17 Jul CTC at the Blue Carbon Summit

CTC Executive Director Rili Djohani and CTC Board of Trustees Hasjim Djallal led key discussions at the Blue Carbon Summit held in Jakarta on July 17-18, 2018.

The Blue Carbon Summit challenged participants to think about the many factors facing coastal ecosystems, the blue economy and government cooperation. Held at the National Library of Indonesia, the Summit featured 60 speakers and two government ministers. Attended by nearly 250 people, the summit was an initiative organized by Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) in collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and supported by the Global Landscape Forum (GLF).

Rili participated in the  International Networks panel where initiatives and networks focused on blue carbon has gained momentum. Indonesia and other blue carbon countries need to join together to share their challenges and opportunities through various partnerships on this subject. They discussed about how such a huge wave of momentum driven by a common agenda can only help to further blue carbon research and result in strong collaborations. During the welcome dinner, Professor Djallal delivered a lecture on the UN Convention on the Law of the SEA (UNCLOS) and how it relates to facilitate blue carbon initiatives.

Indonesian policy makers, top national and international scientists, civil society, and donors came together to highlight the importance of coastal areas and to urge their inclusion into global sustainable development goals. Highlighted topics included the mainstreaming of blue carbon into Indonesia’s national conservation plans; an economic development agenda, which includes more than carbon, extending to fisheries, transportation, eco-tourism and beyond; and coordination between and within different Indonesian government agencies.

Blue carbon is increasingly gaining attention from national and international leaders, the scientific community, business actors and civil society. It is timely to bring the issues associated with optimizing the potential of blue carbon to an important summit. The Blue Carbon Summit facilitated dialogue across sectors and among stakeholders concerned with blue carbon issues, identified gaps and barriers that hinder the mainstreaming of coastal blue carbon in the national development agenda and to meet global commitment, and outline the roadmap of blue carbon development in Indonesia in line with the upcoming COP24 in Poland and Our Ocean Conference.