PM Modi Plants Mangroves in Bali’s Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai Mangrove Forest

GG News Bureau

Bali, 16th Nov. On the sidelines of the G-20 Summit here on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders visited and planted mangroves in Bali’s largest mangrove forest Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai.

PM Modi is in Bali for the G20 summit, which began on Tuesday. Indonesian President Joko Widodo greeted PM Modi at the summit venue prior to the summit’s formal opening.

On the sidelines of the summit, he met with US Vice President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, and several other world leaders.

“PM @narendramodi and other G20 leaders visited a mangrove forest in Bali, giving a strong message of coming together to tackle climate change and boost sustainable development. India has also joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

“With G-20 leaders at the Mangrove Forest in Bali,” PM Modi tweeted.

Mangroves are important to global conservation efforts. The Ministry of External Affairs announced that India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC), a joint initiative of Indonesia and the UAE under the Indonesian G-20 presidency.

Over 50 mangrove species can be found spread over 5,000 sq km in India. India is placing emphasis on the protection and restoration of mangroves, which are rich sites of biodiversity and serve as effective carbon sinks, it said.

PM Modi was joined in mangrove planting by other world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. The leaders, dressed in light colors, gathered to plant groves in what an announcer described as a symbolic commitment to combating climate change.

Each leader was directed to a baby mangrove to plant. Following that, the leaders followed detailed instructions regarding feed bags and planting holes for the baby mangroves.

The leaders learned about various mangrove species and how long they can live (up to 100 years). Biden walked alongside Modi as they listened to Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s lecture. Widodo informed them that there are 150 different types of mangrove species in the forest.

Before concluding their tour, the leaders walked through a greenhouse and applauded mangrove planters.

Climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, the developments in Ukraine, and the global problems associated with them, Modi said in his address to the G20 summit on Tuesday, have caused havoc in the world, and that global supply chains are in “ruins.”

Beginning December 1, 2022, India will hold the G20 Presidency for one year. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union comprise the G20.