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South Sumatra Administration and Pertamina Plaju Refinery Develop Wetland Park
Front Row (The Jakarta Post) July 3, 2024
Pertamina and South Sumatra Provincial Government officials during the first planting for the Biodiversity Park in Palembang City, South Sumatra. (Pertamina).
Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) Unit III Plaju (Pertamina Plaju Refinery) is committed to supporting sustainable development in South Sumatra.
This commitment is realized through support for the development of the Biodiversity Park in South Sumatra, which saw its groundbreaking ceremony held jointly with the South Sumatra provincial administration on Tuesday.
Acting South Sumatra Governor Elen Setiadi mentioned that the reforestation of biodiversity parks had long been anticipated.
"The development of this park begins with reforestation and is not only intended for tourism purposes, but also aims to further conservation of the environment and biodiversity, which is a very positive step," she said.
Elen highly appreciated the involvement and full support of Pertamina Plaju Refinery in supporting the reforestation plans for the biodiversity park, which is planned to cover 5 hectares in the Jakabaring Sport Center (JSC) area.
"Thank you, Pertamina, for [being] willing to build South Sumatra together with us. I believe there is much we can achieve together," she added.
Meanwhile, KPI Unit III Plaju general manager Yulianto Triwibowo said Pertamina would continue to synergize with relevant stakeholders to achieve sustainable environmental goals.
"We believe this synergy is crucial in creating collective efforts to achieve our common goal of realizing sustainable environments. Therefore, in the future, we will continue to promote synergy with stakeholders as Pertamina Plaju Refinery's commitment to supporting sustainability goals," he said.
Yulianto also mentioned that Pertamina had set targets to reduce emissions and achieve net-zero emissions (NZE) by 2060. Thus, the park’s construction aligns with Pertamina's mission. "As part of our business, we also plant trees within and around the refinery environment," he continued.
Pertamina Plaju Refinery, Yulianto added, also focused on several biodiversity conservation programs, such as research on and conservation of the Chitala lopis fish, 154 of which have been conserved. Other projects include the breeding of 33 deer, consisting of 32 spotted deer and one sambar deer, the conservation of 28 Sumatran elephants, and planting 4,663 trees of 104 different species to support greening programs in the Pertamina Complex area.
The park will eventually feature a total of 55 rare tree species, including 30 primary species with an endangered status and 25 species that support them. Some of these are critically endangered with statuses ranging from vulnerable to critical, endangered or low attention. Some examples include the Geronggang tree (Cratoxylum arborescens), Meranti (Shorea), Tembesu (Fragea fragrans), Belangeran (Shorea balangeran) and Ramin (Gonystylus bancanus).
The park serves as a rare flora conservation site based in the swampy area around the Jakabaring Sport Center Complex in Palembang City, making it Indonesia's first wetland park for biodiversity conservation.
The Biodiversity Park, hereinafter referred to as the Kehati Park, is a reserve area for local biological resources outside forest areas with functions for in-situ and/or ex-situ conservation.
The park aims to rescue various native/local plant species that face very high threats to their sustainability or threats that could lead to extinction," he said. The park will be divided into 87 percent green area, 3 percent water immersion area and 10 percent infrastructure.
The development of the park has long been planned, considering that South Sumatra currently lacks a specialized conservatory such as Kehati Park.
Additionally, the establishment of the park is mandated by Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation (PermenLHK) No. 3/2012 on biodiversity parks. The South Sumatra provincial government has also strengthened the foundation of the park’s construction through Governor's Decree No. 418/KPTS/DLHP/2021 Regarding the Site of the Kehati Park Area.
This Kehati Park will also be Indonesia's first swampland conservatory park.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
