"Currently, we are focusing on anticipating the climate change crisis by planting tree seedlings simultaneously throughout Indonesia, one of which is in Bangka Belitung, which is being carried out in Payung Village, South Bangka District," LHK Minister's Expert Staff for SDGs Implementation and Environmental Research Henri Bastaman said here on Sunday.
According to him, the action is part of anticipatory measures against the climate crisis.
"After previously facing the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crises, now we also have to tackle the climate change crisis, and Babel (Bangka Belitung) is one of the regions affected by climate change," he explained.
He noted that his ministry did not set a target for the number of trees that are being planted. Nevertheless, tree planting will be maximized, and the impact of climate change will be reduced in all areas of Indonesia that are vulnerable to climate change.
"We also have the FOLU Net Sink 2030 target that can contribute significantly to reducing the impact of climate change," he remarked.
He further said that, based on the environmental quality index, Bangka Belitung Islands is one of the regions that is quite good at protecting the environment.
However, he continued, the land cover needs to be protected in a sustainable manner from various threats of land destruction.
"Regarding air and sea quality, it must also be maintained, even though Babel is already quite good," he said.
Bastaman stated that the other effort of the LHK Ministry to anticipate the impact of climate change across Indonesia is to consider each region's vulnerability aspects. For example, in the Bangka Belitung Islands, where part of the area is coastal, the mangrove cover needs to be increased.
"Based on President Joko Widodo's suggestion, we will restore 600 thousand hectares of mangroves in all regions because this is one of the efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels," he said.
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Translator: Donatus D, Elza E, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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