When The State Really Presents On Bengkalis Island

JAKARTA - September 28 is a historic day for villagers on Bengkalis Island. How not, their village, which is far from everywhere, was visited by President Joko Widodo.

President Joko Widodo planted mangrove trees with the community at Raja Kecik Tourism Beach, Muntai Barat Village, Bantan District, Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province. The Head of State emphasized that this mangrove rehabilitation will continue to be carried out not only in Bengkalis Regency, but throughout the country. According to him, mangrove rehabilitation is needed because mangrove forests can store 4-5 times more carbon than mainland tropical forests so that they will contribute greatly to the absorption of carbon emissions.

"This confirms our commitment to the Paris Agreement, to global climate change and in 2021 we will carry out mangrove rehabilitation throughout the country as much as 34 thousand hectares," said the President.

After receiving the visit, hundreds of villagers on Bengkalis Island held a thanksgiving and prayer together at Raja Kecik Tourism Beach, Wednesday night (30/9) last week. One of the joint prayers was addressed to the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya.

The builder of the Riau Malay Youth Association, Solihin said the joint prayer was held as a form of gratitude for the President's working visit to plant mangroves with the community.

"For us, this has become history since Indonesia's independence. Finally, there is a President who saw firsthand the impact of abrasion in our village, and even participated in planting mangroves together," said Solihin.

Minister Siti Solihin's attention, said Solihin, has started since 2019, by choosing Bengkalis Island as one of the widest locations for planting the Mangrove National Economic Recovery (PEN) program. In West Muntai Village, the area reaches 100 ha out of a total area of 319 ha in Riau Province.

From this activity, the majority of the villagers were finally able to work and earn income in the difficult situation of the pandemic. Per HOK, you can even get an income of up to IDR 3-4 million, which is paid directly to each account.

''We have long hoped that the government will pay attention to improving the environment, but only Minister Siti has really given her attention and support in the form of real work. For us, the figure is an environmental hero who works in silence with the existence of the Mangrove PEN and even brought in Mr. President Jokowi to see firsthand the impact of abrasion on this front island of Indonesia,'' said Solihin.

Even in preparation for President Jokowi's visit, Minister Siti is said to have been in Bengkalis first to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Though to get to the location takes a long time and the journey is not easy.

During President Jokowi's visit, the community together planted around 20,000 mangrove seedlings. Bengkalis Regency is one of the widest locations for the rehabilitation of coastal areas that are included in the 2020-2021 Mangrove National Economic Recovery (PEN) program in Riau Province, with an area of 1,292 ha.

''Through planting together, we hope that this area can be repaired and rehabilitated in order to control abrasion, as well as to support regional ecotourism. Of course this will support the economy of the people here,'' said President Jokowi.

The Indonesian government through the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) together with the Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM), accelerated the rehabilitation of 34,250 ha of mangroves spread across 32 provinces throughout Indonesia.

“We will continue to carry out mangrove rehabilitation throughout the country, because mangrove forests store 4-5 times more carbon than mainland tropical forests so that they will contribute greatly to the absorption of carbon emissions. This also confirms our commitment to the Paris Agreement and global climate change," said President Jokowi.

In 2020, the implementation of mangrove PEN in the Riau Province was carried out by 36 farmer groups, absorbing 48,504 HOK (workdays) workers and planting 3,625,900 seedlings. Meanwhile, in 2021, PEN mangroves cover an area of 5,050 hectares, which are carried out by 134 farmer groups with employment reaching 210,823 HOK and a target of planting 14,704,000 mangrove seedlings.