The three cities that receive the ASEAN awards are among those having won the Adipura award.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Three cities of Indonesia received the 5th ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City (ESC) Award and the 4th Certificate of Recognition for their sustainable and environment-friendly development efforts.

According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s official statement received here on Friday, Balikpapan City in East Kalimantan Province received the award in the ESC category.

In addition, Bontang City in East Kalimantan won the award for the small town with clean land category, while Surabaya City in East Java Province bagged the award for big city with clean water.

"I expect that the awards will motivate us to improve our environmental performance and inspire others," Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya noted while delivering her speech at the award ceremony conducted in a hybrid format here on Thursday.

The minister affirmed that excellent collaboration is the key to bridging the environmental gap in the region and improving together, while the award is one of the effective approaches to encourage the government in Southeast Asia to build more green cities.

Furthermore, the minister informed the forum that Indonesia also had a similar program titled Adipura Award bestowed on cities that are not only clean and green but also make significant attempts to manage domestic waste and promote a circular economy.

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"The three cities that receive the ASEAN awards are among those having won the Adipura award," she noted.

The Adipura Award was initiated in 1986 and given annually until 1998.It was thereafter resumed in 2002 until now.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN ESC Award and Certificate of Recognition is one of the regional organization’s cooperation programs coordinated by the ASEAN Working Group on Environmentally Sustainable Cities, with the objective of encouraging the growth of sustainable cities in the region.

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Translator: Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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