Preserving Indonesia's mangroves to nurture blue carbon potential by Fardah

 Jakarta , Oct 27, 2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has set an ambitious target of restoring 600 thousand hectares of mangrove forests across the country by 2024.

The world’s largest archipelagic country sees the preservation of mangrove forests as crucial because of their role in providing habitats for aquatic and terrestrial fauna and flora, protection from strong winds and waves, soil stabilization and erosion prevention, nutrient retention and water quality improvement through filtration of sediments and pollutants, flood mitigation, sequestration of carbon dioxide, and protection of associated marine ecosystems.

As high carbon storage ecosystems, mangrove and peatland ecosystems play a strategic role as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Peatlands and mangroves store up to 2 to 10 times more carbon than forests.

Given the significant role of mangrove and peatland ecosystems, the government has recently converted the Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) into Peatland and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM).

Mangroves, however, have been disappearing more quickly than inland tropical rainforests, particularly due to clear-cutting for shrimp farms.

The loss of mangroves has led to a decline in fisheries, degradation of clean water supply, salinization of coastal soils, erosion and land subsidence, as well as an increase in gas emissions, among other things.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), while visiting Tana Tidung district, North Kalimantan province, on October 19, 2021 had revealed that the country’s existing mangrove forests covered a total area of 3.6 million hectares.

Rehabilitation efforts are being undertaken to protect coastal areas from sea waves, seawater intrusion, and preserve the habitat of species, including birds, fishes, crabs, monkeys, and other flora and fauna, living in and around the mangrove forests, according to him.

Accompanied by several foreign ambassadors, Widodo planted mangrove trees in North Kalimantan as part of the mangrove restoration program.

The program’s funds were derived from various sources, including state and regional budgets, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs of private and state-owned companies, and the community in general, he noted.

Preserving Indonesia's mangroves crucial for climate change mitigation by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 6, 2021 (Antara)-  Indonesia, which is home to one of the world’s largest mangrove forests, has set a target of rehabilitating 150 thousand hectares (ha) of its area under mangroves in 2021. 

Based on data recorded in 2011, about three million hectares of mangrove forests can be found along 95 thousand kilometers of Indonesia’s coastal areas, constituting 23 percent of the world’s mangrove ecosystem. Papua, Kalimantan, and Sumatra Islands are considered the most crucial regional mangrove ecosystems. 

This year’s ambitious mangrove rehabilitation program, which will be carried out particularly in critical and tsunami-prone areas, was announced by Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, during a recent coordination meeting held to discuss the accelerated program.

The online meeting was attended by Minister of Environmental Affairs and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Wahyu Trenggono, representatives from the Home Affairs Ministry and the National Development Planning Ministry/Bappenas, and head representative of the World Bank for Indonesia and Timor Leste, Satu Kahkonen.

About 84 percent of the funding for the 2021 mangrove rehabilitation program will be sourced from the State Budget (APBN), including from the Additional Assistance Budget (ABT), through the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN), while the remaining 16 percent will be derived from non-APBN sources.

Pandjaitan has urged local governments across the country to support the mangrove rehabilitation program.

"We urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate, so that the provinces and districts will also help maintain the mangroves, and they will also reap the fruits of this program, as it creates jobs," he remarked.

The minister also discussed the carbon credit potential that could be optimized through the program. To this end, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will identify suitable locations to serve as pilot projects for carbon trading, and regulations are also being prepared to regulate carbon trading activities, he said.

Meanwhile, Environmental Affairs and Forestry Minister Nurbaya has emphasized the importance of the public gaining a comprehensive understanding of the program that has drawn international attention owing to its effect on the climate change agenda.

"The good news is that climate change in Indonesia is considered to be in the medium category. We have nearly become a role model country for good (mitigation of) climate change," she affirmed. 

INDONESIA'S WEATHER IS A STUDY IN CONTRASTS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 27/8/2020 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is preparing anticipatory measures against extreme weather events as it is prone to hydro-meteorological disasters, such as flooding, landslides, and whirlwinds, in the rainy season and wildfires or severe drought during the dry season.

Rains and dry spells often occur at the same time in different parts of the world's largest archipelagic country, which is spread over more than 16 thousand large and small islands.

These unique weather and climate dynamics can be attributed to Indonesia's territorial location around the equator as well as it being flanked by two oceans (the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean) and two big continents (Asia and Australia), Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) explained recently.

This uniqueness is apparent from the contrasting weather or climatic conditions witnessed in the country. Even as several areas are experiencing drought, others are receiving extreme rains.

While the dry season has set in in most of Indonesia's southern regions, high rainfall is still likely in the equatorial regions, according to the BMKG.

Year-ender: TIME FOR INDONESIA TO TAKE CONCRETE ACTION TO CUT CARBON EMISSIONS by Fardah

Jakarta, Dec 26, 2015 (Antara) - The Indonesian government has pledged to increase its commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions' growth by 29 percent by 2030, up from the previous promise of 26 percent by 2020.

         With international support, the emission could be reduced by as much as 41 percent.  
    President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) reaffirmed his commitment before 147 heads of state and governments during the Paris Climate Change Conference in late November 2015.

         "I hope we are all part of the solution to make the earth a more liveable place for our children and grand children," Jokowi said.    
    Having the world's third largest forest area that serves as the world's lungs, Indonesia has decided to be part of the solution, the president remarked.

INDONESIA PLAYS DUAL ROLES IN CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES by Fardah

      Jakarta, May 30, 2014 (Antara) - As an archipelagic country with vast forests and maritime areas, Indonesia is unique as it is most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but simultaneously offers crucial solutions to curb the climate change problem.

        The impacts of climate change are apparent in Indonesia, such as rising sea levels, change in precipitation patterns, decrease in agriculture and fishery production, drought, flooding, and an increase in occurrence of some vector-borne diseases.  

GOVT MOVES FORWARD TO REALIZE CO2 EMISSION CUT PLEDGE by Fardah

      Jakarta, Sept 26, 2011 (ANTARA) - The government has signed at least two important decrees this month to support its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 26 percent by 2020 in order to tackle climate change`s impacts.
      First, on September 8, 2011, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) signed Presidential Decree Decree No. 25 of 2011 to extend the work period for the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Task Force, until December 31, 2012.

CLIMATE CHANGE'S IMPACT IN INDONESIA BECOMING NEAR, REAL By Fardah

      Jakarta, Sept 4, 2010 (ANTARA) - Ode (45), a fisherman of Lebak District, Banten Province, has to sell his belongings to buy food for his family as bad weather has forced him to stay away from open seas over the past two months.
       "I recently sold my television set to meet our daily needs," he told ANTARA at a local fish market in Lebak, Thursday (3/9).
       Like Ode, other fishermen in Lebak District have also complained about their meager fish catches lately due to continuing bad weather conditions marked by strong winds, rain or huge waves in the Indian Ocean.

RI Gets Int`l Support For Its Climate Change Fight by Fardah

     Jakarta, April 20, 2010 (ANTARA News) - Indonesia, home of the world`s third largest forest area after Brazil and Zaire, has received support from several countries for its efforts to preserve some of the `Earth`s lungs`.
     "Bilateral cooperation in forest preservation with a number of other countries has been smooth. A while ago, I received delegations from 15 countries including Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, France, Iran and Algeria," Environment Minister Gusti M Hatta told ANTARA on the sidelines of a global environment ministerial-level meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali Province, last February 2010.

WAITING FOR HIGHER EMISSION CUT PLEDGES TO SAVE EARTH By Fardah

     Jakarta, March 22, 2010 (ANTARA) - Scientists have warned that the earth`s temperature rise should be limited to no more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times by the end of the century if devastating climate change is to be avoided.
     The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its report noted that this can only happen if global greenhouse gas emissions peak by 2015 and rich nations slash their carbon pollution levels by 25 percent - 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

REBUILDING TRUST TOWARDS MEXICO CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT By Fardah

       Jakarta, March 10, 2010 (ANTARA) - A number of countries attending an informal meeting on climate change in Bali last February emphasized the urgency of rebuilding trust in the runup to the Mexico Climate Change Summit late this year.
       "The greatest challenge facing all countries towards Mexico is to rebuild trust," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa told the press after chairing an informal ministerial level meeting on climate change in Nusa Dua, Bali Province, on February 26, 2010.

HIGHER EMISSION CUT TARGETS NEEDED TO MEET 2 DEGREE LIMIT

     Nusa Dua, Bali, Feb. 23, 2010 (ANTARA) - Gas emission cut pledges listed in the Copenhagen Accord are likely not enough if the world wants to limit two degree rise of global temperature, according to UNEP.
      There were still opportunities to increase the targets and countries needed to define longer target than 2020, said United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner, here on Tuesday.
       Countries will have to be far more ambitious in cutting greenhouse gas emissions if the world is to effectively curb a rise in global temperature at two degrees Celsius or less, according to a new greenhouse gas modeling study based on the estimates of researchers at nine leading centers compiled by UNEP.

RI MULLING ACTIONS, COST TO CUT GAS EMISSIONS By Fardah

      Jakarta, Feb. 3, 2010 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has started mulling actions and calculating the cost to implement its plan to cut gas emissions by 26 percent in 2020 and by 41 percent with international support.
      "In the spirit of thinking outside the box, in September this year Indonesia declared an emission reduction target of 26 percent of `business as usual` by 2020, and this can be increased to 41 percent with enhanced international assistance," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his speech before participants of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), in Copenhagen in December 2009.

AFTER PROMISES, ACTIONS NEEDED ON CLIMATE CHANGE By Fardah

   Jakarta, Oct. 27, 2009 (ANTARA) - Many environmentalists and experts have warned that the future of mankind depends on their actions today, not tomorrow or some time in the future. 

     Greenpeace, a global environmental NGO, delivered a similar reminder in its letter and a bouquet of flowers sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to congratulate him on his inauguration for his second presidential term, in Jakarta, last October 20, 2009. 

RI WISHES TO LEAD IN ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE'S IMPACT by Fardah

    Jakarta, Oct. 5, 2009 (ANTARA) - It was quite an 'unusual' demonstration when several Harvard University students in Boston greeted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and even referred to him as 'Climate Change Hero'.

       Yellow and pink posters with messages reading "Thank You Indonesia", "Harvard Says Indonesia's Our Climate Change Hero", "President Yudhoyono World Climate Change Leader", "The Earth Our Future, Thank You Yudhoyono", were carried by the students outside their campus in Boston, the United States, on Sept. 29, 2009, when Yudhoyono arrived at the campus to speak before Harvard's faculty members, ANTARA's correspondent reported from Boston.

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HIT WORST BY IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

    Manado, May 14, 2009 (ANTARA) -The developing countries are hit worst by the impact of climate change because they depended more on natural resources, according to Alfred Nakatsuma,  director of the Environment office of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said here on Thursday.

          While the developed countries depended more on industries and information services than on natural resources, he said when speaking to journalists participating in the OANA Workshop on "The Role of the Media in Preserving the Global Environment".

Media-Scientist Parnertship Needed to Address Climate Change

    Manado, North Sulawesi, May 13, 2009 (ANTARA) - A  strong partnership between science and the media is needed to overcome  environmental problems, including climate change, Robert Lee, a  UNESCO Program Specialist for Environment Sciences said.

         Journalists  and scientists should work closely together as the media had great  skill in telling interesting stories that could catch people's attention, while scientists were good in collecting scientific facts and data important to protect the environment, Lee said at the OANA Workshop on "The Role of the media in preserving the global environment", here on Wednesday . 
     Planet Earth was experiencing disasters such as floods, droughts, sea level rise, air pollution, wild fires, desertification, and ecosystem destruction, he said.

          Scientists have sent alarms for decades about the climate change and global warming as well as other environmental problems, but it seemed it did get adequate attention from the public, Lee of the Jakarta-based UNESCO regional office, said.

          He believed that the media play an active role in collecting, producing and distributing news on the environment, which could possible change the attitude of the society, like in saving energy and water in their daily life.

          Lee also emphasized that the media should not only report on environment and scientific information, but also should participate  actively in dialogs which lead to policy and decision makings.

          "The media should form strong communication with scientists," he told the workshop's participants among others coming from Vietnam, China, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Venezuela, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar, Brazil, Suriname, Cuba, and Canada.

          He said UNESCO Jakarta Office would have a media and climate change program to promote journalists' excellence in reporting climate change.

          The OANA workshop is being organized by OANA (Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies), here May 13-15, coinciding with the implementation of the World Ocean Conference (WOC) which is also being organized here, May 11-14.

          The Workshop is organized by the OANA Secretariat in ANTARA News Agency, with the cooperation of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Communication and Informatics Ministry of Indonesia.

          In the last day of the workshop, the journalists will join a field visit to Bunaken marine park, around 10 km of Manado, to see the rich marine biodiversity of the protected marine park.

          OANA, which was established in 1961 with the support of UNESCO, now has 40 member news agencies from 33 countries.

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