Indonesia Prioritizes Blue Economy and Green Economy Implementation During G20 DMM Side Event

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas will hold a side event at the 2022 G20 Development Ministerial Meeting (DMM) entitled “The Development of Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap” in Belitung, on 7-8 September 2022.

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas’ Deputy for Economic Affairs Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti emphasized that the agenda plays an important role in preparing Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap, which is a follow up to the Indonesian Blue Economy Development Framework, launched in 2021.

“This is an opportunity to emphasize the enormous potential of Indonesia’s marine economy which, if utilized optimally, will contribute significantly to the recovery and transformation of the nation’s economy, especially to increase employment, productivity, and added value to the economy,” Amalia said in Belitung on Tuesday (6/9).

The side event is held to fulfill three main targets. First is to propose and promote the Blue Economy Roadmap as one of the solutions to support economic transformation on the national level. Second, to become a forum for learning best practices and success stories of countries of nations that have created and developed blue economies of their own. Lastly, the third is to build potential collaborations in the design and implementation of Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap.

“It is hoped that an inclusive and sustainable Blue Economy strategy can be designed to improve the welfare of the community, considering that Indonesia is a maritime country with enormous potential to develop and manage its maritime resources,” Amalia explained.

The three targets are in line with Priority 1 of the G20 Development Working Group, namely Strengthening Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic and Ensuring Resilience in Developing Countries, Underdeveloped Countries, and Archipelagic Countries through the three key pillars of Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME); Adaptive Social Protection; and Low-Carbon and Green and Blue Economies. These priorities from the foundation of one of the deliverables at the 2022 G20 DMM, namely the G20 Roadmap for Stronger Recovery and Resilience in Developing Countries, Least Developed Countries (LDC), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Indonesia encourages G20 member countries to support joint action in prioritizing low-carbon green and blue economic development in developing countries, especially in terms of planning, capacity building, and preparing action plans related to financing and investment.

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas is currently developing a Blue Economy Roadmap for Indonesia with support from local and international partners, including the UN Resident Coordinator, International Labor Organization (ILO), UN Environment Program, ARISE+ Indonesia, and the EcoNusa Foundation. The roadmap seeks to bridge the transition to a more sustainable blue economy through the conservation and responsible use of marine and coastal resources to benefit future generations, as well as guide policies and programs to realize the Indonesia 2045 Vision – especially the target to move Indonesia out of the middle-income trap before 2045.

The “Development of Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap” side event also brings together policy makers in Indonesia, ministries/agencies, the central government, the Bangka-Belitung Provincial Government, associations, universities, and non-government organizations that are involved in the blue economic sector. 

Additionally, representatives of various international institutions, as well as representatives of delegations and embassies, mainly from G20 Countries, were also present to discuss the development of the Indonesia Blue Economy Development Roadmap and provide lessons learned from countries that have developed similar roadmaps.

The discussion was held over two days of implementation, namely the Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap Development seminar on 7 September 2022, which carried three sessions including “Exploring the Existing Condition of Indonesia’s Blue Economy Sector”, “Possible Scenarios of the Blue Economy Development Strategy”, and “Initiatives in the Scope of Blue Economy Development Implementation”.

On the second day, 8 September 2022, there will be a showcase session entitled “Blue Economy Initiatives”, which will discuss the importance of the role of local initiatives from the government, non-government organizations, and individuals.

The speakers’ sustainable and inclusive blue economy perspectives will enrich the material for the development of Indonesia’s Blue Economy Roadmap, thus contributing to Indonesia’s key strategies and initiatives to balance conservation, sustainable use, and management of its marine and coastal resources.

“In the end, the G20 Side Event is expected to trigger collaboration across sectors and stakeholders in improving human welfare and contributing to the global transition towards a more sustainable ocean economy and its prosperity. The implementation of the Blue Economy Roadmap will also support Indonesia’s economic transformation in the medium and long term, while contributing to the creation of decent jobs and increasing community resilience to climate change,” concluded Amalia.

About the Development Working Group

The Development Working Group (DWG) is one of the working groups of the 2022 G20 Indonesia Presidency which aims to discuss development issues in developing countries, least developed countries (LDC) and island countries (Small Island Developing States/SIDS). The DWG was first formed at the 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada with the main task of discussing the G20 priority agendas in the field of development. The DWG identifies development challenges, and then formulates the best solutions to promote economic growth in developing and low-income countries as an effort to mitigate the global financial crisis.

During the Indonesian Presidency of the G20 in 2022, the DWG raised four priority issues, namely:
1) Strengthening Recovery from the Covid-19 Pandemic and Ensuring Resilience in Developing Countries, Underdeveloped Countries, and Archipelagic Countries through the three key pillars of MSMEs, Adaptive Social Protection, and Low-Carbon Green and Blue Economies
2) Increasing Private and Blended Financing in Funding Sustainable Development in Developing Countries, Underdeveloped Countries, and Archipelagic Countries
3) Renewing the Global Commitment to Multilateralism for Sustainable Development
4) Coordinating the progress of achieving the SDGs in the G20 and updating the G20 Development Commitments.

The DWG’s focal points, organized by the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, are the 1^st DWG Meeting in Jakarta (24-25 February) and the 2^nd DWG Meeting in Yogyakarta (24-25 May). A third DWG meeting will be held in Bali between 10 August to 12 August 2022. The G20 Indonesia Presidency will also hold the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting in Belitung on 7-9 September 2022.