Dr Onesimus Patiung, Director of Environment and Disaster Management for the Indonesian Capital City (IKN) visited the Department of Aquatic Resources Management (MSP) Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (FPIK) IPB University.

During this short visit, Dr Ones entrusted the task to Prof Hefni Effendi, Chair of the MSP Department, to provide input on the IKN Environmental Status document which is currently being created by the IKN Authority in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“In general, Environmental Status (SLH) provides a comprehensive picture of the baseline condition of the environment before the IKN was built and when the IKN is currently being built simultaneously and quite massively, covering the dry season and the rainy season,” said Prof. Hefni recently.  

Prof. Hefni continued, the initial environmental conditions that will be used as benchmarks for the IKN’s environmental baseline must contain various environmental aspects including aspects of water, air, land, geology, hydrology, terrestrial and aquatic biology aspects of the environment, socio-economic and cultural aspects of society, including behavior and livelihood of the Dayak traditional community, health aspects and potential disasters.

On the occasion of this meeting, Prof. Yusli Wardiatno, who accompanied the Chair of the MSP Department, offered the possibility of collaboration that could be developed between the MSP Department and IKN, namely related to the concept of managing inland water such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs spread across IKN, as well as the concept of managing coastal and marine areas. is in Balikpapan Bay and coastal-sea waters which are part of the IKN area.

“With this initial concept for managing inland, coastal and marine waters, it is hoped that IKN will have a macro picture of future plans for managing aquatic ecosystems at IKN.

“We hope that we will not repeat the same thing that happened on the Citarum River, which was once labeled the worst and dirtiest river by a number of international media,” said Prof. Yusli.

At the end of his visit, Dr Ones hopes that IPB University’s input on the IKN environmental status document will be a breakthrough that can reach the latest needs and future trends in managing the IKN urban environment which carries the forest city concept.