Jakarta (VNA) – Delegations of the ASEAN member states, East Asiancountries, the US, Japan, and India took part in planting mangroves within theAngke Kapuk Mangrove Ecotourism Park in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 20.
Co-organisedby the ASEAN Secretariat and the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to ASEAN,the mangrove planting event is part of the East Asia Summit (EAS) Ambassadors’Meeting in Jakarta. The activity reiterated ASEAN’s and East Asia Summit’scommitment to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Openingremarks were made by Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee, Deputy Secretary-General ofASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, Hilman Nugroho, Indonesian DirectorateGeneral of Watershed and Forest under the Indonesian Ministry of Environmentand Forestry, and Elizabeth P. Buensuceso, Permanent Representative of thePhilippines to ASEAN.
Theysaid mangroves offer “a variety of ecosystem services” and “act as major carbonsinks”.
“Mangroveconservation efforts will not only protect the environment, but alsosignificantly contribute to climate change mitigation and disaster riskreduction,” they stressed.
Accordingto the officials, the ASEAN region houses one-third (51,049km2) of the world’smangroves, with Indonesia alone accounting for over 20 percent of the total globalcover. Key mangrove forests can be found in the Ayeyarwady delta in Myanmar,Mekong Delta in Viet Nam, and the extensive deltaic coastline along southernPapua in Indonesia. These forests are home to 51 mangrove species, whichaccounts for 71 percent of the total mangrove species found all over the world,making the region the global centre for mangrove diversity.
Aftertaking part in planting mangroves, Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee said the eventencourages practical activities and concerted efforts to protect theenvironment, particularly along the coastline.
Ambassadorof the Indian Mission to ASEAN Suresh K Reddy lauded the meaning of the plantingday to environmental collaboration and solidarity among participatingnations.-VNA
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