[Kanal Media Unpad] Around 150 participants from 7 countries took part in the Summer Program held by the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences of Universitas Padjadjaran on September 12-18th, 2022. This year’s summer program explored the theme: “The Global Strategy of Blue Economy: Challenge, Potential, and Development”.
The faculty dean, Dr. sc.agr. Yudi Nurul Ihsan, S.Pi., M.Si., argued that blue economy would be instrumental in accelerating economic growth in the future. The main objective of the program is to stimulate further discussion on marine management for economic sustainability.
“We will hold discussions on how to sustain our ocean and make use of the marine resources to ensure economic sustainability, securing sustainable economic growth,” said Dr. Yudi at the opening ceremony of FPIK Unpad’s Summer Program that was held in Bale Sawala, Unpad Jatinangor Rectorate, on Monday (12/9/2022).
The Summer Program was officially opened by the Vice-Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Arief Sjamsulaksan Kartasasmita, dr., SpM(K), M.Kes., PhD.
Prof. Arief stated that maintaining the environment’s sustainability is in line with the core foundation that Unpad is built on: the advancement of law and environmental sustainability in national development.
“We believe that the utilization of marine resources must be done by also paying attention to the environment’s sustainability,” Prof. Arief stated.
The program invited the former Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Ir. H. Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, as the keynote speaker. Kusumaatmadja mentioned that climate change has been causing high amounts of loss and damages, even more than what was predicted.
However, before facing the crisis itself, we need to create the opportunity to be able to solve it. It is necessary for the solution to be nature-based as well.
According to Kusumaatmadja, in applying blue economy, there are three (3) aspects that need to be considered: food, water, and energy.
“The point is, our three priorities are food, water, and energy. If we can handle these three well, In Shaa Allah we will survive,” stated Kusumaatmadja. He continued by explaining that the management of these priorities needed to begin from the smallest scope (e.g. local communities), not from big institutions.
Kusumaatmadja also noticed that Indonesia’s young generation nowadays has been very active in innovating various alternatives in many fields.
“The young generation has been active in creating alternatives for various fields including the natural environment and climate change adaptation, which are also part of the management of food, water, and energy. Therefore, we need to conduct deeper research on them as well,” said Kusumaatmadja.*
