Year Ender - PRESERVING CORAL REEFS MEANS PROTECTING LIVELIHOODS IN COASTAL REGION by Fardah

Jakarta, Dec 14, 2018 (Antara) - Indonesian waters occupy at least 70 percent of its national territory, and in most parts of the country, there are numerous people who earn a livelihood related to and dependent on the oceans.   
     The world's largest archipelagic country with a 260-million population and over 17 islands has 5.8 million square kilometers of marine territory, and some 92 thousand km-long beach and coastal areas, or the world's second longest coast line after Canada.

               Indonesia has various coral reefs, which are spread across an area of 25 thousand square kilometers, or around 10 percent of the world's coral reefs measuring 284,300 square kilometers.

              Besides, Indonesia has the highest number of coral reef species on the planet, notably 569 species from 82 families and 15 tribes, out of the total 845 coral reef species in the world.    
    Coral reefs are not just beautiful but are also crucial for maintaining the food supply of millions of people living along the coast all over the world.

              Coral reef fisheries are a critical source of protein for tens of millions of people, and coral reef tourism provides a significant source of foreign exchange for Indonesia.  
     Besides, biologically diverse coral reefs are also vital for protecting the shoreline of the country's low-lying islands.

              To help manage its costal region and preserve coral reefs, Indonesia carried out the Coral Reef Management and Rehabilitation Program (COREMAP), which is supported by a multi-donor group.     
  The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), as one of the executive agencies of the COREMP, has claimed that the program has been able to improve the rehabilitation and management of coral reefs in the country.

CORAL BLEACHING DETERIORATES CONDITION OF INDONESIAN CORAL REEF by Fardah

 Jakarta, June 30, 2017 (Antara) - The El Nino natural phenomenon, which has increased water temperatures in many coral reef regions across the globe between 2015 and 2018, has triggered coral bleaching in many countries, including in Australia's Great Barrier Reef and in Indonesia.

        The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States has even declared the environmental disaster as the longest and most widespread coral bleaching event in recorded history.

        In Indonesia, the first signs of bleaching were reported in April 2016, and El Niño has impacted Indonesian coral reefs since 2015, according to a report published on www.biogeosciences.net. 
   However, a team of researchers studying Indonesian corals found that it is not the increase in rising water temperatures that caused the recent die-off of most corals globally but rather the decreasing sea level.

        While conducting a census of coral biodiversity in the Bunaken National Park, located in the northwest tip of Sulawesi (Indonesia), in late Feb 2016, the researchers noticed widespread occurrences of dead massive corals. Similar surveys carried out in the springs of 2014 and 2015 found the corals to be alive and thriving.

        The clear link between mortality and sea level fall also calls for a refinement of the hierarchy of El Niño impacts and their consequences on coral reefs, the report stated.

CORAL REEFS, VITAL FOR MAINTAINING FOOD SUPPLY by Fardah

Jakarta, July 16, 2016 (Antara) - Coral reefs are not just beautiful but also crucial for maintaining the food supply for millions of people living along the coast all over the world.

          Some 850 million people live within 100km of a coral reef - known as the "rainforest of the ocean" - and derive some economic benefits from the services provided by their ecosystem.

          Besides, coral reefs, which are biologically diverse and delicate ecosystems in the world, are also vital for protecting the shoreline of low-lying island nations.

          Nevertheless, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that about 20 per cent of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 60 per cent are under threat.

           Those facts were highlighted during a consultation meeting on the implementation of the 2nd United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-2) Resolution on Coral Reefs held in Manado on June 28 and 29, 2016.

         Representatives from 61 countries participated in the Manado meeting held by the UNEP in cooperation with the local government of North Sulawesi, according to Director General on Sea Management at the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry Brahmantya Satyamurti Poerwali.

RI'S NAVY MARINE CORPS SUCCESSFULLY PLANT ONE MILLION CORAL REEFS By Fardah

Jakarta, Aug 18, 2015 (Antara) - The Indonesian Navy's Marine Corps successfully concluded the "Save Our Littoral Life" movement of planting one million coral reefs to mark the 70th anniversary of Indonesia's independence on August 17.

         "I very much endorse this program because it is in line with our strategic policy of transforming Indonesia into a global maritime axis," President Jokowi said, while officially launching the "Save Our Littoral Life" program during a teleconference from the State Palace in Jakarta on August 15.

         He said he believed that the coral reef planting campaign had helped support the government's maritime axis program.

         The video teleconference was broadcast live in three cities, notably Sabang (Aceh Province), to represent western Indonesia; Manado (North Sulawesi Province) for Central Indonesia; and in Ambon (Maluku Province) for eastern Indonesia.    

INDONESIAN MARINE TO LAUNCH "SAVE LITTORAL LIFE" TO CELEBRATE INDEPENDENCE DAY by Fardah

Jakarta,  Aug 15, 2015 (Antara) -  Indonesia remains the global center of marine biodiversity in the world, with the most diverse marine ecosystems that include more than 500 species of coral, and at least 3,000 species of fish.

       To conserve and help this natural wealth to thrive,  Indonesia has initiated the creation of The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI)  that brings together Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.

        Known as the  "Amazon of the Seas", the Coral Triangle area covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean waters and is a massive region containing 75 percent of the world`s coral species, which are shared by the six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific .    
   Coral reefs are crucial for the economic and food security of millions of Indonesian people, particularly those living in coastal areas.

CTI CENTER EXPECTED TO MAKE MANADO WORLD'S CORAL REEF CAPITAL by Fardah

    Jakarta, May 17, 2014 (Antara) -  The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a partnership of six countries formed in 2007, finally has a permanent secretariat in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

         The permanent secretariat, called the CTI Center, was the creation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to the preservation of coral reefs in the region, Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharief Cicip Sutardjo said when accompanying Vice President Boediono on a tour of the CTI Center compound.

WORLD OCEAN BUSINESS FORUM MARKS START OF WCRC by Fardah

    Jakarta, May 14, 2014 (Antara) - More than 400 participants from 24 countries attended the World Ocean Business Forum (WOBF) held in Manado, North Sulawesi, on May 14, to mark the start of the World Coral Reef Conference (WCRC) taking place until May 17, 2014.

        The forum's participants consisted of 186 Indonesians and around 250 foreigners hailing from Argentina, the United States, Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Finland, Gambia, Britain, Iraq, Germany, South Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, France, the Philippines, the Seychelles, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam.

         They comprised diplomats, members of the international seaweed associations, the Coral Triangle Initiatives (CTI), the international ornamental fish associations, and chambers of commerce and industry, tour operators, NGO activists, academicians, researchers, scientists, as well as government officials.

WCRC TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF CORAL REEFS by Fardah

      Jakarta, April 16, 2014 (Antara) - North Sulawesi is gearing up for  the World Coral Reef Conference (WCRC) which will be held in the provincial capital of Manado, May 14-17, 2014.

         The WCRC is as a follow up of the World Ocean Conference )WOC) and the Coral Triangle Initiatives (CTI) summit in 2009 that issued the Declaration of Manado aimed at protecting and preserving coral reefs.

         The upcoming conference is expected to help promote sustainable utilization and management of coral reefs in a number of countries, according to Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono on April 15, 2014, after chairing a ministerial coordination meeting on the implementation of the WCRC.

MANADO TO HOST WORLD CORAL REEF CONFERENCE IN 2014 by Fardah

    Jakarta, Aug 29, 2013 (Antara) - After successfully hosting the First World Ocean Conference (WOC) and Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit on May 11-15, 2009, Manado plans to hold the first World Coral Reef Conference (WCRC) in May 2014.

        The Coral Triangle Initiative was established under the initiative of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the December 2007 Bali United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks.

INDONESIA'S CORAL TRIANGLE INITIATIVE WINS INT'L RECOGNITION by Fardah

     Jakarta, Nov 28, 2012 (ANTARA) -  When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited New York, US, last September 2012, he was bestowed with the first-ever "Valuing Nature Award" for his leadership in recognizing the importance of natural resources and working to conserve them.

         The award was presented by The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute and WWF - three leading global environmental and conservation organizations, specifically to  recognize Yudhoyono's leadership in establishing the multilateral Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI).

CORAL REEFS RECOVER BUT STILL NEED PROTECTION By Fardah

     Jakarta, May 23, 2011 (ANTARA) - Coral reefs have been in the international spotlight lately following a marine survey by Conservation International (CI) on Bali Island, Indonesia.
     The two-week marine survey conducted by CI scientists and local partners led to the discovery of eight potential new fish and coral species in the waters surrounding Bali island.