Jokowi About IKN Development: Most Importantly The Protection Of The Orang Utan

President Jokowi. (Dok.Setkab)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) emphasized that the Nusantara State Capital (IKN) development project must continue to observe aspects of the environment, including protecting fauna, such as orangutans and defenders on the island of Kalimantan.

This was conveyed by the President to a group of journalists from the Presidential Palace from Jakarta who were invited to directly inspect the Mentawir Machining facility at the IKN location, East Kalimantan (Kaltim), Thursday, February 23.

"The most important thing here is that we can protect orangutans, yes, in this IKN, in Kalimantan there are also monkeys, defenders, it is protected," said Jokowi.

Jokowi said that the effort to protect the fauna was also to support natural tourism that could be developed.

"It is also protected for a natural tourism, quite a lot," he said.

In addition to fauna protection, the President claimed to have asked the relevant ranks to carry out a forestry process for areas around the Sepaku Dam which can be managed into natural tourism.

"Yesterday afternoon I asked that the Sepaku Dam be completely forested, so that later it will become a natural tourist spot for people in the capital city of the archipelago," he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti, Nurbaya Bakar, who was part of the Mentawir Persemaian review group, admitted that she had not received any direction on whether it was necessary to build a zoo around the facility.

"There has been no direction from the President," said Siti Nurbaya briefly.

The President invited the Presidential Palace reporters to review the Mentawir Persemaian facility which will produce 20 million tree seedlings per year.

The Head of State emphasized that the facilities prepared two years ago were not only to support the reforestation process in IKN, but also the entire island of Kalimantan.