North Kalimantan – In celebration of World Environment Day, PT Pertamina EP Bunyu Field and PT Pertamina EP (PEP) Tarakan Field conducted a tree-planting activity around the company's operational areas. This initiative aligns with the 2024 World Environment Day theme, "Land Restoration, Desertification, and Drought Resilience."

Yoseph Agung Prihartono, GM of Zona 10, Subholding Upstream Pertamina Regional 3, expressed full support for this initiative and praised all participants involved, both in Bunyu and Tarakan. "The tree-planting activity aims to protect and preserve the environment from the threat of erosion in river basins. Additionally, this activity is a tangible step in the company's sustainability efforts, aimed at reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, conserving the environment, and supporting Pertamina's energy transition policies and the goal of net zero emissions by 2060," he added.

PEP Bunyu Field held a symbolic tree-planting event at the Nimbung Lama Housing Complex, Bulungan, North Kalimantan, on May 29, 2024. The activity will continue with tree planting across all production and support facilities in the PEP Bunyu Field Working Area.

Meanwhile, the Acting Senior Manager of PEP Bunyu Field, Brando Sitinjak, encouraged all participants to consistently carry out actual actions related to the tree-planting movement. "On this occasion, we planted 100 tree seedlings, including trembles, durian, jackfruit, longan, and rambutan. The trees we plant need to be continuously monitored to ensure they grow optimally and develop well so that we can all benefit from them in the future," Brando said in his speech.

In a similar effort, on June 6, 2024, PEP Tarakan Field planted bamboo trees in critical land areas along the river basin near Binalatung Dam, Kampung Satu Skip, North Kalimantan. Tarakan Field Manager Cahyo Tri Mulyanto invited everyone to use this event as a moment of reflection to continue collaborating in preserving biodiversity. According to Cahyo, planting trees in critical river basin areas aims to increase the water flow at Binalatung Dam in the long term.

For this planting activity, PEP Tarakan Field collaborated with the Kalimantan V River Basin Agency (BWS), located at Binalatung Dam, and overlapping with the protected forest under the authority of the Tarakan City Forest Management Unit (KPH). The collaboration with BWS and KPH aims to restore land function in river basins that are beginning to erode. In 2022, PEP Tarakan Field synergized with KPH to develop the South Mountain educational tourism area.

Binalatung Dam is one of the reservoirs used to meet the clean water needs of the people of Tarakan City. In recent years, the main issue has been the declining water flow, especially during dry seasons. Therefore, planting bamboo is expected to increase the water flow in the reservoir. "Bamboo is known for its benefits in preventing erosion caused by water flow, increasing water volume, and absorbing carbon dioxide," Cahyo added. Besides bamboo, PEP Tarakan Field planted 100 terap tree seedlings, an increasingly rare endemic plant in Tarakan.

PT Pertamina EP (PEP) Bunyu and Tarakan Fields operate under Subholding Upstream Regional 3, led by PT Pertamina Hulu Indonesia (PHI), adhering to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. In collaboration with SKK Migas, PEP Bunyu, and Tarakan Fields, along with PHI's subsidiaries and affiliates, implement innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs in the areas of Economy, Education, Health, Environment, Infrastructure, and Disaster Response to support sustainable community empowerment and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PHI's headquarters is in Jakarta. More information about PHI is available on the PHI website https://phi.pertamina.com.