Mangrove research center to launch at COP28

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24th Sep, 2023. 11:58 pm
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Indonesia and the UAE will announce an international mangrove research center at COP28 in Dubai.
The Mangrove Alliance for Climate, initiated at COP27, aims to address climate change using nature-based solutions.
Indonesia, with extensive mangrove ecosystems, supports the initiative.

Indonesia and the UAE are set to announce the establishment of an international research center dedicated to mangroves during the upcoming 2023 UN climate summit in Dubai, as stated by Jakarta’s ambassador to Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Mangrove Alliance for Climate, originally introduced by the UAE and Indonesia at COP27, the 2022 UN climate summit in Egypt last November, is aimed at advancing nature-based solutions for climate change challenges.

This initiative has since garnered support from additional nations, including Australia and India.

“Indonesia is very much in support of these types of initiatives. Firstly, because it can help reduce emissions and it’s easy for us to plant mangroves,” Indonesian Ambassador to UAE Husin Bagis told Arab News.

“Abu Dhabi has a huge interest in helping Indonesia in developing its mangrove ecosystem … The plan is to launch the mangrove research center at COP28.”

In 2023, the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, is scheduled to take place in Dubai, running from November 30th to December 12th.

The Southeast Asian region boasts the world’s most extensive mangrove ecosystems, with Indonesia alone accounting for approximately one-fifth of the global total. Mangroves play a crucial role in addressing climate change by capturing significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, which are then stored in their carbon-rich submerged soils for millennia.

However, a 2022 report from the Global Mangrove Alliance indicates that mangrove protection in the region stands at only about 20 percent, and losses are frequent, often attributed to activities such as rice and palm oil production.

During the inaugural technical meeting of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate held in New York on Thursday, Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to the initiative, emphasizing its goal to promote mangroves as a nature-based solution in the fight against climate change.

Nani Hendiarti, environmental and forestry management deputy at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, said during the meeting: “Indonesia is in full support of this MAC initiative and will collaborate with other global initiatives in managing mangrove ecosystems. This isn’t only beneficial ecologically, but also provides social and economic benefits for coastal communities.”

Hendiarti, as stated in a ministry-issued statement, explained that the forthcoming international mangrove research center will serve multiple purposes.

These include enhancing capacity through training, fostering collaborative research in the field of mangroves and biotechnology, and contributing to the conservation of mangrove biodiversity.

“This collaboration between Indonesia and UAE under MAC and the International Mangrove Research Center will be launched at COP28 in Dubai at the beginning of December. This is the right moment to show a real commitment to tackle climate change to the world,” Hendiarti said.

Dr. Agus Sari, CEO of the environmental advisory agency Landscape Indonesia and a former senior adviser to the UN Development Program considers the Indonesia-UAE mangrove alliance to be a “commendable initiative” as long as its primary focus remains on the preservation of current mangrove forests and the restoration of deteriorated ones.

“Indonesia needs to play this well as it hosts the largest area of mangroves worldwide,” Sari told Arab News. “As it has a dominant role, it needs to be able to capitalize on that position in the market.”

Mangrove research center to launch at COP28

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