Harian Berita Sore

Makassar, South Sulawesi ( Berita ) :  As many as 50 university rectors from Indonesia and Thailand gathered at Hasanuddin University (Unhas), Makassar, to attend a conference about global warming, an official said.

“The rectors came from several universities across Indonesia and Thailand to discuss  global warming on  November 18 and 19, 2008,” coordinator of the organizing committee, Dr Dwia Aries Tina, said here Tuesday.

She explained that  global warming was not a partial problem yet, it had gone global that every country must be united and comitted to solve the problem.

The conference, she said, would have keynote speakers such as the  director general of  higher education Prof Dr Fasli Jalal, ASEAN’s secretary general Dr Surin Pitsuwan, and representatives from South East Asia  Dr Gatot Hari Priowirjanto.

Furthermore, the conference would also allow the participants to share their experiences about their efforts to enhance  the quality of the environment as well as their role in encouraging people to preserve their immediate surroundings save.

Among those who would share information were rectors from several universities such as Unhas and ITB, Chulalongkorn (Thailand), and Chiang Mai (Singapore).

“We have done some research on suppressing  gas emissions. The result has been recommended to industries in  the hope they will produce environmentally friendly  products,” speaker from Chulalangkorn University, Dr Rattachat Mongkolnavin, said.

Rattachat also explained that in Thailand, college students to be sent to farmers for agricultural counseling, were given knowledge and information  to promote the use of green fertilizer rather than  chemicals. This, he said, was one of the efforts to prevent damage to the environment, especially to the quality of soil. ( ant )