Sarwono wants marine environment preserved<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono
\nKusumaatmadja made a fresh call yesterday for greater efforts to
\npreserve the coastal and marine environment.<\/p>\n
Addressing the opening of a national meeting on the
\nenvironment here, Sarwono said that the pollution and general
\ndestruction of coastal and marine resources has reached an
\nalarming level.<\/p>\n
\"The seas are often treated as dumping grounds for cities,
\nwhere industrial and domestic waste as well as chemical waste
\nfrom the agricultural sector is dumped,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said mangrove forests are being destroyed rapidly, with
\nonly 2.6 million hectares now left. In 1982, there were 4.25
\nmillion hectares of mangrove forest in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Coral reefs are also suffering, he pointed out. Despite the
\nrapid exploitation, however, coastal communities have yet to
\nbenefit from this development.<\/p>\n
\"The fishermen remain poor,\" he said, adding that another
\nfactor preventing local communities from enjoying the fruits of
\nmarine exploitation is that many foreign ships illegally fish in
\nIndonesian waters.<\/p>\n
The seas constitute two-third of the whole archipelagic area
\nof 1,919,444 square kilometers, and the considerable marine
\nresources are obviously of strategic value, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 81,000 kilometers of coastline, which constitute
\n14 percent of the world's coasts, need protection, he argued.
\nIndonesian seas cover an area of 5.8 million square kilometers.<\/p>\n
Sarwono also said that the seas have vast untapped natural
\nassets in the form of minerals and energy resources. \"Thermal
\ndifferences in the sea, for instance, can be manipulated to
\nproduce electricity and fresh water,\" he said. \"We have yet to
\nfully utilize these resources.\"<\/p>\n
The meeting discussed programs for the management of the
\nenvironment in various regions. Attended by environmental
\ncampaigners and organizations, regional administrators, private
\nsectors and universities, the conference also discussed special
\nprograms such as clean-river campaigns. (16)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sarwono-wants-marine-environment-preserved-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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