AIS Summit Indonesian Momentum Forum Embraces Island Countries and Arranges Blue Economy Strategy
The Archipelagic and Island States Summit (AIS Summit) Forum is the right momentum for Indonesia to be able to embrace island countries in the world to jointly develop a blue economy strategy.
Island and Island Countries Forum at the AIS Summit This forum will be held on 10-11 October 2023. It is known that the 2023 AIS Forum Summit will discuss a number of important issues, starting from the blue economy, dealing with marine waste, to the problem of illegal fishing .
In this regard, Senior Advisor for Climate and Environmental Governance, AIS Program Manager, Abdul Wahib Situmorang said that the implementation of the AIS Forum would clearly bring many positive benefits to fishermen. The reason is that at this time, even though we are talking about traditional fishermen, it seems completely irrelevant if we continue to talk about it and only rely on natural guidance when we want to fish or also when we want to see or assess weather conditions.
Moreover, because currently the world is also being hit by climate change, various kinds of natural guidance have to be combined with various science-based guidance, because if you continue to use natural guidance alone, of course it will no longer be relevant and will actually produce less accurate results. climate change.
If fishermen continue to use natural guidance, all their activities will potentially be disrupted. For this reason, through the implementation of the AIS Forum Summit, the Government continues to strive to encourage as much as possible the use of science-based technology that can be used by traditional fishermen, so that they are no longer too dependent on nature’s guidance.
Regarding the blue economy, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) is continuing to pursue cooperation targets with many other countries. It is hoped that this will be realized during the AIS Forum Summit later.
It is known that previously, the Coordinating Minister (Menko) for Maritime Affairs and Investment (Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that with the various contributions and collaborations at the AIS Forum, he was very confident that this would clearly have a direct impact on concrete programs that were immediate. able to touch on problems in the field.
Several problems in the field that are very important to find solutions for as soon as possible include economic empowerment of coastal communities, protecting the marine environment, and also increasing the capacity of communities in various island and archipelagic countries throughout the world.
Furthermore, the former retired general of the Indonesian National Army (TNI) explained that the AIS Forum was designed as a global solidarity platform in overcoming maritime challenges effectively and innovatively. The AIS Forum itself has conducted more than 200 knowledge exchange sessions, training and technical assistance, provided scholarships, joint research grants, as well as innovative program collaboration with more than 300 stakeholders.
For information, Indonesia is an archipelagic country with 17,000 islands and two-thirds of its territory is water. If we refer to the results of the International Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) 10 December 1982, Indonesia’s sea area is 3,257,357 km 2 and land area is around 1,919,440 km 2 . The vastness of these waters provides many benefits to Indonesia, including sufficient availability of marine products such as fish production.
Quoting data from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries for 2022, Indonesia’s potential fishery resources (SDI) in 11 fishery management areas (WPP) reached 12.01 million tonnes. But on the other hand, Indonesia as an archipelagic country is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels and increasing sea surface temperatures.
Then, the AIS Forum itself is intended to find solutions to the problems faced by island and archipelagic countries. Its existence is very relevant because these countries often face unique challenges related to environmental, economic and maritime sustainability.
One of the key aspects of the AIS Forum Summit was the emphasis on climate change mitigation. Island and archipelagic nations are often the main victims of climate change in the form of rising sea levels, increasingly frequent hurricanes and other threats. By gathering in this forum, these countries can share experiences and best practices in dealing with climate change. Apart from that, dealing with the problem of plastic waste in the ocean is also an important focus at this summit. Island countries often have marine ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to plastic pollution, and this problem not only affects the environment, but also the economy and well-being of local communities. Through collaboration at the AIS Forum, these countries can share strategies to reduce single-use plastic use, increase recycling,
The concept of the “blue economy” was also highlighted at the AIS Forum Summit, covering various economic sectors related to the ocean, including fisheries, tourism, transportation and renewable energy. Through discussions at this forum, island countries can create strategies to utilize their marine resources sustainably, thereby creating sustainable economic opportunities while protecting the fragile marine environment.
It is hoped that with this activity, sustainable strategies will be obtained, such as mitigating climate change, handling plastic waste in the ocean and creating a blue economy as part of sustainable maritime governance.
It is clear that to be able to implement the blue economy maximally and optimally, Indonesia cannot do this alone. With the 2023 AIS Forum Summit taking place in Bali, it will be the best momentum for the country as the host to invite all other countries to participate together in setting the blue economy strategy.
