VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Forestry has said that forest conservation is an important part of efforts to preserve bees, which play an important role in pollination and preserving biodiversity.

"The loss of bees will not only reduce food sources and local people's income but also reduce pollination and biodiversity, where most of the pollination from plants is carried out by bees," the ministry's director-general of conservation of natural resources and ecosystems, Wiratno, said during an online workshop on Bee and Pollinator Awareness Day, here on Tuesday.

According to Wiratno, bees have a crucial role as pollinators, hence a public awareness campaign on bee preservation efforts in Indonesia needs to be conducted.

The workshop, entitled 'Bees, Food Security and Health: Opportunities and Challenges', is one of the activities being held to help preserve the country's biodiversity, particularly bees, he said.

Beekeepers can enjoy sustainable financial benefits by protecting bee habitats through forest conservation, he added.

"Losing trees in the forests only has negative implications for bees, such as loss of food, hives, and hive material," he explained.

Thus, beekeepers need to invest in protecting forests or converting idle land into forests, he said.

Forest communities in Indonesia comprise about 26 thousand forest villages or 30 percent of the total number of villages in Indonesia, he noted.

The communities can use bees' honey as a source of nutrition and can also use it to earn an income, which must be in line with the conservation of the forest around their area, Wiratno said.

If the bee-based economy is able to be realized, more than 9 million forest village community heads can increase their income, he added.

Future bee and pollinator development programs must be directed and carried out within an adaptive collaborative management framework, which includes collaboration between two parties, ecosystem-based management, and based on the latest species and population data, he suggested.

"These pollinators are not only for the benefit of small farmers throughout the country because they have enormous economic value, but also for the benefit of ecological health and human health globally," he remarked. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), laid the cornerstone for the construction of the command headquarters of the Marine Combat Force of the First Fleet Command in Natuna, Riau Islands, on Tuesday.

The command headquarters, which will be part of the Combat Operations Executive Command in western Indonesia, will also function as an Integrated Marine Security Command Post.

The presence of the headquarters is expected to help strengthen the Integrated TNI Unit in Natuna in the northernmost area of the Karimata Strait, which shares marine borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

"The Natuna area has maritime character, hence the presence of the Command Headquarters of Marine Combat Force I here is expected to strengthen the interoperability capability of the TNI's naval and air forces in the maritime domain," Tjahjanto said.

At the inauguration ceremony, the TNI chief was accompanied by the Indonesian National Police chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral Yudo Margono.

At the ceremony, Tjahjanto lauded the Indonesian Navy for its involvement in building defense infrastructure in Natuna, one of Indonesia's outermost and frontier regions.

Natuna is an archipelago consisting of 272 islands located between the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. However, administratively, it is a district under Riau Islands Province.

Natuna is a strategic Indonesian territory because it is directly adjacent to the South China Sea, and crucial for the TNI to map the strength of the Indonesian defense forces.

The TNI chief also inaugurated Indonesian warship (KRI) Alugoro-405 at the Selat Lampa Pier, and appointed Lt. Col. Ahmad Noer Taufik as its first commander on Tuesday.

He also witnessed the vaccination of 558 military and police personnel tasked with guarding the Natuna Islands and waters. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. The Lhokseumawe city government in Aceh has appealed to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to carry out an immediate transfer of 54 Rohingya refugees to Medan, North Sumatra.

"The remaining 54 Rohingya refugees are still staying at the Lhokseumawe city-based shelter," spokesperson for the city's Task Force for Handling Rohingya Refugees, Marzuki, said.

Transferring the refugees to the Medan city-based shelter, about 333 km from Lhokseumawe, will help them get better protection services from IOM officers, he added.

At least 36 Rohingya refugees had earlier been transferred to Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province, he told ANTARA here on Tuesday.

The transfer of the remaining Rohingya refugees from Lhokseumawe city, Aceh province, had been recommended by the Indonesian Ministry for Law and Human Rights, he pointed out.

The ministry has requested the IOM-Indonesia Office to transfer all Rohingya refugees from Lhokseumawe to Medan so they can be handled easily, Marzuki said.

"Transferring them to Medan will also prevent them from escaping their shelter," he said, adding that during their stay in the shelter, they will get cash to buy basic needs.

Medan is presently home to 1,780 Rohingya refugees, he added.

ANTARA has reported that the 54 Rohingya refugees who are still staying at Lhokseumawe city's Meunasah Mee vocational training center are among the 99 refugees who were rescued by three Acehnese fishermen in June last year.

The fishermen rescued them on humanitarian grounds after their boat got stranded in the waters off Seunuddon, North Aceh on June 24, 2020.

The Indonesian government offered hygiene kits and logistics as well as health services to the refugees.

The EU's Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokesperson, Nabila Massrali, had lauded Indonesia's decision to provide safe landing and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-Indonesia Office also granted refugee status to the 99 Rohingya migrants.

Refugee status was granted to the Rohingya migrants comprising 31 women, 41 girls, 16 men, and 11 boys after the UNHCR officials registered them on July 5-11, 2020.

On July 10, 2020, the Indonesian government had shifted them from the old immigration office in Lhokseumawe to the city's Meunasah Mee vocational training center.

However, 22 of them had fled the vocational training center.

During the registration process, the UNHCR officials had found that 25 of the refugee children were traveling without their parents.

However, 13 of them were accompanied by their guardians. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Indonesia's submarine KRI Alugoro-405 is a testament to the strategic partnership between Indonesia and South Korea in defense cooperation,  Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto has said. The KRI Alugoro-405 was built by Surabaya-based shipbuilding company PT PAL Indonesia in cooperation with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), a South Korean shipyard and marine technology equipment company.

“What’s in front of us right now is proof of the greatness and love of the people for the nation as well as love for advanced technology and science. It is such a great work of a strategic partnership between Indonesia and South Korea,” Tjahjanto remarked at the inauguration of KRI Alugoro-45 at Selat Lampa port, Natuna district, Riau Islands on Tuesday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Noer was officially installed as the first commander of KRI-Alugoro-405 on Tuesday.

The commissioning of KRI Alugoro-405 is part of TNI’s efforts to support the modernization of primary weapons defense systems, as planned by the Defense Ministry, to meet the needs of the 2024 Minimum Essential Force (MEF), Tjahjanto informed.

KRI Alugoro-405 officially became a part of the first fleet command (Koarmada) II of the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) at the port facility in Selat Lampa, Natuna.

The submarine will be utilized to guard prone marine and border territory, for instance, North Natuna Sea and South China Sea.

Therefore, Commander Tjahjanto deliberately chose Selat Lampa port, Natuna, as the location for the submarine’s inauguration since the zone symbolizes the last national border, particularly to enforce national sovereignty across the sea.

During the inauguration, he also urged soldiers to maintain and protect KRI Alugoro-405.

“Protect, take care, and maintain our proud primary weapons defense system that currently becomes a warship of the Republic of Indonesia as well as a knighthood for you all. If you protect Alugoro, Alugoro will protect you, otherwise,” Tjahjanto remarked.

KRI Alugoro-405 is the first submarine built under cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea. It was assembled in the country by Surabaya-based PT PAL.

The submarine is equipped with several weapons technologies, such as eight tubes of 533-millimeter torpedos and 14 guided missiles. (Antaranews)