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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Also available in Bahasa Indonesia
Coastal management now centerpiece of economic recovery agenda
Jakarta, July 14 (ANTARA) - Minister of Marine Exploration and Fisheries Sarwono Kusumaatmadja here Friday said Indonesia had entered a new era in which coastal and marine resources management is now a centerpiece of the government's broader political reform and economic recovery agenda. "We are committed to ensuring that we do not repeat the mistakes of past development in which top-down, centralized and sectorally-based approaches resulting in environmental destruction, social conflict, loss of income and loss of opportunity for future generation of Indonesians," said Sarwono at a round table discussion on Jakarta Bay and Thousand Island Coastal Zone Management, organized by UNESCO.
The minister said Jakarta Bay became the most polluted embayment in Asia due to, among other things, urban waste (household as well as industrial waste), land reclamation, overfishing, habitat destruction and mining. "Those impacts are not just confined to the near coastal areas - they extend throughout Pulau Seribu (Thousand Island)," he said.
He said UNESCO and the ministry's Directorate General for Coastal, Beaches and Small Island Affairs have proposed a pilot project focusing on local community development. He emphasized that rebuilding the social fabric of North Jakarta and Pulau Seribu is a major challenge for both the government and the community. Director of UNESCO Jakarta Office Prof. Stephen Hill said that his office's grass-root program on Jakarta Bay and Pulau Seribu reflected a change within UNESCO itself.
UNESCO, which previously focused on sciences alone, now gives more attention to concrete actions linking science and community, he said in his opening remarks. The Paris- based UN body is now undergoing restructurization and decentralization, he added. Meanwhile, Chief of UNESCO's Coastal Region and Small Islands Division Dr. D. Troost pointed out four main components involved in the project, namely bio-physical, socio-cultural, economic and communication-education as a vehicle to pass on messages concerning the environment.
On Thursday (13 July 2000), when visiting Banjarsari (South Jakarta), UNESCO's pilot project of environmental friendly neighborhood, Dr. Troost stressed the important connection between coastal regions and cities. Coastal regions must be protected from the negative impacts of land-based activities, such as waste, he said.
Jakarta Bay management must be integrated with the management of urban services and watershed of about 13 rivers flowing into the bay. North Jakarta Mayor Subagyo told the discussion's participants that of the 13 rivers, only eight rivers have waste filters, therefore the bay is heavily polluted.
Presence in the roundtable discussion were representatives of NGOs, government agencies, the media, high school, and embassies. Following the discussion, the participants made a tour of UNESCO's pilot projects in Muara Angke mangrove preservation area, Pluit traditional market waste management and Kapuk Muara recycling centre and community learning center.
Source: Indonesian National News Agency (ANTARA), 14 July 2000
