Finland States Readiness to Aid Indonesia`s Forest Conservation

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finland's Minister for Communication and Education, Krista Kiuru, paid a visit to the Ministry for Forestry and the Environment and met with Minister Siti Nurbaya to discuss the future prospect of the long-standing cooperation between Indonesia and Finland on the issue of forest conservation on Thursday, March 19, 2015.

The meeting, which was also attended by the Secretary General for the Ministry for Forestry and the Environment, Hadi Daryanto, was held in the Manggala Wana Bhakti Complex in Jakarta, centered on the possibility of the expansion of the cooperation between both nations - specifically in relation to the Finnish government's plan to help Indonesia to establish an environmental conservation program at Lake Toba in North Sumatra.

It is known that the Finnish delegation came to Indonesia to meet with experts from Bogor's Agricultural Institute (IPB), the University of Hasanuddin (UNHAS), and the University of North Sumatra (USU), to discuss and create a legal framework which would legitimate the expansion and increased involvement of Finnish authorities in the issue of environmental conservation in Indonesia.

During the discussion, Kiuru stressed the importance of protecting Indonesia's vast forested areas and natural resources for the sake of Indonesia's future generations. As Indonesia has a long history of cooperation with Finnish authorities on the issue, Kiuru added that Finland is ready to offer as much technical assistance as possible to help Indonesia to reach such goal.

After the meeting Minister Nurbaya expressed her gratitude for Finland's willingness to participate in the transfer of technical knowledge on the issue, which would undoubtedly support Indonesian authorities' efforts in the area of forest conservation, before adding that a paradigmatic shift in the way businesses in the sector view the environment for any meaningful progress to be made. (*)