Indonesia Invites Archipelago Countries To Collaborate In Facing Climate Change

Illustration: A number of delegates participating in the COP28 UNFCCC climate change conference umbrellad their faces with their hands to dispel the heat of the sun at Expo City Dubai (ANTARA/Sugiharto Purnama)

JAKARTA - Indonesia invites island and archipelago countries to collaborate by sharing concrete knowledge and knowledge to touch the community, so that they can independently face the impact of climate change that threatens coastal areas.

Deputy for Sovereign, Maritime and Energy Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment Jodi Mahardi while attending the COP28 UNFCCC climate change conference said island and archipelago countries are facing sea level rise which has increased sea level and threatens the loss of coastal areas, and even islands.

"We must be independent, we cannot depend on developed countries," said Jodi as quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, December 2.

Jodi said the collaboration initiative carried out recently was training for the use of simple fluorating fishingnets for Fiji, so that the community could take advantage of fishery resources in a sustainable manner.

According to him, island and archipelagic and Island State (AIS) countries must be solid and take advantage of the Archipelagic and Island State (AIS) Forum to collaborate to deal with problems facing coastal areas.

The AIS Forum is a forum for cooperation between island and archipelago countries that aims to strengthen collaboration in overcoming four global problems, namely climate change mitigation and adaptation, blue economy, handling plastic waste at sea, and maritime governance.

Indonesia is one of the founders of the AIS Forum which was launched in 2018.

The Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change of the Republic of Seychelles, Flavien Jouber, revealed that many coastal areas in his country are currently experiencing tidal flooding.

Therefore, the Seychelles puts forward the concept of a blue economy in the use of marine and fishery resources, one of which is the protection of seagrass and mangroves.

"We are targeting seagrass protection by 2030 to reach 100 percent," said Joubert.

Fiji's Ambassador to Indonesia Amenatave Yauvoli said a similar problem about dealing with sea level rise due to climate change.

According to him, efforts to move coastal communities that are threatened with sea level rise to other locations will not solve problems, it can even trigger new problems, especially regarding emissions in new locations.

Fiji took an adaptation action by planting mangroves and promoting nature-based solutions to protect coastal areas.

Yauvoli called for funding support and cooperation from all other countries to strengthen climate change adaptation actions.