Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and PT Wersut Seguni Indonesia (WSI) agreed to cooperate in the conservation of dolphins and water mammals. The signing of the MoU was carried out in UGM Central Office on Tuesday (27/4). This cooperation is aimed at developing education and research on water mammals in Indonesia. The scope of the cooperation includes education, research, field practice, apprenticeship, assistance given by skilled persons, the utilization of research facilities and infrastructure, as well as sustainable education.
President Director of WSI, Dheni Charso said that the cooperation which is carried out primarily with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UGM is intended to conserve and maintain health of water mammals, i.e. dolphins, which has been developed by PT WSI to be one of the beach tourist attractions of Kendal city in Central Java. "Beach tourism is expected to become the main tourism in Central Java. We have also initiated the cooperation with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine for the conservation of dolphins," said Dheni.
According to Dheni, the obstacles to conserve water mammals are mainly limited to medical knowledge and treatment. Therefore, they work with a team of researchers from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UGM who is knowledgeable in that field. Dheni added, cooperation to be done with UGM is the study of genes and dolphins cultivation through hybridization between species of dolphins, both local and migrated ones.
To introduce dolphins to the community, the company offers health treatment for visitors where they swim with the dolphins for one hour. "We have already introduced the dolphin therapy for health and pastime to the community. There are people with autism who have been cured after 3-5 times therapy," he explained.
Meanwhile, the Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D., said he was very enthusiastic and welcomed the cooperation of health therapy through dolphins. He saw that PT WSI’s experience in utilizing dolphins to treat patients with autism indicates the abundance of knowledge that has not been grasped by scientists. "There are many things in this world that humans can use but are still a mystery. The UGM task as a research university is to turn the unknowns to become known," he explained.
The Rector recognized that the utilization of dolphin’s vibration waves for health treatment needs to be further investigated scientifically. For UGM, however, at least it can provide benefits to the community. "More importantly, how PT WSI that has built a beach resort can give entertainment to the community through beach recreation," he explained.
Also in attendance to witness the signing of this agreement were UGMÂ Senior Vice Rector for Administration, Finance, and Human Resources, Prof.. Ainun Na’im, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Prof. Dr. Bambang Sumiarto, M.Sc., and members of the medical team of PT WSI, drh.Dwi Restu Seto.