Indonesia Invites G20 Countries to Support Coral Reef Restoration

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The Indonesian government invites G20 countries to jointly carry out coral reef restoration in Indonesia. Deputy for Maritime Resources Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Marves) Jodi Mahardi in a workshop to Ocean 20 entitled "No Coral Reef Behind" in Bali, Sunday (28/8), said that real action was needed so that additional damage to coral reefs did not occur also to improve coral health conditions in Indonesian seas.

"One of the concrete actions is to carry out conservation and restoration through the Indonesia Coral Reef Garden (ICRG) program," he said in an official statement in Jakarta, Monday. Jodi revealed that the purpose of determining the conservation area is to protect and utilize the function of coral reef ecosystems as a support for aquatic biota around corals now and in the future.

"The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) of the Republic of Indonesia as well as local governments have now applied this conservation function. Conservation areas have been proven to protect coastal areas on small islands and create sustainable environmental management," he said.

Jodi also said that awareness on the importance of coral reefs had started since 1998 with the existence of The Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program (Coremap). Coremap consists of three stages, namely the initiation stage, the acceleration stage, and finally the institutional strengthening stage with a total investment of more than 170.77 million US dollars.

"Implementation of Coremap in Indonesia not only improves coral conditions, but also has implications for increasing the diversity of marine biota which will directly improve the welfare of coastal communities," he said. Similarly, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Osama Faqeeha, emphasized the importance of coral reef health for the welfare of the community and general environmental health conditions.

"As Deputy Jodi said, we will not be able to protect our coral reefs properly if we continue to implement policies as usual. Drastic steps are needed to save the world's corals," said Osama.

Deputy Minister Osama said that to show the seriousness of his country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will contribute 10 million US dollars annually in the first 10 years to support coral conservation and restoration programs. He also encouraged other countries, whether they are members of the G20 or not, as well as the private sector to contribute.

The same thing was also shown by Yabanex Bastita from representatives of the World Coral Reef Funding Organization (GFCR), which will prioritize Indonesia as a target in coral reef restoration and conservation programs. Through the workshop, Jodi revealed plans to establish a Coral Stock Center (CSC) and build a Global Center of Excellence (GCoE) on Coral Reef as the world's first center for developing science and technology related to coral reef ecosystems. 


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