Environmentalists launch campaign to save reefs
Environmentalists launch campaign to save reefs
JAKARTA (JP): Environmentalists have launched a year-long
campaign to save Indonesia's endangered coral reefs.
The United States-based Nature Conservancy, the Pusaka Alam
Foundation and the Wallacea Development Institute began the "Save
Our Coral Reefs" campaign on Wednesday to raise public awareness
about the ongoing degradation of coral reefs.
The Wallacea Institute asked the government to turn the
Wakatobi Islands in Southeast Sulawesi, known for their rich
marine resources, into a national park.
Chairman of the institute Ibnu Sutowo said that unless great
efforts are taken, "the reefs in that area will disappear in the
next several years".
He also proposed that a research center be set up on one of
the islands with experts from the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences and other relevant agencies.
Harmful fishing practices have begun to damage the reefs in
Wakatobi, but not as extensively as the damage done to the coral
reefs in Taka Bonerate National Sea Park in South Sulawesi, he
pointed out.
"We have to prevent further damage (by turning the islands
into a national park)," he told the gathering.
Also present at the ceremony on Wednesday were State Minister
of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Minister of Forestry
Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo, honorary chairman of the Wallace
Institute Sudomo, and Japanese Ambassador Taizo Watanabe.
Sarwono said Indonesia used to be able to be proud of its
pristine 60,000 square kilometers of coral reef, considered the
largest and most beautiful in the world.
"We really should be concerned about the condition of our
reef's ecosystem," he said, adding that efforts to salvage it
should come from the government and all members of society.
A most recent study by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
revealed that only six percent of Indonesia's reefs are in
pristine condition, Sarwono said.
He identified a number of causes behind coral reef
degradation, include natural, physical and biological processes
as well as wasteful and irresponsible human activities.
"Coral reefs are destroyed by mining for limestone and
building materials, by fishing with explosives and chemical
poisons, particularly potassium cyanide," he said.
He also said the reefs can be destroyed by a process of
sedimentation from on-shore sources, by industrial and
agricultural pollutants and by using the reefs as disposal sites
for city and household garbage.
Further damage to Indonesia's coral reefs will degrade the
quality of the marine and coastal ecosystems, he said, adding
that damage to these larger ecosystems will limit social and
economic development for Indonesia's coastal people.
Sarwono said more education for those who depend on the coral
reefs for their livelihoods would enable them to manage the
resources in a more sustainable manner. (31)