"Indeed, 65 percent of the Nusantara area will be forests. Thus, we will make the current monoculture production forests into tropical forests, and this is important and appreciated by many in the international community that Indonesia will try to reverse deforestation into reforestation," he explained.
Susantono conveyed the statement after the launch of the Nusantara Zero Emissions Roadmap Regionally and Locally Determined Contribution (RLDC) during the COP28 event in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday.
Reforestation is one of the focuses of the OIKN as part of the city's efforts to contribute to the national greenhouse gas emission reduction target. The steps have been stated in the Nusantara RLDC document.
Especially in the forestry sector, efforts to avoid or reduce deforestation will be made by protecting 59,000 hectares of existing natural forests and mangrove forests.
The other effort is increasing carbon stocks through the restoration of more than 83,000 hectares of industrial forests, deforested land, and coal mining sites.
To this end, the government has prepared the Mentawir Nursery in North Penajam Paser District, East Kalimantan, which can produce 15-20 million trees per year to support reforestation efforts and restore forests' biodiversity in the Nusantara area.
"Those all will be included in our reforestation programs, and these will be carried out soon, and inshallah (God willing), in the near future, the president will lead green movements in Nusantara in the groundbreaking going forward," Susantono remarked.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the Southeast Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Winfried Wicklein, stated that his party is happy to support the OIKN in achieving the emission reduction target at the regional level.
He noted that the role of subnational government, particularly a city, is crucial to be underlined to achieve climate-resilient communities.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
