Kemenkop UKM Supports Lamun Plantation To Develop Community Economy

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) supports seagrass planting efforts, namely flowering plants that can grow in shallow seas to develop the community's economy while preserving coastal areas.

Expert Staff to the Minister for Inter-Institutional Relations at the Ministry of Cooperatives, SMEs Riza Damanik, said that environmental movements and actions were concrete steps in saving coastal ecosystems. Thus, the future of the economy and society will be better.

"If the sea is healthy, the sea will be more productive. If the sea is productive, the economy of the people will also be healthier. Its life will also be safer and calmer because it avoids the threat of disaster," Riza said in his official statement, Thursday, July 4.

This support was conveyed by Riza in response to the planting of 3,000 seedlings of the Enhalus acoroides type on Nara Beach, Teluk Bakau Village, Gunung Kijang District, Bintan Regency. The activity was attended by more than 100 youths from various elements of society.

Based on data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector continue to increase, reaching 36.8 gigatons in 2022. Meanwhile, Indonesia ranks sixth as one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions in the world, with total emissions of around 691.97 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) throughout 2022.

Realizing this, dozens of youths from the Warrior Lamun, a youth organization based on the conservation of seagrass fields in Bintan, Riau Islands, took concrete action to protect the seamless ecosystem and reduce the impact of climate change by strengthening the Blue Carbon Concept as an innovative solution through seagrass.

The lamun planting activity was initiated by the Lasun Warrior community under the guidance of Kampong Terangang, aiming to preserve seagrass as part of the solution to today's environmental and climate challenges.

Planting is carried out when the sea recedes using the seed bag method, ensuring ideal conditions before the tide returns.

The initiative is referred to as the second largest seam planting activity in Indonesia, having previously been initiated by the Warrior Lamun on October 28, 2023. Standing on World Labor Day, March 1, 2020, the Warrior Lamun has grown into a community that encourages global involvement in the preservation of the earth ecosystem.

In addition to planting seagrass, the participants also together cleaned the beach by taking a dry seagrass on the beach.

Dried Lamun, which had previously been collected at the beach, will be processed into useful products, one of which is embroidery or threads that come from lamun silk, sea soap and lamun paper made of seagrass.