November 11, 2021, by Emma Thorne

Nottingham and West Java discuss collaboration at COP26 to tackle environmental challenges

The Governor of West Java, Indonesia, Mr Ridwan Kamil has met with the University of Nottingham’s delegation at COP26. The meeting followed the signing of a letter of intent for collaboration between the university and West Java on sustainable transportation and renewable energy (recording of the event: https://youtu.be/uV1Xe2bgOzM)

During COP26, Governor Ridwan presented the updates on the revitalisation of Citarum river, which in 2007 was dubbed by Daily Mail the world’s most polluted river. During the panel dialogue Scaling Up Governance and Collaborative Actions in Combating Marine Plastic Litter Towards Climate Actions In Indonesia, the Governor highlighted the challenges of cleaning the river and the remarkable progress the West Java government had achieved in the last couple of years. Of all 12 programmes launched, most had hit the set intermediate target, with some exceeding the target. The key success indicator of Citarum Revitalization program is to increase water quality index to 70 by 2030.

For this reason, Governor Ridwan invited the University of Nottingham to collaborate to improve the overall index of environmental quality in West Java. As a manifestation of the province’s newly established collaboration with Nottingham, Governor Ridwan offered to facilitate scientific collaborations between Nottingham and universities in West Java.

Developing green technology

Minister Counselor Hartyo Harkomoyo at the Indonesian Embassy said: “We welcome the signing of the letter of intent between the University of Nottingham and West Java Regional Government on sustainable transportation and renewable energy. The agreement shows a concrete step done by both parties to support Indonesia’s national goal in developing green technology. We encourage both parties to take further activities to implement the agreement. The Embassy stands ready to facilitate the agreement and possible future cooperation on green technology.”

The University of Nottingham is a founder of the UK-Indonesia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Sciences along with Institut Teknologi Bandung, and Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University – two prestigious universities in West Java. Dr Bagus Muljadi, at the University of Nottingham earlier this year, had administered a £200,000 QR Global Challenge Research Fund project that aims to build sustainable transportation in West Java.

Determination and coordinated action

Professor Jessica Corner, who led the University COP26 delegation said: “COP26 has been an important opportunity to share progress on our respective environmental challenges. The Citarum Revitalization program is an impressive example of how, with real determination and coordinated action, it is possible to recover long-term environmental damage. We look forward to working in collaboration with Governor Ridwan and West Java on strategies to improve environmental quality.”

Dr Bagus Muljadi, the coordinator of the UKICIS said: “I am proud of West Java’s achievement in showing leadership in improving environmental quality index. As an Indonesian diaspora academic in the UK, we strive to expedite progress in Indonesian government’s effort in improving the quality of lives in the country via technology transfer between the UK and Indonesia.”

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