ADB extends grant to help fisheries sector

ADB extends grant to help fisheries sector

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$880,000 technical
assistance grant for Indonesia to help the government formulate a
better strategy for the country's fisheries sector.

The Manila-based lender said in a statement that the funds
would be used to finance the drafting of a 10-year development
blueprint for the sector, covering such issues as policy reforms,
institution capacity building, resource management and eco-
tourism.

The project is expected to begin this month and be completed
by the end of the year.

Being the largest archipelagic country in the world and having
the second longest coastline at 81,000 kilometers, Indonesia is
blessed with a vast potential of fishery resources.

Data from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries shows
the sector grew by an average of 5.21 percent over the past five
years. Some six million tons of fishery products were produced
last year at a value of Rp 55.26 trillion (some $6.1 billion) --
or 2.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The sector also employs about six million people.

The government is aiming to increase production to 10 million
tons by 2009, which would generate some $10 billion in revenue
and employ up to 7.4 million people.

Indonesia's fisheries sector is, however, facing numerous
problems, ADB said, pointing out such issues as the degradation
of marine habitats by pollution, illegal and overfishing, as well
as poverty among coastal communities and the low productivity of
small-scale fishermen.

"A new, comprehensive sector strategy and an integrated action
plan is therefore required to systematically address the needs of
Indonesia's marine and fisheries sector," ADB senior agriculture
and natural resources management specialist Weidong Zhou said.

ADB had previously approved $64.7 million in loans and $16.5
million in an emergency assistance grant for a project to provide
clean water and sanitation facilities to 1,500 rural communities
throughout Indonesia, including in tsunami-affected areas.

The funds are part of a $519 million lending program that the
bank will provide for Indonesia this year under the Country
Strategy and Program.