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<p><span style="font-family: var(--bs-body-font-family); text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align);"><b>Badung, 9 October 2023</b></span><span style="font-family: var(--bs-body-font-family); font-weight: var(--bs-body-font-weight); text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align);"> – The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum is committed to support the development, implementation, and replication of smart and innovative solutions to accelerate the efforts of archipelagic and island states in achieving a sustainable ocean future. In 2018, 21 countries agreed upon the Manado Joint Declaration, which led to the establishment of the AIS Forum. Over time, more countries are joining the collaboration framework..</span><br></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">The four key areas of cooperation in the Forum include climate change mitigation and adaptation, the blue economy and ecotourism, marine plastic debris, and sustainable marine governance. Climate change mitigation involves actions that reduce the rate of climate change. Meanwhile, the blue economy is an effort to safeguard the sustainability of marine environment for the greater prosperity of communities by utilizing marine resources based on blue economy principles.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">The management of marine plastic debris is crucial, as more than 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and half of it is used for single-use items. At least 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans annually. Plastic waste accounts for 80% of all marine debris, from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">Meanwhile, sustainable marine governance involves the integrated implementation of policies, actions, and matters related to the seas of archipelagic and island states. It aims to protect the marine environment, ensure sustainable use of coastal and marine resources, and conserve biodiversity. Therefore, the AIS Forum began developing various innovations as fundamental principles in the form of smart and innovative solutions on several occasions following the declaration.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">In its development, the AIS Forum has forged international partnerships to develop innovative solutions. These initiatives transform significant challenges into opportunities for innovation and creative thinking, such as the Seagrass Carbon Converter (SCC) web-based application. The AIS Forum Secretariat developed this application in collaboration with the Oceanography Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). It is designed to calculate carbon</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">reserves and absorption in seagrass</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">beds in coastal areas of AIS Forum participating countries.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">Seagrass is a green plant that grows in shallow waters, between 0-10 meters deep and serves as one of the best carbon sinks and climate change regulators. Each hectare of seagrass meadow can absorb up to 6.59 tons of carbon per year.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">SCC works by converting seagrass biomass, density, and coverage percentage into carbon stocks and absorption. The application can help all parties, especially archipelagic and island countries, understand the potential for the blue carbon balance of seagrass ecosystems.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">Next, there is a mobile app called the Carbon Inventory for Seagrass Ecosystem (CISE). This app, developed by the AIS Forum and BRIN, is designed to assist stakeholders in reporting the potential of the blue carbon balance of seagrass ecosystems.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">The app also monitors the level of carbon generated by seagrass in a particular area. The CISE application for Android and iOS operating systems was developed in 2021 to perform substantial material calculations.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">There is also the Mangrove Health Index (MHI) application to measure the health of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves can help stabilize coastal shorelines and reduce the impact of ocean currents, large waves, and even tsunamis by slowing down water flow and trapping sediment. With MHI, AIS countries are assisted in minimizing the impacts of rising sea levels.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">There is another program called the Maritime and Aviation Search and Rescue Planning, a collaboration between the AIS Forum and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in the form of training. This program aims to provide technical knowledge and skills for planning search and rescue operations in accidents, disasters, and life-threatening conditions.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">In this training, participants also learn to determine suspected incident locations, search areas, as well as personnel and equipment placement from Basarnas. This includes potential search and rescue requirements, as well as supporting facilities and infrastructure on land, at sea, and in the air. It also builds cross-sector coordination with search and rescue potentials and proper final reporting.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">These innovative solutions are valuable to be implemented in archipelagic and island nations. Furthermore, the AIS Forum will hold the 1st High-Level Meeting (HLM) in Nusa Dua, Bali, on October 10 – 11. According to Usman Kansong, the Director General of Public Information and&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: var(--bs-body-font-family); font-weight: var(--bs-body-font-weight); text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align);">Communications of the Ministry of&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: var(--bs-body-font-family); font-size: var(--bs-body-font-size); font-weight: var(--bs-body-font-weight); text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align);">Communication and Informatics, 33 delegations from 29 participating countries and 4 international organizations have confirmed their attendance at the 1st HLM as of 8 October.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">Of the 29 attending countries, 9 will be led directed by their respective heads of state, including President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia and the prime ministers of Niue, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu. Additionally, Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu will be represented by their deputy prime ministers. "The rest will send their ministers, deputy ministers, and ambassadors," Usman said.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">The 1st High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum will be officially opened by President Joko Widodo in the Nusa Dua Convention Centre, Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, on October 11. (Anton/TR/Elvira Inda Sari/WS/WW)</span></p><p style="text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: 15px;">***</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;"><i><b>About AIS Forum:</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;"><i>The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum is a global platform for cooperation among island and archipelagic states that aims at strengthening collaboration to address global issues with four main areas of focus: climate change mitigation and adaptation, the blue economy, marine plastic debris, and good maritime governance. The 2023 High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum is organized to reinforce the role of the AIS Forum as a center for smart &amp; innovative solutions and a platform for collaboration in promoting the future agenda of global maritime governance.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">For more information, please contact:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Thomas Benmetan, Head of Marketing &amp; Communication, AIS Forum Secretariat (thomas.benmetan@undp.org).</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px;">Get more information on press releases, news, photos, and videos related to the 2023 HLM of the AIS Forum at </span><a href="https://s.id/aispedia.">https://s.id/aispedia.</a><span style="font-size: 15px;">&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></p><p><i>Foto caption:&nbsp;Several delegations from various countries attend the AIS Youth Conference 2023 in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, Friday, 6 October 2023. The event, which carries the theme "Bridging the Waves for the Ocean Future We Want," is part of the 2023 High-Level Meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum in Bali. It involves 30 youth participants from 29 countries from October 6 – 11. ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo/rwa.</i></p>

AIS Forum Fosters Innovations in Archipelagic and Island States

Badung, 9 October 2023 – The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum is committed to support the development, implementation, and replication of smart and innovative solutions to accelerate the efforts of archipelagic and island states in achieving a sustainable ocean future. In 2018, 21 countries agreed upon the Manado Joint Declaration, which led to the establishment of the AIS Forum. Over time, more countries are joining the collaboration framework..

The four key areas of cooperation in the Forum include climate change mitigation and adaptation, the blue economy and ecotourism, marine plastic debris, and sustainable marine governance. Climate change mitigation involves actions that reduce the rate of climate change. Meanwhile, the blue economy is an effort to safeguard the sustainability of marine environment for the greater prosperity of communities by utilizing marine resources based on blue economy principles.

The management of marine plastic debris is crucial, as more than 300 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and half of it is used for single-use items. At least 8 million tons of plastic enter our oceans annually. Plastic waste accounts for 80% of all marine debris, from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.

Meanwhile, sustainable marine governance involves the integrated implementation of policies, actions, and matters related to the seas of archipelagic and island states. It aims to protect the marine environment, ensure sustainable use of coastal and marine resources, and conserve biodiversity. Therefore, the AIS Forum began developing various innovations as fundamental principles in the form of smart and innovative solutions on several occasions following the declaration.

In its development, the AIS Forum has forged international partnerships to develop innovative solutions. These initiatives transform significant challenges into opportunities for innovation and creative thinking, such as the Seagrass Carbon Converter (SCC) web-based application. The AIS Forum Secretariat developed this application in collaboration with the Oceanography Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). It is designed to calculate carbon

reserves and absorption in seagrass

beds in coastal areas of AIS Forum participating countries.

Seagrass is a green plant that grows in shallow waters, between 0-10 meters deep and serves as one of the best carbon sinks and climate change regulators. Each hectare of seagrass meadow can absorb up to 6.59 tons of carbon per year.

SCC works by converting seagrass biomass, density, and coverage percentage into carbon stocks and absorption. The application can help all parties, especially archipelagic and island countries, understand the potential for the blue carbon balance of seagrass ecosystems.

Next, there is a mobile app called the Carbon Inventory for Seagrass Ecosystem (CISE). This app, developed by the AIS Forum and BRIN, is designed to assist stakeholders in reporting the potential of the blue carbon balance of seagrass ecosystems.

The app also monitors the level of carbon generated by seagrass in a particular area. The CISE application for Android and iOS operating systems was developed in 2021 to perform substantial material calculations.

There is also the Mangrove Health Index (MHI) application to measure the health of mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves can help stabilize coastal shorelines and reduce the impact of ocean currents, large waves, and even tsunamis by slowing down water flow and trapping sediment. With MHI, AIS countries are assisted in minimizing the impacts of rising sea levels.

There is another program called the Maritime and Aviation Search and Rescue Planning, a collaboration between the AIS Forum and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in the form of training. This program aims to provide technical knowledge and skills for planning search and rescue operations in accidents, disasters, and life-threatening conditions.

In this training, participants also learn to determine suspected incident locations, search areas, as well as personnel and equipment placement from Basarnas. This includes potential search and rescue requirements, as well as supporting facilities and infrastructure on land, at sea, and in the air. It also builds cross-sector coordination with search and rescue potentials and proper final reporting.

These innovative solutions are valuable to be implemented in archipelagic and island nations. Furthermore, the AIS Forum will hold the 1st High-Level Meeting (HLM) in Nusa Dua, Bali, on October 10 – 11. According to Usman Kansong, the Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, 33 delegations from 29 participating countries and 4 international organizations have confirmed their attendance at the 1st HLM as of 8 October.

Of the 29 attending countries, 9 will be led directed by their respective heads of state, including President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia and the prime ministers of Niue, Sao Tome and Principe, Timor-Leste, and Tuvalu. Additionally, Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu will be represented by their deputy prime ministers. "The rest will send their ministers, deputy ministers, and ambassadors," Usman said.

The 1st High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum will be officially opened by President Joko Widodo in the Nusa Dua Convention Centre, Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, on October 11. (Anton/TR/Elvira Inda Sari/WS/WW)

***

About AIS Forum:

The Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum is a global platform for cooperation among island and archipelagic states that aims at strengthening collaboration to address global issues with four main areas of focus: climate change mitigation and adaptation, the blue economy, marine plastic debris, and good maritime governance. The 2023 High-Level Meeting of the AIS Forum is organized to reinforce the role of the AIS Forum as a center for smart & innovative solutions and a platform for collaboration in promoting the future agenda of global maritime governance.

For more information, please contact:

Thomas Benmetan, Head of Marketing & Communication, AIS Forum Secretariat (thomas.benmetan@undp.org).

Get more information on press releases, news, photos, and videos related to the 2023 HLM of the AIS Forum at https://s.id/aispedia.   

Foto caption: Several delegations from various countries attend the AIS Youth Conference 2023 in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, Friday, 6 October 2023. The event, which carries the theme "Bridging the Waves for the Ocean Future We Want," is part of the 2023 High-Level Meeting of the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum in Bali. It involves 30 youth participants from 29 countries from October 6 – 11. ANTARA FOTO/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo/rwa.