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THE 2023 AIS Forum High Level Conference (Summit) resulted in a number of agreements between island and island countries. In the tourism sector which is part of the blue economy, Indonesia is encouraging the concept of sustainable tourism as part of the strategic key in realizing shared goals through the AIS Forum, namely climate change mitigation and adaptation, blue economy, handling plastic waste at sea, and good maritime governance.
According to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), previously stated, the state leaders present at the 2023 AIS Forum Summit agreed to uphold the three principles contained in the Declaration of Solidarity of Island and Archipelagic States as a basis for increasing cooperation.
“Indonesia’s full support for the declaration is a form of commitment to encourage existing cooperation so that island and archipelago countries throughout the world become more solid in facing various world challenges by collaborating,” said Jokowi.
Some of the challenges mentioned include rising sea levels, marine pollution by rubbish and waste, the impact of which is increasingly being felt and threatens not only the sustainability of the sea but also the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
“Indonesia as a maritime country will continue to be at the forefront in supporting the AIS Forum as inclusive cooperation for island and archipelagic countries,” the President stated.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, after attending the 2023 AIS Forum Summit, Wednesday (10/11), 2023 at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC) said that almost 50% of the 51 island and archipelagic countries participating in the AIS Forum 2023 makes tourism a sector with a large percentage contribution to the economy. So the concept of sustainable tourism is a very strategic key.
“There are common problems faced by all island and archipelagic countries so strong cooperation in a spirit of collaboration is needed to overcome them. Indonesia shares best practices that have been implemented. “One of them is through implementing a carbon footprint where tourists can calculate how much carbon emissions are generated from their travel activities,” he said.
He explained that the carbon footprint calculation would later be converted into monetary value and then distributed to support positive programs such as tree planting, renewable energy, and ecotourism development.
“Indonesia is providing leadership with a carbon calculator which we have implemented with our mangrove planting and this is a showcase. All participating countries agree to encourage collaboration and innovation to overcome the real issues we are facing now, such as plastic waste, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation,” concluded Sandiaga. [traveltext.id]
