Bonerate marine park is a tourist eden under threat<\/p>\n
By Jupriadi<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG (JP): \"What are they looking for in the sea?\"<\/p>\n
The question has been raised time and again by locals watching
\nforeign tourists diving and playing in the clear waters of Taka
\nBonerate National Sea Park, about 450 kilometers south of here.<\/p>\n
Taka Bonerate, which boasts the world's third largest atoll
\nafter Kwajifein in the Marshall Islands and Suvadiva in the
\nMaldives, is an undersea haven for international divers and
\nresearchers on marine biota.<\/p>\n
Falling under the administrative territory of Pasimasunggu and
\nPasimarannu subdistricts in Selayar regency, the sea park is
\nfamed for its abundant marine flora and fauna.<\/p>\n
Its spectacular coral reefs have been described by fanatic
\ndivers as a \"vast colorful underwater carpet.\"<\/p>\n
\"This is a haven that challenges divers to come and explore,\"
\nexclaims a foreign tourist who had just spent his holiday in the
\npark. Taka Bonerate consists of 21 islands, 14 of which are
\nuninhabited. Among the park's riches are 167 of the approximately
\n200 known species of tropical marine fauna, 134 coral reef
\nspecies and 101 mollusks.<\/p>\n
A great variety of turtles, squids, sea slugs (tripang),
\noctopuses and trocus roam the area. Black coral is one of the sea
\npark's most precious species. However the undersea haven that is comparable to North
\nSulawesi's Bunaken Marine National Park is in grave danger and
\nteetering on the brink of extinction.<\/p>\n
The existence of the breathtaking coral reefs which first drew
\nthe world's nature lovers to Taka Bonerate is coming under
\nincreasing threat from fisherpeople who use methods harmful to
\nmarine biota.<\/p>\n
The use of explosives, poison, electrocution and trawls to
\ncatch fish of all sizes, as well as coral theft are deemed the
\nmost common threats to the local underwater environment.<\/p>\n
It is understood that the havoc has seriously affected the
\nwhole of the atoll and its environs, which are divided into three
\nzones: nucleus, bumper and conservation.<\/p>\n
Two researchers from Canada, Charley Cyr and Louise Perreault,
\nwho have been studying the sea park's marine biota for two years,
\ndescribe the current situation as \"quite appalling\".<\/p>\n
They say they are worried about the ongoing environmental
\ndestruction of the 53-hectare site, which comprises 18.3 percent
\nof the whole of Indonesia's protected sea areas.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has long
\nwarned about the threat to Taka Bonerate due to the unchecked
\ndestructive fishing methods.<\/p>\n
In 1995 LIPI told the local government that unless it did
\nsomething to stop the illegal fishing methods and reef theft, an
\nestimated 60 percent of the sea park would be destroyed in the
\nnext few years.<\/p>\n
Reef Check, the World Wide Fund for Nature-sponsored program
\nestablished to protect coral reefs, has also fired a similar
\nwarning salvo. Its team has reported that the coral reefs in
\nTinanja, Latondu and Ampalas island are \"finished\" and the seabed
\nlooks like a \"sand desert\".<\/p>\n
LIPI and Reef Check's findings were confirmed by the Institute
\nfor the Ujungpandang-based Studies on Coastal Villages and
\nCommunities (LP3M). According to the institute, the environmental
\ndestruction has reached 75 percent.<\/p>\n
\"The rate will be higher if the government fails to take stern
\naction against the perpetrators,\" says Kamaruddin, a researcher
\nfrom the institute.<\/p>\n
He points out that one of the most serious offenses is the
\ntheft by locals of coral to use as building materials.<\/p>\n
\"We are taking measures to save the sea park,\" he says.<\/p>\n
In cooperation with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank,
\nthe Australian government's Ausaid and several non-profit
\norganizations in Japan and Canada, the institute has begun a
\nCoral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project.<\/p>\n
Although starting somewhat late in the day, the project has
\nwon applause from many quarters. Environmentalists say that the
\npark needs 100 years to return to its original state -- and that
\nis only if all the destructive activities stop now.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bonerate-marine-park-is-a-tourist-eden-under-threat-1447893297",
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