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.