Regions 'in charge' of preservation

Regions 'in charge' of preservation

JAKARTA: Local governments will have to share greater
responsibility in the preservation of Indonesian coastal areas
and seas across the country, an official said.

Deputy environment minister Liana Bratasida said on Wednesday
that provincial, regional and municipal administrations were
required by law to care for the environment.

"In the national campaign for the preservation of coastal
areas and seas, the Ministry of the Environment merely channels
funds from foreign aid and identifies the most pressing
environmental problems in regions, but the campaign has to be
carried out by local governments themselves," she said.

Some preservation projects that had to be carried out by local
governments were planting mangrove in endangered coastal areas,
rehabilitating erosion-prone beaches and maintaining
environmentally-friendly ports.

Indonesia, a country with 60 percent of its population living
in coastal regions, faces the destruction of its coral reefs and
mangroves as industrialization and housing developments thrive.
--JP