Protecting Marine Ecosystem from Pollution

INDONESIA is hosting the Fourth Intergovernmental Review Meeting of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of Marine Environment from Land-based Activity, or IGR-4 of GPA, in Nusa Dua, Bali, starting today, October 31 until November 1.

The IGR-4 is an intergovernmental meeting where government and other stakeholders review the status of the implementation of the GPA through their respective national action plans. Ministers from many countries, representatives of the United Nations (UN), intergovernmental organizations and the private sector accredited by the UN Environment Assembly, are expected to attend the meeting. In total, Indonesia expects to welcome around 400 participants.

Director General of Environmental Pollution and Degradation Control at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry MR Karliansyah said there are three main agendas of discussion set for the meeting. The first is to review GPA implementation in the 2012-2017 period as mandated by the Manila Declaration. The second is to shape future policies for the GPA period 2018-2022. And the last is to draft the GPA work program, which would be facilitated by the Coordination Office, for the period 2018-2022. “Agreements reached at the IGR-4 will be included in the Bali Declaration,” Karliansyah told journalists recently in Jakarta.

As host, Indonesia has the advantage to get the most out of the meeting.

The meeting results will help Indonesia strengthen the country’s policies and strategies to improve its human resources and financing. Primarily, to achieve the 2015-2019 National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The IGR-4 is also an opportunity for Indonesia to strengthen coastal and marine development policies as well as boost cooperation and bolster program initiatives and activities to protect the marine environment from land-based activities.

“Of course, it will promote Indonesia as a tourist destination as well, with foreign participants attending the meeting,” he said.

Ahead of the IGR-4 meeting, several preparatory steps have been taken, including the signing of the Host Country Agreement between the Indonesian government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Prior to the signing, Indonesian delegates comprised of officials at the ministerial and institutional level as well as the local administration have coordinated the country’s position towards the agreement.

Commitment to protect the sea
The IGR-4 will not only strengthen commitment and cooperation between nations on marine conservation issues, but will also benefit the community and the survival of marine organisms. It’s very crucial for Indonesia as an archipelagic country where the ocean covers 75% of its area and resources spread along 108,000 km of coastline and 17,504 islands.

“Not only for economic reasons but more than that, for the survival of the marine organisms and their biodiversity,” Karliansyah said.

Massive on-land development and exploitation of marine resources have put pressure on the marine ecosystem. These land-based activities have polluted and destroyed the marine environment, reducing the quality and function of the sea.
Karliansyah said that the condition had pushed Indonesia, along with other UNEP member countries, to adopt GPA on November 3, 1995, during a meeting in Washington D.C., the United States of America. To this day, GPA has become a joint commitment to protect and preserve marine environment from land-based activities.

GPA can be interpreted as a comprehensive, sustainable and adaptive joint action plans that can be developed at various levels, whether it’s global, regional or national.

To strengthen their commitment, UNEP member states agreed to hold a periodical meeting to review and provide recommendations on the effectiveness of GPA implementation under the IGR Meeting.

The first IGR Meeting was held in Montreal, Canada in 2001 and the second meeting took place in Beijing, China in 2006. The third meeting was held in Manila where members agreed to prioritize GPA on marine environment protection from nutrient pollution, curb wastewater and litter coming from land, resulting in the Manila Declaration.  

Indonesian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2004-2007 period Makarim Wibisono said IGR-4 is a vital international event for Indonesia, as the largest maritime nation in the world, to develop a global maritime group.
"We prioritize the protection and preservation of the marine ecosystem," he said.

Director of Earth Science at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Zainal Arifin said that Indonesia has been tackling marine pollution ever since the birth of the Manila Declaration in 2012.

Respectively by raising people’s awareness on environmental issues through science education programs at schools, technological development for environmental monitoring and warning system, waste utilization for renewable energy and mangrove forest restorations which acts as filters from land-based pollutants. “We will present (our achievements) at the IGR-4 in Bali,” he said. (S1-25)

 

Melestarikan Lingkungan Laut dari Dampak Negatif

 

INDONESIA didapuk sebagai tuan rumah penyelenggaraan The Fourth Intergovernmental Review on Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Landbased Activity (IGR-4 on GPA). Ajang pertemuan internasional itu berlangsung di Nusa Dua, Bali, mulai hari ini (31/10) hingga esok (1/11).

IGR-4 merupakan pertemuan intergovernmental yang dihadiri para menteri lingkungan hidup dari berbagai negara serta beberapa perwakilan Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (PBB), organisasi intergovernmental, dan sektor privat yang diakreditasi UN Environment Assembly. Jumlahnya sekitar 300 sampai 400 peserta.

Direktur Jenderal Pengendalian Pencemaran dan Kerusakan Lingkungan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan (KLHK) MR Karliansyah mengatakan ada tiga agenda utama pembahasan. Pertama, review pelaksanaan GPA periode 2012-2017 sebagai Mandat Manila Declaration. Kedua, kebijakan masa depan GPA periode 2018-2022. Ketiga, program kerja GPA periode 2018-2022 yang dilaksanakan melalui coordination office.

"Hasil kesepakatan IGR-4 selanjutnya akan dituangkan dalam dokumen Bali Declaration,"  ujarnya dalam jumpa pers, beberapa waktu lalu, di Jakarta.

Sebagai tuan rumah, Indonesia dapat semakin memperkuat kebijakan dan strategi untuk meningkatkan kapasitas sumber daya manusia (SDM) dan pendanaan. Utamanya, dalam rangka pencapaian rencana pembangunan jangka menengah nasional (RPJMN) 2015-2019 dan tujuan pembangunan berkelanjutan atau sustainable development goals (SDG's) 2030.

Kegiatan tersebut juga dapat menjadi sarana untuk meningkatkan kerja sama, memperkuat kebijakan pembangunan terkait dengan pesisir dan laut. Selain itu, memperkuat sinergi dan penguatan inisiatif program atau kegiatan perlindungan lingkungan laut dari kegiatan berbasis di daratan.

"Tentunya, dapat meningkatkan promosi Indonesia sebagai destinasi wisata dengan kehadiran peserta dari berbagai negara," tambahnya.

Namun, sebelum pelaksanaan IGR-4 berlangsung, beberapa langkah persiapan telah dilakukan seperti penandatanganan perjanjian host country agreement antara Pemerintah Indonesia dan UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). Secara substansi, posisi delegasi Indonesia juga disiapkan dengan melibatkan koordinasi kementerian/lembaga (K/L) terkait dan daerah.

Komitmen melindungi laut
Penyelenggaraan IGR-4 tidak hanya akan memperkuat komitmen dan kerja sama antarnegara untuk melindungi dan melestarikan lingkungan laut dari dampak negatif kelautan berbasis daratan, tetapi juga membawa manfaat sebesar-besarnya bagi masyarakat maupun keberlangsungan makhluk hidup di laut.

Apalagi, Indonesia sebagai negara kepulauan memiliki laut yang luasnya mencakup 75% dari luas wilayah Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia (NKRI) dengan wilayah geografis yang sangat strategis. Lingkungan laut beserta sumber daya alam (SDA) yang tersebar sepanjang 108 ribu km garis pantai dan 17.504 pulau, mempunyai arti penting.

"Tidak hanya untuk pembangunan ekonomi, tetapi lebih dari itu, sangat penting bagi keberlangsungan kehidupan makhluk hidup dengan beragam kekayaan hayati," tandas Karliansyah.

Seperti diketahui, kegiatan pembangunan di darat yang begitu masif ditambah kegiatan pemanfaatan SDA di laut telah memberikan tekanan terhadap lingkungan laut. Tidak sedikit kegiatan di daratan yang menimbulkan pencemaran dan kerusakan lingkungan laut hingga menurunkan mutu dan fungsi laut.

Menurut Karliansyah, hal itu yang mendasari Indonesia bersama negara-negara anggota UNEP mengadopsi GPA saat pertemuan di Washington DC, Amerika Serikat, 3 November 1995. Hingga kemudian, GPA menjadi komitmen bersama untuk melindungi dan melestarikan lingkungan laut dari dampak negatif kegiatan berbasis daratan.

GPA dapat diartikan sebagai rencana tindak bersama antarnegara yang komprehensif, berkelanjutan, dan adaptif, yang dapat dikembangkan di berbagai tingkatan yaitu global, regional, hingga tataran dan ruang lingkup negara atau nasional.
Guna memperkuat komitmen, negara-negara UNEP sepakat terus melakukan pertemuan secara berkala untuk mengevaluasi dan memberikan rekomendasi terhadap efektivitas pelaksanaan GPA, yakni melalui forum IGR. Untuk diketahui, IGR perdana diselenggarakan di Montreal, Kanada, pada 2001.

Selanjutnya, pertemuan IGR kedua berlangsung di Manila, Filipina, pada 2012. IGR ketiga juga diadakan di Manila dengan menghasilkan Manila Declaration yang berisi kesepakatan untuk memprioritaskan GPA pada perlindungan lingkungan laut dari sumber pencemaran nutrient, air limbah, dan sampah laut yang berasal dari daratan.

Duta Besar RI untuk PBB periode 2004-2007 Makarim Wibisobo menilai penting forum internasional IGR-4 bagi Pemerintah Indonesia. Selain karena Indonesia negara kepulauan terbesar di dunia, hal itu dinilai perlu dalam mengembangkan global maritim group.
"Kita utamakan perlindungan dan pelestarian lingkungan laut," tegasnya.

Sementara itu, menurut Direktur Bidang Kebumian Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI) Zainal Arifin, sejak Manila Declaration 2012 Indonesia sebenarnya sudah melakukan berbagai upaya penanggulangan polusi perairan laut Indonesia, antara lain meningkatkan kesadaran masyarakat terhadap lingkungan.

Mulai pendidikan sains di sekolah, pengembangan teknologi berupa environmental monitoring and warning system, pemanfaatan limbah sebagai energi terbarukan, hingga restorasi hutan mangrove sebagai penyaring bahan pencemar dari daratan.
"Semua itu akan kita sampaikan di IGR-4 di Bali," ungkapnya. (S1-25)