Environmental Affairs Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta here Wednesday launched a National Eco-region which is designed to make development and space allocation plans compatible with environmental considerations.
“We have so far had various development plans; the plans have not incorporated the environmental aspect thoroughly. So there is something missing. Therefore, the eco-region concept is crucial,” Minister Gusti Muhammad said.
The Eco-region concept includes comprehensive environmental considerations in development. Serious environmental preservation and management are needed to improve the current degraded environmental quality which could threaten human beings, he said.
In Law No. 32/2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, the ecoregion will be the basis for determining the use of natural resourced and reserves.
On the occasion, the environmental affairs minister and the chief of the National mapping and Survey Coordinating Board (Bakosurtanal) signed an agreement document in the usage of geospatial information for environmental protection and management.
Bakosurtanal Chairman Dr Asep Karsidi said his office will provide a basic map for the ecoregion.
Environmental map such as a map on forest area coverage is getting more important to monitor the forest preservation in Indonesia, according to him.
Meanwhile, earlier Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono officially opened an Indonesian Environment Week 2011 at Senayan here Wednesday.
The exhibition which will run from June 1 to 5, 2011 is part of actiivities to mark Environment Day.
Minister Agung was on the occasion accompanied by Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta.
Agung in his opening remarks said Indonesia, as the world`s third largest forested country, must pay serious attention to the conditions of its forests.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) had announced that this year`s theme of Environment Day which falls on June 5, is “Nature at Your Service”.
“Environmental damage due to illegal logging activities, forest fires, and land conversion have worsened environmental conditions and added to the list of disasters in the country,” he said.
