VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan launched a green investment concept or environmentally friendly investment in the High Level Meeting on Green Investment for Papua and West Papua in Sorong on Thursday (27/2). In his written statement, Minister Luhut said that the green investment which utilizes natural resources while maintaining sustainability would be the right scheme to promote the development of Papua and West Papua. He perceived that the green investment is very appropriate to be implemented in Papua and West Papua which have abundant natural resources. He also explained that the green investment aims to preserve forests in Papua to remain the world's 'carbon stockpile'.

The green investment concept in the initial stages will target agricultural products and fisheries in Papua and West Papua that have the potential to be exported, as well as ecotourism. In this area, cacao, Arabica and Robusta coffee, seaweed and nutmeg are ready to be improved and developed. Minister Luhut Pandjaitan hopes that the concept of environmentally friendly investment will be applied in Papua and West Papua to spur economic growth in the regions. Through the investment, people will start doing economic activities.

Meanwhile, Program Director of the Green Trade Initiative Foundation, Zakki Hakim said that the investment fund needed in the green investment program is US$200 million dollars. This will have a direct economic impact on 60 thousand families in Papua and West Papua. In this regard, the Green Trade Initiative Foundation acts as a government partner. He said that the fund is aimed at empowering the farmers, strengthening institutions, cooperatives, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, increasing farmer capacity, training agricultural cultivation, and having an access to better inputs, such as seeds.

On the same occasion, Governor of West Papua, Dominggus Mandacan said that the contribution of the sustainable sector from agriculture, fisheries, and forestry had only reached 10.46 percent of the West Papua Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He emphasized that the potential of the green investment could be developed because only 22.3 percent of the 2.7 million sustainable sector land were utilized. That means that there are still 2.09 million of land that can be used for the green investment.