Indonesia’s Indosat, GSMA Develop Mobile-Led Mitigations for Tackling Climate Change

BARCELONA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) and the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase environmental and economic resilience in the country.

In the agreement signed on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on Tuesday, Feb. 28 in Barcelona, Spain, IOH and GSMA agreed to develop mobile-led mitigations for various climate change issues.

IOH and the GSMA develop mangrove conservation programs and efforts to increase the productivity of shrimp and crab farmers using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology in North Kalimantan province, on Indonesia’s side of Borneo island.

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The partnership will be run through the GSMA’s Mobile Innovation Hub. The innovation was created in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The development agency GIZ is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

President Director and CEO of IOH Vikram Sinha said Indonesia continues to play its role in promoting the control of world climate change.

“The priority issues discussed at the Climate Sustainability Working Group (CSWG) as part of the previous G20 series form the basis of our cooperation with the GSMA,” said Vikram.

Vikram said the concrete action utilizing digital technology will increase the environmental and economic resilience of the surrounding communities in North Kalimantan. “This sustainable program will also positively impact Indonesia's nature conservation while improving the nation's economy in the future,” he said.

Chief Regulatory Officer at GSMA and President Mobile for Development Foundation John Giusti added that the GSMA is reinforcing its commitment to addressing global climate challenges by supporting concrete programs that leverage digital innovation to tackle climate impacts.

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“We undertake this work alongside our broader support of the mobile industry’s efforts to achieve Net Zero,” said John Giusti.

The collaboration between Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and GSMA Mobile Innovation Hub is a great example of how mobile can play a vital role in connecting vulnerable communities to digital solutions that enable them to improve climate resilience.

Mangrove conservation

“Mangrove forest conservation is a global need across many coastal communities. This pilot program brings invaluable learnings that can be applied and scaled,” said John Giusti.

The collaborative programs by IOH and GSMA will be carried out in North Kalimantan province through two main activities. The first is marine and coastal participatory mapping which uses geospatial technology to improve regional planning and policy-making, especially for seaweed agricultural land.