JAKARTA
Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs announced a plan Saturday to "sell" excess oxygen the country produces for export overseas.
Responding to a question on the future of mangrove forests on the south coast of Malang Regency in Java, Indroyono Susilo highlighted the amount of oxygen produced by trees in Indonesia, saying that a team would calculate how much carbon dioxide is absorbed by the mangrove forest, and how much oxygen it produces.
"We will later sell it [the excess] abroad," he said, according to the country's national news agency Antara. "Countries must pay for it and the Cilacap district administration can use that income to maintain and expand the mangrove forest. That is our plan."
The minister called for continued maintenance of the mangrove forests in the region's Segara Anakan Lagoon as they produce the oxygen needed for breathing.
Antara stated that the forests have depleted from 32,000 hectares to 600 hectares due to sedimentation.
To export oxygen, it is collected through air separation procedures, whereby dust-filtered air is separated into oxygen and other gases, which are then liquefied for storage and transport.
The air could be utilized in countries such as China, where oxygen stations have been set up in some of the most polluted cities, with visitors given masks so they can breathe fresh air.
- Anadolu Agency correspondent Canberk Yuksel contributed to this story from Ankara.
www.aa.com.tr/en
