Jakarta (Antara Bali) -- The Ministry of Marine Affairs and
Fisheries (MMAF) of Republic of Indonesia is pleased to announce that
Indonesia was awarded the Coral Conservation Prize on Sept. 20, 2014 in
San Francisco, U.S., for its sustainable coral management. MMAF conveyed
that this achievement was due to three strategic measures done by the
Indonesian government; the strong commitment towards the coral
conservation policy by establishing the marine conservation management;
combining the marine resource management and protection followed by the
prudential resource utilization; and strengthen the global partnership
in the coral reef management.
The Minister of Marine Affairs and
Fisheries, Sharif C. Sutardjo, who directly accepted the award, said,
"I encourage the global community to undergo the systemic,
comprehensive, synchronized efforts which will lead to the establishment
of the policy in the coral reef utilization and management."
On
the same occasion, two Indonesian coral reef activists, Nyoman Sugiarta
and Abdul Manap were named the winners of Coral Conservation Prize
presented by Coral Reef Alliance for their significant roles in saving
and conserving the coral reef. They eliminated seven nominees from Fiji,
Hawaii, Honduras, Mexico, and Palmyra.
The coral reef is
inexplicably beneficial, both ecologically and economically. From the
pearl sector alone, it makes Indonesia the largest pearl producing
country since 2005, which claims 50% of the world's pearl production
with the export value of more than US$ 29 million.
On that
occasion, Sharif reminded the attendees that the exploitation that is
not backed up by the sufficient and sustainable long-term conservation
will increase the risk of the coral extinction . According to the report
of Washington's World Resource Institute (WRI), it is predicted that if
the overexploitation lasts with no change at all, the world's coral
reef will eventually be extinct in 2050.
To overcome all kinds of
the threats, MMAF constantly protects and manages the marine and
fishery resource sustainably through a number of the marine conservation
initiatives. The commitment has also been realized by the establishment
of the Marine Protected Area reaching 16 million hectares. MMAF is also
actively engaged in a number of both regional and multilateral forums,
such as Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), World Coral Reef Conference
(WCRC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine
Tropenökologie (ZMT), to name a few. (WDY)
Indonesia Praised by the World for its Coral Reef Management
Senin, 22 September 2014 10:47 WIB