ADB approves loans to RI

ADB approves loans to RI

MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank said here yesterday it has approved loans totaling US$45.6 million to the protect the ecology of the Indonesian island of Java.

The loans will go to arresting environmental damage to the Segara Anakan lagoon, a major mangrove area in Java which is a breeding ground for fish, shrimps, crabs, a refuge for endangered species of water birds and mammals and a source of mangrove wood, the Manila-based bank said in a statement.

The lagoon has suffered from soil erosion which threatens to fill it in within 10 years unless it is preserved, the development bank warned.

The bank loans will support a project which includes water resource management, sedimentation control and community development, intended to protect the lagoon.

Aside from the loans, the development bank is to provide a $250,000 technical advisory grant to strengthen forestry and soil conservation services in Cilacap and Ciamis districts near the project site.