JAKARTA — Indonesia Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, during a meeting with Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag, says the Netherlands has offered assistante to Indonesia to help solve some of the country’s environmental problems.
“Minister Kaag asked what his country can do to assist farmers, especially, oil palm farmers, in terms of sustainable farming practices, as sustainable palm oil is in high demand,” he said on Friday (04/27). Both countries agreed to continue the meeting to discuss this matter. In the meeting, Coordinating Minister Luhut also mentioned about a seminar facilitated by the Vatican in May in Rome that will discuss oil palm and its impact on peace and humanity.
“He expressed his intention to be present and I submit that this seminar will present not just farmers, but also the elements of the European Parliament, NGOs, multi-national companies using palm oil products, and palm oil producing countries that are mostly developing countries,” Luhut said. Luhut continued that Minister Kaag appreciated the efforts made by Indonesia in conducting meetings and explaining the situation of Indonesia in general and oil palm Indonesia.
In addition to oil palm, another matter that was discussed was the Indonesian government’s efforts in overcoming environmental problems, one of which is Citarum River. He explained that in order to clean up the nearly 300-kilometer-long river, the government has divided the cleanup into 22 sectors, led by military and police personnel.
“The Government has also passed a Presidential Regulation, so that anyone who violates the rules can be prosecuted legally. Because there are thousands of industries along the river that contribute to the pollution of these rivers, they have no waste disposal facilities let alone undertake waste disposal management,” Luhut said.
