The 2nd meeting of the Indonesia-Pacific Parliamentary Partnership (IPPP) pushed the blue economy concept as Pacific countries are surrounded by oceans, the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) said.
“We have to take care of our seas, and the blue economy is important because of the potential fisheries,” BKSAP Deputy Chairman Putu Supadma Rudana said in a statement here on Sunday.
The 2nd meeting of the IPPP, which was held in Jakarta on July 25-26, carried the theme “Partnership for Prosperity: Fostering Regional Connectivity and Inclusive Development”.
Rudana emphasized that the maritime potential of the blue economy is considerable because two-third of Indonesia’s territory is water, and other countries in the Pacific are also surrounded by oceans.
“There are potential and richness. Our seas are extraordinarily rich. So the potential is related to our food security,” he said.
He further said that the concept of blue economy can be included in the coastal agriculture and tourism potentials.
“Indonesia has Raja Ampat, Labuan Bajo, Komodo Island, Bali, and many other beautiful islands. It means that the destination and tourism potential are huge,” he said.
He commented that there is a need to maintain the sustainability of marine potentials so that physical and biological resources, found in the oceans and useful for humans, can be consumed in supporting food security.
It is necessary to improve people’s economy by exploring the existing potentials in order to create sustainable economy in the future, he added.
“We must also maintain the marine preservation and keep it sustainable for the next generation,” he said.
For this reason, he said the blue economy as a fundamental concept of archipelagic countries and should be mainstreamed.
He said that the government has been working on this and the parliament has supported the effort, such as making regulations to improve the blue economy implementation.