As many as 17 local heads from three provinces around the Tomini Bay gathered together on Friday to promote their respective tourist attractions as well as ideas for propelling green investment for sustainable development and tourism.

The Tomini Bay spans 17 local regencies and municipalities in three provinces, namely Gorontalo, North Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi. An area rich with marine life, Tomini Bay’s sea zone between the arms and neck of Sulawesi Island has long been a source of livelihood for the local people.

Under the title “Green Investment Meeting: Restructuring strategies to promote investment in 17 regions around the Tomini Bay,” the event was held by Gorontalo regent Nelson Pomalingo at Gorontalo’s Pentadio Resort.

Tomini Bay is a unique area covering 73,365 square kilometers and is located on the Wallace Line, which gives it rich natural biodiversity, Nelson said, adding that because of this the area also has abundant potential for investment.

Most of the investment in Tomini Bay comes from the local budgets of each of the regencies. High dependence on the state budget, however, must be curtailed, as regional budgets are limited, he said.

“The alternative and the most possible strategic step is by inviting the public sector. But we want investment that is environmentally friendly so that we will not be rebuked by our children and grandchildren,” he said in his opening speech.

Nelson admitted that green investment had not significantly attracted local administrations due to the slow economic impacts it offered. However, he said that the green way was the best way for investment for the sake of preserving the environment.

Gorontalo regency had its share of investments that neglected sustainability, Nelson said. The regency suffered massive floods in late 2016 that caused Rp 243 billion (US$ 18 million) in damage. After that, the regency vowed not to make investments that would endanger the environment.

“We asked for ongoing projects such as oil palm cultivation, commercial forestry and sugar factories, to take part in conserving the environment,” he said.

All parties could cooperate to boost the economic value of green investment initiatives around the Tomini Bay, he said, adding that for starters, cooperation to increase sea and air transportation connectivity in the Tomini Bay area is needed.

Several foreign and domestic organizations attended the event such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and public policy think tank Transformasi.

Syamsurizal Tombolotutu, regent of Parigi Moutong in Central Sulawesi, said the gathering was a good start for increasing cooperation between the regions. He said he expected the gathering to be followed up with action that would bring benefits to Tomini Bay and its surrounding regions.

Meanwhile, president director of Bandung-based e-commerce firm Global Media Nusantara Hendrayana said his company’s subsidiary in the agribusiness sector was set to invest in a Jabon tree (Anthocephalus cadamba) plantation in an idle area of privately owned forest. The fast growing tree species is considered a promising source of raw materials for various commodities.

“We will cooperate with farmers to plant Jabon in Gorontalo and Boalemo regencies to be used as the material for many types of products such as wristwatches, glasses and furniture,” he said.

A Hangzhou-based company has also signed an agreement with Gorontalo regency to invest in green fuel, water resources and waste management, Tian Weiwei, the project manager at Zhejiang Bestwa Envitech Co. Ltd. told The Jakarta Post.

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