Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Inauguration of Mentawir Nursery, North Penajam Paser Regency, East Kalimantan Province, June 4, 2024

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Good morning, may prosperity be upon us all.

Distinguished Cabinet Ministers, Commander of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI), Governor of East Kalimantan province, Regent of North Penajam Paser;
Your Excellency Ambassadors of Friendly Countries, Leaders of International Organizations;
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Regarding the development of the Nusantara Capital, I have ordered Minister of the Environment and Forestry, Siti Nurbaya, to build a nursery, as part of green development in the Nusantara Capital, as well as in East Kalimantan and its surrounding areas. The nursery will play an important role in forest restoration and reclamation of ex-mining areas. We can do that if we have a big nursery.

We have launched a million trees program, and we will plant a million trees in various places, so we have to prepare a nursery to prepare the seeds. I am glad that after almost 1.5 years, the Mentawir nursery is completed today. With a capacity of 15 million seeds, we will be able to utilize them in rehabilitating our forests, and in replanting ex-mining areas with fast growing species and other plants.

I’ve visited this place six or seven times. I am glad that there are many seeds of near-extinct trees that can be preserved at the Mentawir Nursery, including Sungkai. We have various types of plants, including plants endemic to Kalimantan such as meranti, Borneo camphor, tengkawang, ironwood and bengkirai. We have also guava plant seeds which will be planted in several places for animal feed and bird feed, so the near-extinct animals can be protected.

I am also glad that we have built a germplasm center which includes bio bank and seed bank for plants, including Shorea and Dryobalanops, which are now difficult to find. We will reproduce them through tissue culture and other methods. We will produce plants that used to be abundant in tropical rain forests in Kalimantan. We also have sperm of near-extinct animals, which can be used for in vitro fertilisation of the animals. I am happy that we have produced them at Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB). Some of them will be further enriched in the future germplasm center. We have been waiting for [the germplasm center] for a while and we hope it will come true.

Apart from the Mentawir Nursery, we have also built a nursery in Rumpin, West Java province, and a special Nursery for mangroves in Denpasar, Bali province. We have also built other nurseries in other places, as previously mentioned by Minister of the Environment and Forestry. It reaffirms our commitment to address the global issue, namely climate change.

That concludes my remarks. By saying bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this morning I inaugurate Mentawir Nursery in North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan province.

I thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

(RI/LW)