Enviro News Asia, Jakarta — Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, accompanied by Deputy Minister of Forestry Sulaiman Umar, held a meeting with Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana to strengthen synergy between natural resource conservation and the development of sustainable tourism.
The meeting also discussed efforts to improve tourist safety at nature-based tourism destinations.
During the meeting held in Jakarta on Tuesday (July 29, 2025), both parties agreed to follow up on the collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
According to an official release from the Ministry of Forestry, the meeting also addressed the utilization of a USD 4.7 million grant (approximately IDR 76.9 billion) from the Zayed Foundation (United Arab Emirates) to support the Komodo conservation program and its surrounding areas.
The grant is expected to serve as a key catalyst in strengthening the protection of endangered species while also supporting the development of conservation-based ecotourism.
In the meeting, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni emphasized that the direction of Indonesia’s nature tourism development must be rooted in the principles of ecotourism, not mass tourism.
According to the Minister, the growing interest in nature tourism is indeed encouraging. However, he cautioned against relying solely on the spirit of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)—the anxiety of being left out of popular experiences or trends.
“Nature tourism must carry educational and cultural values. We need to find common ground between conservation and responsible tourism,” he stated.
In response to a recent accident on the Mount Rinjani hiking trail, the Forestry Minister also underscored the need for improved management of hiking activities, including trail difficulty rating systems, implementation of visitor quotas, and the development of more robust standard operating procedures (SOPs) for trekking.
Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana expressed her support for strengthening safety measures and risk management at tourism destinations.
“The incident at Rinjani is a reminder for all of us that cross-sectoral intervention is necessary. We will form a joint task force to improve safety standards at nature tourism destinations,” she said.
She also emphasized the close relationship between conservation and tourism development.
“Sustainable tourism cannot be realized without environmental protection. This synergy is crucial for the future of Indonesian tourism,” she concluded. (*)
