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RI, island states pledge sustainable solutions
A number of high-ranking officials from archipelagic and island states gathered in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Friday to take action on the lingering issue of global maritime sustainability, pledging to promote ecotourism in a “smart and innovative” manner
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span>A number of high-ranking officials from archipelagic and island states gathered in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Friday to take action on the lingering issue of global maritime sustainability, pledging to promote ecotourism in a “smart and innovative” manner.
It was the second time for ministers and high-ranking officials from 25 countries — from Fiji in the South Pacific and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean to Japan in East Asia and the United Kingdom in Europe — to meet in the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum. Founded last year — also in Manado — the AIS Forum was established at the time by 21 participating countries.
A number of multilateral organizations also took part in the event, including the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Pacific Islands Development Forum and the AIS Forum Secretariat.
Chairing the meeting on Friday, Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan expressed his concern over the vulnerability of island nations to climate change and urged them to take on the issue with innovative, scalable and concrete solutions.
“To this end, the ministerial meeting [this year] was held alongside the AIS Start-up and Business Summit that takes on marine ecotourism as its main theme, which speaks volumes and is relevant to participating countries,” he said in a televised speech on Friday.
During the meeting, representatives took turns delivering their views on the theme in relation to the conditions in their respective countries.
Maldives Minister of State for Tourism Ahmed Salih, for instance, said that the country welcomed the initiative to level up member states’ commitments to combating climate change, particularly marine sustainability.
“Tourism and fisheries are two things that our country relies on [...] Our asset for tourism is nothing but the blue ocean. Therefore, we need to preserve it,” he said in the forum.
Separately, Papua New Guinea Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Emil Tammur expressed his gratitude for being able to take part in the meeting, and applauded the relevancy of the theme in question.
“Marine ecosystems often face destruction in the name of development. We must sustain it for the future [...] Marine ecotourism must be owned and driven by local communities to provide maximum benefit to our people in all aspects,” he said.
Meanwhile, Japan’s consul general in Surabaya, East Java, Masaki Tani, said Japan wanted the forum to consider three principles — nature and environment conservation, tourism promotion and the development of the local economy — as the basis for developing ecotourism.
Coming from a far-flung region, Jamaican Ambassador to Japan Ricardo Allicock said he believed the implementation of radical programs was required to bring about radical changes.
“It is mandatory for all of us to seek sustainable ways,” he said.
Friday’s event followed up on the AIS Forum senior officials meeting a day prior which set out agenda items for the future, including a summit in 2020.
Among the topics raised in the meeting were concrete programs that deal with the blue economy concept of ecotourism, climate change mitigation, good maritime governance and maritime plastic debris — the pillars upon which the forum was first established.
In an outcome document from Friday’s AIS Forum, member states agreed to a 2019-2020 road map of smart and innovative solutions that emphasizes the following: the establishment of the AIS Forum Secretariat in Indonesia, climate change mitigation, adaptation and disaster management knowledge exchange — for which all the agendas had been concluded by Indonesian agencies.
The forum also plans to launch the Blue Economy Development Index and a financing innovation lab, as well as holding sustainable fisheries-related events, an ecotourism festival and knowledge exchanges on good maritime governance — all to be prepared ahead of the summit.
In a recent opinion piece published in The Jakarta Post, Luhut said the AIS Forum, which Indonesia initiated, showcased its leadership and was in line with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vision to turn the nation into a global maritime fulcrum.
