Skilled divers required to monitor coral reefs

JAKARTA (JP): The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Indonesian government plan to recruit certified divers to monitor the condition of coral reefs nationwide.

Gayatri Lilley of the WWF Indonesia Programme said yesterday the program, called Reef Check 1997, will run from June 16 to Aug. 31. It will recruit "as many divers as possible".

"This program seeks partnership with interested divers to volunteer," she said.

The program is co-organized with the Forest Protection and Natural Resources Preservation (PHPA), the National Maritime Council, and the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

Gayatri said the divers would be aided by coral reef experts in checking for reef damage caused by human activities.

She said those interested should contact the WWF office in Jakarta before mid-May.

Economically valued species like grouper fish, Napoleon wrasses and lobsters will be photographed and videotaped, including other reef animals such as the Crown of Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci).

Coral reefs in Bali, Maluku, and in the national parks of Seribu Island, Karimun Jawa, Taka Bone Rete in Central Sulawesi and Teluk Cenderawasih in Irian Jaya will be monitored.

"They're part of about 200 sites to be monitored worldwide," Gayatri said. "The objective of the program is to improve people's awareness of the importance of coral reefs."

She said the results of the monitoring program would be sent to the University of Hong Kong to be processed and would be announced in September.

Sukarno of the National Institute of Sciences said only 6.2 percent of coral reefs surveyed in Indonesian waters were in excellent condition, 23.72 percent normal, 28.30 percent moderately damaged, and 41.78 percent seriously damaged.

According to Sukarno, the 41.78 percent seriously damaged coral reefs in West Indonesian waters were in a critical condition. He said if they were not managed properly, the ecosystem would be destroyed within 20 years.

"In Central and East Indonesian waters, the percentage of seriously damaged coral reefs is 35.29 percent and 34.09 percent respectively," he said.

With about 17,500 islands stretching six and a half million kilometers from east to west and 81,000 kilometers of coastline, Indonesia harbors some of the world's richest coral reefs. (aan)