Berlin, June 22, 2026 – Vice Minister of Environment/Vice Head of the Environmental Control Agency (KLH/BPLH) Diaz Hendropriyono has urged Indonesia to take a leading role in efforts to save islands threatened by sea level rise caused by climate change, conveying the call through a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Berlin Climate Mobility Forum (BCMF) 2026.
“Our efforts at the BCMF aim to ensure that adaptation and mobility solutions protect our communities. Climate mobility is ultimately about people, their homes, their livelihoods, their cultures, and their futures. Our shared responsibility is to ensure that no community is left without options, protection, or hope,” Vice Minister Diaz said in an online interview with media.
In a written statement, Diaz said he held a series of bilateral meetings to discuss potential cooperation and projections on the sea level rise issue with senior officials including Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr., Tuvalu Governor-General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, Maldives Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy Ali Shareef, and the Chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, Sheralizoda Bahodur Ahmadjon.
Diaz also recounted a meeting with South African Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Willem Abraham Stephanus Aucamp, who stressed the importance of collaboration in finding shared solutions. “The South African environment minister said meetings with other countries are always beneficial and that bilateral meetings like this are very important. If we do not make an effort to implement something, we will suffer very great losses,” Diaz said.
In a meeting with the German Ministry of the Environment, Diaz described the forum as the best opportunity to advance the climate mobility agenda ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“When speaking with Germany’s Director General for International Climate Action, Heike Henn, she said that discussions on the topic of mobility are important with the upcoming COP. This is something that a coalition of countries at BCMF can push forward. The next steps must have a real impact; we need the political will and good momentum to get started,” Diaz explained.
Global Centre for Climate Mobility Managing Director Kamal Akrane, who also met with the Vice Minister, said Indonesia has significant potential to serve as a bridge between developed nations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
“From the GCCM’s perspective, since Indonesia has successfully become a G20 member, it can serve as an example for island nations, with SIDS looking to Indonesia as a success story. Indonesia can be a bridge between countries in the north and the south,” Diaz said.
The BCMF aims to raise awareness of climate mobility triggered by the climate crisis, in which communities face the threat of displacement from their places of origin. Diaz said the issue of climate mobility deserves wider attention, not only for SIDS but also for large archipelagic nations like Indonesia, so that both can unite in the face of a shared threat.
“Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, and communities on the front lines face challenges of sea level rise, extreme weather, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion, just like other countries including small island states. That is why we must recognize the special circumstances of archipelagic, coastal, and small island nations,” Diaz said. (*)
