"The blue economy concept is one of the holistic concepts to encourage economic growth as well as environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and the strengthening of the marine ecosystem," she noted in a statement on Monday.
On Monday (October 9), Bakar delivered opening remarks at the high-level dialogue on the blue economy of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali.
She noted that to make the blue economy a supporter of sustainable world economic growth, collaboration from the island and archipelagic countries that are members of the AIS Forum is important.
According to Bakar, currently, the oceans are under pressure from several human activities that are driven by the aim of meeting the needs for food, water, energy, medicine, transportation, trade, and recreation.
Those pressures have encouraged habitat destruction, overfishing, pollution, and irregular coastal development, thereby threatening ocean resources that support life and the balance of nature.
She further remarked that those pressures are getting worse and have led to biodiversity loss, declining fish stocks, and climate change threats.
Through the AIS Forum, she invited leaders to focus on working together across sectors at all levels of government to ensure a sustainable blue economy develops for all.
Unifying the thoughts of leaders, academics, experts, and business leaders is deemed essential to further accelerate collaborative action through a harmonized vision among archipelagic and island states.
The minister noted that several efforts have been made in the mangrove ecosystems in Indonesia to strengthen coastal resilience of islands in the country, which are aligned with efforts to encourage the revival of sustainable blue economy, especially for the local communities.
This is because mangrove ecosystems have been proven to provide crucial ecosystem benefits for local communities and also play a large role in the global population.
"Mangrove has high blue economy potential. In Indonesia, it is part of the national low-carbon development strategy," she remarked.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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