The Government Introduces Three Blue Economy Strategies at G20

VIVA – The government through the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries will introduce three blue economy strategies and action plans that focus on ecological and economic considerations on marine space activities to create healthy, safe, resilient, and productive sea to G20 Summit. 

The Director General of Marine Spatial Management of the KKP, Victor Gustaaf Manoppo in a release on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, conveyed the strategy for expanding conservation areas with a target of 30 percent of the total area of ??Indonesian waters, managing marine debris and structuring marine, coastal and island space that can protect coastal resources from damage because of economic activities.

"The first strategy is the expansion of marine conservation areas that are closely related to climate change mitigation and adaptation actions. Indonesia's 28.4 million hectares conservation area protects coastal ecosystems that are important for climate resilience," Victor Gustaaf Manoppo remarked.

Regarding strategies related to marine waste management, Victor Gustaav said marine plastic waste poses a considerable risk to the oceans. Based on LIPI data in 2018, it is estimated that 0.27 – 0.59 million tons/year of marine debris pollutes the sea during 2018.

"The second strategy, Indonesia recently launched the program "Bulan Cinta Laut". The idea is encouraging and empowering fishermen to be involved in protecting and protecting the sea from marine pollution by providing incentives for the garbage they collect from the Sea. Through this step, it is hoped that can reduce marine debris by up to 70 percent," Victor Gustaaf explained.

Then, the third strategy is the sustainable management of marine, coastal and small islands that are carried out through strengthening regulations for the protection of blue carbon reserve areas, allocating space to maintain or increase blue carbon stocks, and improving management synergy and the quality of blue carbon stock areas.

According to Victor, to protect the ecosystem, several spatial regulations and permits have been enacted to ensure that the ecosystem is quite protected and not converted to other land uses.

Currently, more than twenty provinces are in the process of including coastal management areas in the integration of local spatial planning. Several regulations have also been issued to ensure that blue carbon ecosystems outside marine protected areas are also sustainably protected.

"Indonesia invites the G20 global partnership to actively participate and engage in capacity building and promoting cooperation on the marine and climate agenda," he remarked.