Protecting Water from Upstream to Sea, Residents Need to Be Involved Since Planning

Subak is a learning material

In this forum, Indonesia introduced a number of practices that link environmental conservation with local knowledge and community livelihoods.

One of them is Subak in Bali, which shows water management through joint governance and local wisdom. Other lessons learned include developing geopark-based areas, coastal and marine conservation, and handling plastic waste that has the potential to pollute waters.

These various experiences became material for discussions on how to develop local practices and adapt them to the needs of other regions.

Expert Staff to the Minister for International Relations and Environmental Diplomacy, KLH/Environmental Management Agency (BPLH), Erik Teguh Primiantoro, emphasized that the exchange of knowledge needs to continue to become an action that is felt by the community.

"Implementation is the keyword. We must be able to produce real action at the site level, not only to address environmental and scientific aspects, but also to encourage environmentally based economic activities," said Erik.

Funding needs to support sustainability

To support program implementation, the forum also discussed blended finance. This approach opens up opportunities for public funding, support from international institutions, and private sector involvement to complement each other.

Representative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Christine Haffner-Sifakis, highlighted blended financing and knowledge management as important aspects in strengthening cooperation.