Village governments must receive institutional capacity strengthening in order to anticipate, plan actions, and respond to climate change challenges.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Greening the World through Village Movement is a real step by Indonesia for mitigating global climate change, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said.
He made the remarks at the commemoration of Asri Nusantara Village Day 2023, themed “Greening the World through Village,” in Makmur village, Pelalawan District, Riau Province, on Monday, according to a press release received the same day in Jakarta.
"With nearly 75 thousand villages covering around 88 percent of Indonesia's total area, the Greening the World through Village Movement certainly speaks very loudly about Indonesia's contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change," the Vice President said.
This is in line with Indonesia's firm commitment to promoting climate and environmental restoration, which was conveyed during the climate summit in Egypt some time ago.
"As I said at the session of the COP-27 Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, last November 2022, Indonesia is committed and invites all countries to care about the threat of disasters due to climate change and to take real action to encourage environmental recovery and a strong and inclusive climate," Amin said.
He then asked related parties to ensure that all communities, especially in villages, receive literacy and education on how to oversee and implement this concrete action in a sustainable manner.
"Village governments must receive institutional capacity strengthening in order to anticipate, plan actions, and respond to climate change challenges," he explained.
He said that the village community, religious leaders, traditional leaders, village-owned enterprises (BUMDes), and stakeholders at the village level need to be actively involved in every real action related to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
He also expressed the hope that all concrete efforts made would further strengthen each village’s contribution to minimizing the impact of climate change on the village, in particular, and the country, in general.
"By strengthening capacity and multi-stakeholder collaboration, it is hoped that villages will be able to implement inclusive green development according to the unique challenges and needs of each village," he said.
Meanwhile, Riau Governor Syamsuar conveyed the commitment of the Riau provincial government down to the village level to make the Asri Village Program a success, including through the Green Riau Program.
He said he hopes that the program will support the government's big program for greening Indonesia through low-carbon development and reduced emissions.
Apart from the Governor of Riau, Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, Abdul Halim Iskandar, Pelalawan District Head H. Zukri, and district heads and mayors from across Indonesia, joined the event, both offline and online.
Meanwhile, the Vice President was accompanied by the head of the Vice Presidential Secretariat, Ahmad Erani Yustika; deputy for economic policy support and competitiveness enhancement, Guntur Iman Nefianto; deputy for administration, Sapto Harjono Wahjoe Sedjati; and special staff to the Vice President, Masduki Baidlowi, Mohamad Nasir, M. Imam Azis, and Arif Rahmansyah Marbun.
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Translator: Rangga Pandu, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Sri Haryati
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