JP/4/Maluku

JP/4/Maluku

LIPI to conduct marine census in Halmahera Sea

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) plans to carry out a
census of marine resources in the Halmahera Sea, off the eastern
part of North Maluku, to compile a database on the sea's
biodiversity.

The program, called the Halmahera Expedition, will be start in
September 2005, LIPI head Umar A. Jenie said.

The planned expedition is part of a cooperation agreement
signed on Friday by LIPI and the North Maluku provincial
administration. The agreement also covers research in other
areas of natural resources, as well as training and education for
the local community and small and medium-sized businesses. The
training aims to educate the local community on how to exploit
their rich local natural resources in a sustainable way and help
boost the economy of the province, which has just started to
recover from years of sectarian strife. The various programs
will cost around Rp 4.5 billion (about US$492 million).

Umar said that LIPI had previously conducted several similar
marine resource censuses in 2003 in the Makassar Strait, and
around the islands of Bangka and Belitung.

He added that a number of overseas research institutions from
Japan, the U.S. and some European countries had expressed
interest in participating in the new expedition plan.

North Maluku Governor Thaib Armaiyn said during the signing
ceremony that the joint program with LIPI was expected to help
the province in the development of its rich natural resources
particularly the marine sector.

He said that the marine life census should provide
comprehensive data on the potential of the marine resources,
which in turn would attract new investment.

"An implementable and marketable development planning scheme
is needed to optimize North Maluku's natural resources management
in an integrated, directed and guaranteed way and thus raise the
living standards of the North Maluku community," he said.

The province was previously part of Maluku, but after two
years of conflicts and riots, starting in 1999, the province was
split into North Maluku, with the provincial administration
seated in Ternate, and Maluku, with Ambon as its capital.

About 8,000 people died and 4,000 were injured during the
conflict. Thousands of houses, offices, schools and markets were
burned down or destroyed, and around 700,000 people were
displaced.(005)