President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) confirmed he would coax private firms to partake in the efforts to reduce land damage and restore the environment by establishing nursery centers.

“I will also compel all palm oil and mining companies to prepare such nurseries, so it would support restoration of the environment at mining and palm oil plantation sites,” Jokowi stated at the Rumpin Modern Nursery in Rumpin Sub-district, Bogor District, West Java, on Friday.

Several foreign ambassadors were present at the visit to the nursery center.

“In the next three years, at least 30 (nurseries) like this will be built by the government,” the president added.

By January 2022, Jokowi said the seeds would be ready to be planted at locations prone to flooding and landslides as well as critical land that would need to be rehabilitated.

Jokowi showed some seeds that had been developed at the nursery, including acacia, silk tree (Albizia chinensis), eucalyptus, teak, and mahogany seedlings.

“We want to show that Indonesia is serious in dealing with the impacts of climate change, and we show this nursery center that can produce approximately 12 million seedlings a year,” he remarked.

The ambassadors in attendance comprised British Ambassador Owen Jenkins, US Ambassador Sung Yong Kim, Canadian Ambassador Cameron MacKay, European Union Ambassador Vincent Piket, and World Bank Country Director Satu Kahkonen.

At the nursery, Jokowi and the ambassadors inspected several facilities, such as the germination house area, production house area, and water and sediment pools.

The Rumpin Seed and Nursery Center is built on an area spanning 159.58 hectares that covers a seedling zone, community management zone, training zone, and business development corridor zone, with a production capacity of some 16 million seedlings.

Source: Antara News