Jakarta, 6 September 2022 – The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) and Sinar Mas signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the Sriwijaya Kemampo Nursery Center in Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra province with a capacity of 10 million seeds per year.
The signing was carried out by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Bambang Hendroyono and the Managing Director of APP Sinar Mas Suhendra Wiriadinata. The ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya in Jakarta.
Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya in her speech said that Indonesia's FoLU Net Sink 2030 is expected not only to achieve the target in reducing GHG emissions, but is also the right moment to accelerate the process of quality improvement and strengthen environmental and forestry governance in Indonesia.
Siti added, in the context of real support and action to accelerate the process of increasing forest and land cover within the framework of improving environmental quality and strengthening environmental and forestry governance, one major key is the provision of quality seeds for forest rehabilitation activities, the availability of massive and structured land.
"One of the locations or provinces that is a priority for building nurseries at this time is the province of South Sumatra, which has an area of 709,884 hectares of critical land, made up of 347,034 hectares of critical land located within forest areas and 362,851 hectares outside forest areas. The extent of the target forest and land that needs to be restored is one of the considerations for the construction of large-scale nurseries in the province of South Sumatra," Siti said.
The program, which was initiated by President Jokowi, plans to build a total of 30 units of similar nursery centers throughout Indonesia. Large-scale nursery development in each province is directed to support ecosystem recovery through forest and land rehabilitation, including reclamation of ex-mining areas and land. In addition, it is also very closely related to Indonesia's steps in responding to global conditions.
Indonesia has affirmed its FOLU Net Sink 2030 agenda to demonstrate climate action in the implementation of performance targets through a more structured and systematic approach.
Managing Director of APP Sinar Mas Suhendra Wiriadinata stated: “Good and quality seeds are the key to the success of planting a tree. We have studied and learned through experience in developing and managing Nursery Centers. Hopefully with this experience, we can provide added value in our joint efforts to accelerate the achievement of the Government of Indonesia’s target in producing lowland and highland forest plant seeds, decorative plants and multipurpose tree species (MPTS) in the form of fruit trees, in order to meet the right distribution allocation for the right target, in order to meet the expectations of the Government and all of us.”
For the construction of the Sriwijaya Kemampo Nursery Center in South Sumatra, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has prepared an area of approximately 6 hectares in the Kemampo area in Banyuasin, South Sumatra. The seeds to be produced include endemic plant species (Kasturi, Kapul, Ramania, Meranti, Ulin, Gaharu, etc), decorative plants (Ketapang Kencana, Pucuk Merah, Tabebuya, Tanjung, etc), and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) like Duku , Durian, Petai, Jengkol, Avocado, Sawo, Candlenut, Soursop, and so on.
Mr Husin also said: "Sinar Mas' business pillars through Sinar Mas Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), Sinar Mas Agribusiness & Food, Sinar Mas Mining and a number of affiliated companies, are honored and proud to be able to take an active role in supporting concrete actions and implementation of the Government's program to overcome the global crisis including the impact of climate change, the threat of biodiversity sustainability, environmental pollution and increasing the circular economy in South Sumatra Province, through the construction of the Sriwijaya Kemampo Nursery. "
The construction of this nursery center is a collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) and Sinar Mas. A collaboration like this certainly supports the initiatives of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, so that economic development can be accelerated and at the same time the environmental rehabilitation program is also well maintained.