Authority preserves forest areas as foundation for IKN as a forest city

Penajam Paser Utara - The Nusantara Capital Authority (Otorita IKN) is preserving forest areas as the foundation for developing IKN, Indonesia’s new capital being built in parts of Penajam Paser Utara and Kutai Kartanegara Regencies in East Kalimantan Province, as a sustainable forest city.

“Collaboration to protect forest areas continues to be strengthened,” said Deputy for Environment and Natural Resources of the Otorita IKN, Myrna Safitri, when asked about the tree-planting programme in Sepaku, Penajam Paser Utara, on Wednesday.

She explained that safeguarding forest areas is the primary foundation for developing IKN as a sustainable forest city.

One step taken by the Otorita IKN was planting 100 trees in the Bukit Soeharto Nature Reserve (Tahura) at Kilometre 65 in East Kalimantan Province, with species planted including gaharu, balangeran, nyatoh, meranti, and nyamplung.

The tree seedlings planted, she said, resulted from collaboration between Mulawarman University and the Otorita IKN, to strengthen forest ecosystem functions, including promoting the potential for developing new renewable energy.

She described the activity as a manifestation of joint commitment to protecting forest areas and preventing illegal activities, as well as a form of joint oversight.

Head of the Academic Support Unit (UPA) for Tropical Humid Forest Biological Resources at Mulawarman University, Ibrahim, stated that maintaining the sustainability of tropical rainforest ecosystems is important because they have high ecological value, including storing 70 per cent of vegetation.

“Efforts to rehabilitate tropical rainforests in the Soeharto Tahura are not simple, especially in areas that have been open for a long time; an approach is needed that not only focuses on planting but also on securing and sustaining the area,” he said.