VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The World Water Council (WWC) is trying to be the voice of water since its establishment 27 years ago. Since there is no international organisation close to United Nations system in the field of water, the WWC shares and gathers all water communities such as governments, international organizations, NGOs, academics, operators and universities to provide solution to water problem.

President of World Water Council (WWC) Loic Fauchon told Voice of Indonesia on Monday afternoon that there should political will from decision makers to get solution. He added in national level there should laws and budget which could make water as priority. For Indonesia, he said the main problem is not the quantity of water resources but the quality of resources. He believes that related ministers in Indonesia have great concern on providing sanitation and better quality of water.

“Specifically in Indonesia your main problem is not the quantity of water resources but the quality of water resources. And probably I have a lot discussion with different ministries in charge and I understand that they have great consciousness or effort to provide sanitation and good quality of water in the future”, Fuchon said

Indonesia held the Kick-off Meeting of the 10th World Water Forum in Jakarta from 15-16 February 2023.

Fauchon also said the World Water Council will help Indonesia as the nation will help WWC to understand some problems important to Indonesia which to be able to transfer Indonesia’s solution worldwide.

As the president of World Water Council, Fauchon is very attentive about risk management and hydro diplomacy. He said Hydro diplomacy is a new diplomatic issue in this momentum for the future of water. He said there are about 270 water basins around the world and some of them are in tension among neighbouring countries, therefore there should be dialogs to avoid water wars. He also encourage all stake holders to spare water to share prosperity. He could not image prosperity without securing and preserving water. He called al parties to stop ignoring water.//DP

Jakarta (voinews): State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has said that his ministry is gearing to open a bioethanol filling station in Surabaya city, East Java province, in the next three to four months.

"We have started ethanol trial production at PTPN (state-run agricultural company PT Perkebunan Nusantara), whose filling station will be established later in Surabaya city," he informed at a joint working meeting with Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Monday.

Since bioethanol is derived from plants, it can decompose, thus, it requires a more complex logistical process compared to the one used for petroleum fuel, he noted.

Bioethanol cannot be disbursed to filling stations that are too far from its manufacturing location, he explained.

On November 4, 2022, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated the "Bioethanol from Cane for Energy Security" program at the bioethanol factory of PTPN X’s subsidiary PT Nusantara Agro Energy (Enero) in Mojokerto city, East Java, which is 50 kilometers away from Surabaya city.

He said he expected the program for processing cane into bioethanol to be successful so that it can strengthen the resilience of Indonesia’s energy sector.

The President also asked the SOEs Minister to provide the world’s best cane seedlings to Indonesian farmers.

Meanwhile, on the occasion, Thohir said that Indonesia must produce bioethanol to reduce imports of fossil fuels.

His ministry has conducted benchmarking with Brazil, which has managed to encourage the processing of cane into bioethanol.

According to the minister, in keeping with the government's priority to develop the food and energy ecosystems, Indonesia's dependence on international supply chains for the two commodities must be overcome.

Hence, the government is continuing to encourage the downstreaming of sugar, palm oil, and nickel, rather than the industrialization of the commodities.

Thohir has urged PTPN to increase the production of sugar and bioethanol with research octane number (RON) of up to 130.

He said he expected that the utilization of bioethanol as a substitute for fossil fuels will improve state finances. (antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): The people and provincial government of Bengkulu have joined the nation in expressing solidarity for the victims of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkiye and Syria on February 6, 2023, with a donation of Rp100 million (US$6,574).

The funds were donated by local residents who transferred them to the provincial government's catastrophe saving account, Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah informed here on Monday.

"On behalf of the province's residents, the Bengkulu administration also donated funds (for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Turkiye and Syria)," he said.

The donated funds were partly collected by local Muslim community members who participated in the Congregational Dawn Prayer Movement, Mersyah added.

Those wishing to donate money for Turkiye and Syria quake victims can make a contribution to the provincial government's catastrophe saving account, he said.

According to media reports, the devastating earthquake has so far killed more than 33 thousand people across Turkiye and Syria.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has appealed to Indonesians who are keen to donate goods for the quake survivors to pay attention to the agency's list of requested goods.

"We have received a list of needed goods. Among them are mattresses, warm blankets, winter clothes and shoes, meal packages, and hygiene kits," the agency's acting spokesperson, Abdul Muhari, said in a recent statement.

There are several other goods that the survivors currently need the most, such as diapers for elderly people and children as well as soaps, medicines, medical equipment, generator sets, first aid kits, solar lamps, and rubble removal kits, he informed.

All goods remain prioritized for collection and delivery as part of Indonesia's humanitarian aid for Turkiye and Syria.

"For members of our communities looking to join a solidarity movement for our brothers and sisters in Turkiye and Syria currently severely suffering from the impacts of the recent catastrophe, please see the requested list of goods," he emphasized.

The BNPB is continuing to coordinate with the Indonesian embassies in Turkiye and Syria to enable Indonesia's search and rescue as well as medical team members to work effectively in the disaster zones, Muhari said.

The requested goods that Indonesian citizens donate will be distributed to those in need through organizations that have also taken the initiative to collect humanitarian aid for quake survivors in the two countries, he added.

The BNPB will collectively coordinate to simultaneously transport donated goods to those in need in Turkiye and Syria through a one-door policy under the humanitarian aid program, he said. (antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Japan will take the lead in supporting the mainstreaming of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to create peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa stressed on Monday.

Speaking at the "Commemorative Symposium for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation” in Jakarta, the minister said that Japan will promote three pillars to support AOIP's mainstreaming.

First, Japan will push concrete cooperation projects, in line with the four priority areas of the AOIP, namely maritime cooperation, connectivity, sustainable development goals (SDGs), as well as economic and other possible areas of cooperation.

"We will work with ASEAN to identify specific projects to be announced at the commemorative summit," Yoshimasa informed via video conferencing, referring to the summit that is expected to be held in Tokyo in December this year to mark the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan partnership.

Second, Japan will support several activities and functions of the ASEAN Secretariat for the promotion and mainstreaming of the AOIP by providing technical assistance to enhance the Secretariat’s capacity.

Third, Japan is ready to support the human resource development of young government officials in ASEAN countries and is also deliberating on starting new programs to provide training, he said.

In addition to ASEAN's AOIP, Japan has also launched the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). Both initiatives are based on similar principles, such as openness, transparency, inclusiveness, and respect for international law.

Japan was the first among ASEAN's dialogue partners to have issued a joint statement on cooperation on AOIP with ASEAN in 2020.

The statement emphasized that both AOIP and FOIP share relevant fundamental principles on promoting peace and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The principles adopted by AOIP and FOIP are also aligned in prioritizing openness, transparency, inclusiveness, and respect for international law.

"Those are important ideas in this new era and close cooperation between Japan and ASEAN based on these principles is becoming increasingly important," Yoshimasa noted.

In order to contribute to the maintenance and strengthening of a free and open international order based on the rule of law, AOIP must be mainstreamed as part of the cooperation between ASEAN and all external partners. Such cooperation should be in line with the principles areas of AOIP, he added.  (antaranews)