-chat among volunteers who are concerned about the state of the Javan Hawk-eagles who was about to be released by the Natural Resource Conservation Agency of East Java, a question arose: “Has everybody in Indonesia understood about the state of this species?”

Then came up with an idea to hold a campaign and environmental educational events to promote the importance of the Javan Hawk-eagle, the national emblem of Indonesia.

The event was later called “All About Garuda”, which turned out to be a series of events aimed at raising awareness of the general public towards the conservation of Javan Hawk-eagle as a national species.

The objectives of this event are to raise the public’s awareness and understanding of the importance of Javan Hawk-eagle and its habitat, not only for Indonesia but also for Asia and the world.

The event took place on Sunday, 26 December 2012, at Taman Bungkul, Surabaya. Many people come here to spend their time jogging, taking a walk, and doing other stuff. every Sunday morning, it becomes even more crowded as the road around the park is closed for the “Car Free Day”.

39 volunteers participated in this event by explaining to the people about the importance and conservation efforts of Javan Hawk-eagle and its habitat.

Photo Exhibition and Information Dissemination on the Javan Hawk-eagle

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So far, concerns on the Javan Hawk-eagle are limited to academics, NGOs, and the government. The general public barely knows how the Javan Hawk-eagle looks like, let alone its threats and a declining population due to deforestation and poaching for trade.

Public Opinion about the Javan Hawk-eagle and Garuda

On the occasion, we invited everybody to express their opinion about the research and conservation efforts of the Javan Hawk-eagle, and the opportunity is especially given to public figures.

200 people were selected randomly in a semi-structured interview, where they were asked to answer some questions from our volunteers, about Javan Hawk-eagle and habitat conservation in East Java.

Most of the respondents were 20 years or older. We assumed that they were appropriate as the Javan Hawk-eagle was established as Indonesia’s national emblem approximately 20 years ago, through the Presidential Decree no. 4 of 1993.