JAKARTA - The Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the United States (US) have completed the transfer of debt worth US$35 million or equivalent to Rp573 billion for marine conservation efforts on January 15, 2025.
Related to this, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) emphasized that the transfer of debt was not to exchange coral reef ecosystems.
Director General of Marine and Marine Space Management of the KKP Victor Gustaaf Manoppo said the program to divert debt payments was purely bilateral cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the US which aims to support the conservation of the Indonesian marine ecosystem.
He said, based on the Tropical Forest and Coral Reefs Conservation Act (TFCCA), it is possible to divert Indonesia's debt payments to the US into grant funds to support coral reef conservation activities.
"Through TFCCA, the United States agreed to reduce or remove some of the state's eligible debts (such as Indonesia). Instead, the state must use funds that should pay the debt for forest and coral reef conservation activities," Victor said as quoted from the official Instagram account @ditjenpkrl, Tuesday, February 4.
Victor explained that the 35 million US dollars collected from the transfer of debt would be focused on priority marine areas, such as the Bird Head Sea Star in Papua, the Sunda Kecil Sea Bentang in Nusa Tenggara and Bentang Laut Banda in Maluku and Sulawesi.
"The location selection was agreed upon by the two countries based on a scientific study that shows that the area is a coral triangle area (coral triangle)," said Victor.
Meanwhile, the Director of Ecosystem Conservation and Marine Biota of KKP Firdaus Agung said that the funds from debt payments will be managed through special accounts and channeled by the Kehati Foundation as administrators to local, traditional, NGOs and universities to support conservation in priority areas.
"TFCCA is a clear proof that preserving the Indonesian sea is a shared responsibility. We ensure that everything is done with the principles of sustainability and sovereignty of Indonesia," he concluded.
For your information, the TFCCA program is implemented to support Indonesia's vision as the world's maritime axis.
Given, Indonesia itself has the largest coral reef in the world, which is equivalent to 18 percent of the total coral reef area in the world. The area is estimated at more than 51,000 square kilometers.
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