Symposium on marine to be held

JAKARTA: Environmentalists from across the country will gather here on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 for a second symposium on coastal areas, 10 years after the first symposium was held.

Tridoyo Kusumastanto, director of the Center for Coastal and Maritime Resource Studies at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said the symposium would also be attended by fishermen, as stakeholders in coastal and maritime management.

"We will evaluate the results of our symposium from 10 years ago and define new goals for our coastal and marine ecosystems," he said on Thursday.

Liana Bratasida, the deputy minister of the environment for coastal affairs, said the symposium was important for the sustainability of coastal areas.

She said coastal areas and the marine ecosystem, including coral reefs and mangroves, had continued to be degraded over the past 10 years. -- JP