JAKARTA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia initiated on Tuesday the first meeting of archipelagic and island state countries aimed at generating cooperation among participant countries in dealing with challenges from climate change.
The meeting was attended by delegates from Indonesia, Britain, Singapore, Timor Leste, Cuba, Cyprus, Fiji, Japan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, the Philippines and some other countries.
"Indonesia has been affected by impacts of climate change, seen from the increasing sea level, expanding coral reef damages and exacerbated mangrove fields," Arif Havas Oegroseno, deputy minister at the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs said in his remarks to open the two-day meeting here.
Citing results of a study carried out by Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), Arif said almost 30 percent of Indonesian coral reefs have been damaged due to the rising sea temperature.
He added that part of mangrove fields in several locations across the country started to get deteriorated due to excessive abrasion in coastal areas.
"The problems we are facing now are similar to the ones faced by island states," Arif said in the event which was co-organized by the United Nations Development Program.
He expected that the conference would be able to formulate forms of cooperation among archipelagic and island states, including the fund raising to tackle problems caused by climate change among those countries.
