Pertamina Forest Plants Over Six Million Trees as Part of Social Forestry
Jakarta, February 7, 2024 - Over six million trees have been planted in the Pertamina Forest Program, supporting the government in environmental preservation and carbon absorption efforts. The millions of tree planting is carried out in 267 planting programs across the company's operational areas, covering an area of 629 hectares, consisting of 433 hectares of mangroves and 196 hectares of terrestrial trees.
Vice President of Corporate Communication of Pertamina, Fadjar Djoko Santoso, stated that the conservation and reforestation program with the mangrove and terrestrial tree planting is Pertamina's commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) implementation in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), #13, #14, and #15, as well as the government's target to achieve Net Zero Emission (NZE) by 2060 or earlier.
"Mangroves and terrestrial trees play a significant role as carbon absorbers and storers, as well as to prevents coastal erosion and reduce the impact of tsunami waves," said Fadjar.
According to Fadjar, from 2018 to 2023, Pertamina has planted 3.2 million mangrove trees spread across Sumatra (269,504), Kalimantan (2.07 million), Java (298,530), Sulawesi (33,333), Bali, NTT & NTB (211,334), and Maluku-Papua (288,111).
Fadjar added that besides providing benefits in emission reduction, the Pertamina Forest Program also had economic impacts on communities. A total of 4,783 beneficiaries have felt the economic impact, with group income reaching IDR 1.8 billion per year.
Social Forestry
Social Forestry is an innovation in forest preservation carried out by Pertamina in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) of the Republic of Indonesia. The program, initiated in mid-2023, aims to maintain forest sustainability while enhancing the welfare of communities around the forest.
Social Forestry is implemented through the Sustainable Forest Management system conducted in state forest areas or customary forests managed by local communities or customary law communities as the main actors to improve their welfare, environmental balance, and socio-cultural dynamics. Forms include Village Forests, Community Forests, People's Plantation Forests, Customary Forests, and Forestry Partnerships.
In 2023, Pertamina implemented the Social Forestry Program in six regions, namely, Tanggamus (Lampung), Maros (South Sulawesi), Bandung, Indramayu (West Java), Jembrana (Bali), and Tarakan (North Kalimantan).
As an example of the collaborative Social Forestry program in Ulubelu, which is under Pertamina Geothermal Energy Area Ulubelu, together with the Social Forestry Business Group (KUPS) Margo Rukun Bestari, several mentoring programs have been implemented in the past year, including education for 704 farmers regarding Community Forest management, seedling planting of 8,000 Indigofera plants, and 10,000 MPTS (Multi-Purpose Timber Plant) plants.
In addition, mentoring was also carried out for the Beloe coffee group, whose coffee product's stands as one of the leading coffee products in Ulubelu, which has successfully sold beyond the region with an annual turnover of IDR 85,440,000.
Pertamina, as a leading company in the energy transition, is committed to supporting the Net Zero Emission 2060 target by continuously promoting programs that directly impact the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement. All these efforts align with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) implementation across all Pertamina's business lines and operations.**