January 18, 2023 – Page 3 – Indonesia News Gazette

January 18, 2023

Mangrove cover reaches 1,210 hectares in 2022: Ministry

The Environment and Forestry Ministry has informed that the area under mangroves reached 1,210 hectares in 2022.

The figure was 110.06 percent higher compared to the target of 1,100 hectares, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar noted.

“There is an extensive effort of the President for us to restore mangroves. It is not easy, but I am sure we can do it,” she said at a meeting with Commission IV of the House of Representatives here on Wednesday.

The mangrove planting, which was undertaken by the ministry’s Directorate General of Watershed Management and Forest Rehabilitation in all coastal areas across Indonesia, was one among the many efforts taken to restore the carrying capacity of watersheds in the downstream, Minister Bakar informed.

She said that the initiative also aimed to restore the economy, especially in coastal areas.

The Peat and Mangrove Restoration Agency (BRGM) also planted mangroves in coastal areas. In 2022, the target for mangrove planting was 3,548 hectares, and the current realization has been recorded at around 3,638 hectares, or 102.52 percent of the target.

The minister said that currently, her administration is developing a good mangrove policy so that mangrove rehabilitation can be conducted on a massive scale.

“There are mangroves in the forest; there are some in areas of other use. Ones in the forest, using forestry legal instruments, is not difficult (to pursue); but in other use areas, we still have to establish some items regarding the government. So, among the measures we can use, for example, the Presidential Decree on Protected Areas and so on,” she added.

“But in practice, the challenges are quite tough. We are grateful that we can (focus) there in accordance with our plan to carry out massive mangrove rehabilitation,” she said.

The ministry is also carrying out the restoration of watersheds in Indonesia. The number of watersheds restored has reached 30,712 hectares, with a cumulative figure of 1.47 million hectares as of 2022.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

InJourney to revamp Semarang Old City

State-owned tourism holding PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero) or InJourney is preparing to revitalize the Old City of Semarang, Central Java Province, as an integrated old town.

“We will develop the Old City of Semarang as an integrated old town. Indeed, it will be extraordinary,” President Director of InJourney Dony Oskaria said at the “Indonesia Tourism Outlook 2023” here on Wednesday.

Fortunately, 82 percent of the old buildings in the tourism area are state-owned properties, he noted.

“We will renovate it (the old town). We will make it a remarkable (tourist) attraction where there will be malls, hotels, cafés, restaurants, and so on later, thus the Old City (of Semarang) will become a prominent (tourist) destination,” he informed.

Currently, InJourney is focusing on developing the five super-priority tourism destinations (DPSPs) of Lake Toba (North Sumatra), Borobudur Temple (Central Java), Mandalika (West Nusa Tenggara), Labuan Bajo (East Nusa Tenggara), and Likupang-Manado (North Sulawesi).

The revitalization of the Old City of Semarang is a part of the development of the Yogyakarta-Solo-Semarang or Joglosemar tourism area, which is the buffer area of the Borobudur Temple DPSP located in Magelang district, Central Java province.

Earlier, Oskaria said that the plan to develop the Old City of Semarang is also aimed at preserving local heritage.

Several tourist sites in the Old City of Semarang are located in one complex, thus making them easier to organize. Moreover, the access and infrastructure of the old town have been prepared by the local government.

Furthermore, the Semarang city government is actively involved in administering the tourist area.

The local government has also established a management body for the old town, thus InJourney considers it one of the most advanced tourist destinations in Indonesia.

The Old City of Semarang is popular for historic buildings with European-style architecture.

The area was once the center of economic activity during the Dutch East Indies era.

Since 2016, the name of the Old City of Semarang has been proposed for a UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

FMD, LSD can disrupt livestock productivity: Agriculture Ministry

Currently, two diseases have the potential to disrupt livestock productivity, namely foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease (LSD), the Agriculture Ministry has informed.

“These two diseases that can attack livestock have the potential to disrupt livestock productivity if they are not handled properly,” Secretary of the ministry’s Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Makmum said at the launch of the first LSD vaccination in Sleman District, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday.

His party lauded Sleman district’s effort to conduct the first LSD vaccination in the region.

He said he hopes that the proactive effort made by the district government could be implemented in other areas in order to check the spread of the LSD virus.

It is also hoped that the vaccination can be carried out properly and that by 2023, the entire cattle and buffalo population in Indonesia will be vaccinated and operational costs will be provided to control both FMD and LSD, he added.

Head of the Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries Service of Sleman district, Suparmono, said the first case of LSD in Sleman was detected by veterinarians in the working area of the Mlati Animal Health Center on December 22, 2022.

“The clinical symptoms found were lumps on the cow’s skin suspected of being a suspected LSD disease,” he disclosed.

LSD is an infectious disease caused by the capripoxvirus, which belongs to the Poxviridae family, which is also known as the Neethling virus, he informed.

Until now, LSD has only affected cattle and buffaloes, which are often associated with smallpox outbreaks in sheep (sheeppox).

“Clinical signs shown include the appearance of lumps on the skin around the neck and can spread throughout the body. These lumps cause itching and make cows nervous, lacking in appetite, and (cause) increased body temperature, with an incubation period of 28 days,” he informed.

According to him, LSD can spread through direct contact with sick animals or contaminated food and drink. The spread can be worsened by the presence of transmission from disease-carrying vectors such as mosquitoes (Culicoides), flies (Stomoxys sp), and ticks (Riphicephalus sp).

“LSD is not contagious to humans. The virus that causes LSD can be found in the blood of infected animals within three weeks after infection and can even be found in the semen of male animals six weeks after infection,” Suparmono said.

In cases of LSD in the field, even though the mortality rate was below 10 percent, it was often reported that mortality could reach 45 percent, he noted.

“The impact caused by LSD is a significant decrease in milk production, weight loss, infertility, sterility in breeding bulls, miscarriage, and permanent skin damage that could cause huge economic losses,” he said.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

Building owners in Jakarta requested to meet fire safety standards

The Jakarta Fire Mitigation and Rescue Service called on building managers in the capital city to meet the protection standards against fires by readying fire-handling facilities and infrastructure.

“High-rise buildings in Jakarta are increasingly concerned about fire problems,” Head of the Jakarta Fire Mitigation and Rescue Service Satriadi Gunawan remarked here on Wednesday.

In accordance with Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2008 concerning the prevention and management of fire hazards, a building owner is obliged to provide fire protection facilities and infrastructure.

The fire protection equipment included light fire extinguishers, a fire detection and alarm system, a vertical pipe system, fire hoses, and yard hydrants.

Moreover, a building must have automatic sprinklers, smoke control, and an emergency electrical power supply system, as well as fire elevator, emergency lighting, directional emergency signs, fire control center, and a special fire hazard suppression installation.

Earlier, the Jakarta Fire Mitigation and Rescue Service took action in the case of a hotel building that did not meet the fire safety standards.

The service issued a second warning letter and enforced an administrative sanction in the form of pasting a sticker that read “this building does not meet fire safety standard” in September 2022.

Based on the field inspection and referring to article 50, paragraph 3, and article 59 of the Regional Regulation No. 8 of 2008, the building did not meet fire safety standards.

After several months of supervision, the service finally removed the sticker, as the hotel had fulfilled the safety standard.

The sanction revocation was conducted along with the Greater Jakarta Police, Jakarta Public Order Security Agency (Satpol PP), and Kebon Sirih Village administration in Central Jakarta.

The fire protection system that has been fixed by the hotel is a system of vertical pipes, fire hoses, yard hydrants, a Siamese connection, a flow switch, and other supporting infrastructure.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

Strengthening audits could prevent stunting cases in future: BKKBN

The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) has said that the strengthening of stunting audits could provide lessons to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future.

“Stunting case audits have strengthened the practice of data sharing on the field,” BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo noted at the kick-off event of “Stunting Case Audits,” which was followed online on Wednesday.

There are several things that have become a concern during stunting case audits, the first being the need to increase audits, which are one of the priority activities of the National Action Plan for Stunting Reduction Acceleration (RAN PASTI), he informed.

Based on the Morena application, as of January 6, 2023, the realization of stunting case audits still needs to be increased because it has only reached 76 percent in total, with broad variations between districts and cities.

The second issue is related to the technical instructions for the use of the Family Planning Operational Assistance (BOKB) funds, which still need to be maximally absorbed by the BKKBN representative offices in regions.

The third issue is that the aim of stunting audits is to determine the main causes of stunting risks; however, they are focused on future brides, pregnant women, postpartum mothers, under-two children, and under-five children.

Another thing that must become a concern in stunting audits is that layered coordination must continue to be built and strengthened, which must include central, regional, and village governments.

Wardoyo said that stunting audits could integrate well with the Foster Fathers for Stunted Children (BAAS) program.

Another area of focus must be the stunting reduction acceleration task forces formed by the BKKBN, which serve as facilitators for various strategic activities, including stunting case audits, he added.

Evaluation is the most important step in carrying out stunting case audits in order to take advanced follow-up actions, he said.

According to him, the benefits of stunting case audits must return to shifting audit risk status and even strengthening the guidelines for assisting families that are at risk of stunting.

“Joint attention and commitment are needed to prepare everything seriously. Coordinate with related parties, including expert teams, so that the 2023 stunting case audit calendar can be carried out,” he said.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

BKKBN to strengthen audit to trace stunting cause

The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) will focus on strengthening the stunting audit in 2023 to determine the exact cause of childhood stunting in Indonesia.

“We are determined to carry out this activity earlier to make the budget absorption work effectively, find cases earlier, and resolve them quickly,” BKKBN head Hasto Wardoyo said at the kick-off of the “Stunting Case Audit” in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The mandate regarding the audit of stunting cases is outlined in Presidential Regulation Number 72 of 2021 on the National Action Plan to Accelerate Stunting Reduction (RAN PASTI), he noted. The audit that will be carried out is a clinical audit, which will be conducted by the audit team and the stunting reduction acceleration team (TPPS).

After tracing and mapping cases that have proved difficult to resolve, the team will make a report to experts to obtain an appropriate stunting alleviation recommendation, either for sensitive or specific interventions, he informed.

For example, if stunting is known to be the result of tuberculosis (TB), then the experts who will provide the recommendations will be doctors or the Health Service and Community Health Centers (puskesmas).

Meanwhile, toddlers and families who are at risk of stunting will receive assistance from the family assistance team (TPK) as a form of sensitive intervention, Wardoyo said.

For example, if the results of an audit show that a child is stunted because of contact with an unsanitary environment, then the team will record data that will be registered with a Public Worker and Public Housing Service (PUPR) for arranging assistance.

He said that the provision of recommendations and consultations with experts will also continue to be coordinated with the local governments and the Health Ministry.

“This clinical problem is not the authority of TPPS anymore. But from the Ministry of Health, Health Service, and other providers. Therefore, as a bridge between cases that must be handled clinically, specific factors must be found in cases through the TPPS process. This encourages cases that are difficult to report to be submitted to the stunting case audit team,” he explained.

He said that the medical and clinical audits of stunting cases have clear functions and objectives. Apart from encouraging awareness on recognizing stunting, audits are also useful as a reference for stunting handling in the future.

He noted that the audits of stunting cases were started only in April 2022. Therefore, there are many regions that have not yet undertaken them.

He pointed out that a number of regions that have started to audit stunting cases have absorbed their budgets well, such as Yogyakarta, South Sulawesi, Central Java, North Maluku, Jakarta, Gorontalo, and Riau.

Meanwhile, the regions that have not completed 50 percent of stunting case audits are West Sulawesi, Jambi, Lampung, East Java, North Sulawesi, Bali, Aceh, Banten, North Sumatra, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

“With this audit of stunting cases, hopefully, it will make a major contribution to stunting reduction in Indonesia and solve underlying problems and underlying diseases that we can tackle earlier,” he disclosed.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

BMKG records 10 aftershocks after 7.0M Maluku Sea quake

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported that the 7.0-magnitude earthquake in the Maluku Sea on Wednesday was followed by 10 aftershocks.

“Until 2:10 p.m. local time, BMKG’s monitoring showed that there were 10 aftershocks with 3.8 to 5.3 (magnitude),” Head of the BMKG’s Earthquake and Tsunami Center Daryono said here.

Based on its epicenter and hypocenter, the earthquake occurred as a result of the deformation of the Maluku Sea’s plate, he informed.

“The source mechanism analysis results show that the earthquakes had a strike-slip mechanism,” he elaborated.

The agency reported on Wednesday that the Maluku Sea region was rocked by a tectonic earthquake. Based on an analysis, the earthquake’s magnitude was updated to 7.0.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 124 km south of Melonguane City, North Sulawesi, at 2.80 degrees north latitude and 127.03 degrees east longitude at a depth of 71 km in the sea.

The tremors shook Talaud Islands, Sangihe Islands, Sitaro Islands, and Tidore, with an intensity of III–IV on the MMI scale, that is, they felt like a truck was passing by.

The quake was also felt in Minahasa, Manado, North Minahasa, Bitung, Ternate, Sofifi, East Halmahera, Southeast Minahasa, South Minahasa, East Bolaang Mongondow, South Bolaang Mongondow, West Halmahera, North Halmahera, and Bolaang Mongondow.

In Banggai Islands, the tremors had an intensity of III on the MMI scale, while in Gorontalo city, they were felt at II MMI. The modeling results showed that the earthquake had no potential to trigger a tsunami.

The BMKG reminded people to stay calm and disregard information that was not verified.

Before returning to their homes, they were advised to must make sure that the structures were sufficiently earthquake resistant, or that there was no damage due to earthquake vibrations that could compromise the stability of the building.

Source: Antara News

January 18, 2023

Ministry urges vocational students to join MSIB program

The Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry has urged vocational students to take part in the fourth batch of the Certified Internship and Independent Study (MSIB) program, which starts in February 2023.

“This program has proven successful in accelerating the employment rate of graduates,” the ministry’s director general of vocational education, Kiki Yuliati, said at the program’s online information dissemination here on Wednesday.

On average, vocational students who take part in the MSIB program only have to wait around one to four months to find a job, she added.

According to her, the MSIB program helps form quality human resources that are globally competitive both in terms of hard skills and soft skills.

In addition to landing a job faster, MSIB program participants may get a salary that is 0.72 percent higher than the provincial minimum wage (UMP).

Therefore, she asked college boards and lecturers to support and allow their students to take advantage of and participate in the MSIB program.

Campus support relates to the conversion of semester credit units (SKS), which often becomes an obstacle for students. Yuliati said that there are still many universities that have not converted the participation in MSIB program into 20 credits for several reasons.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s academic director of vocational higher education, Beny Bandanadjaja, said that students will be able to interact directly with the business and the industrial world (DUDI) through the program and gain experiences that cannot be obtained on campus.

The MSIB also has a positive impact on universities in terms of realizing the key performance indicators (IKU) of state universities.

Registrations for the fourth batch of the MSIB program for vocational students are open until January 27, 2023. At least 38 thousand students from 700 universities across Indonesia have registered with MSIB to intern with 133 industrial partners.

Source: Antara News