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