N. Sulawesi to promote marine wealth potential

Jongker Rumteh, The Jakarta Post, Manado

The North Sulawesi administration, with the support of Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang, is going all out to rally international support to hold the World Ocean Summit in Manado in 2009.

As an initial step, it invited a number of domestic and foreign experts to attend the International Seabed Authority (ISA) seminar in Manado on Monday to discuss benefits of minerals and other resources in marine areas beyond national boundaries.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi, who inaugurated the four-day seminar, said in his keynote speech, "This seminar is an important meeting in that it broadens our thoughts in looking for new marine resources."

"Although mineral, oil and gas resources on land and at sea within the limits of our national jurisdiction are still available, members of the international community have been endeavoring to find new resources to support the growing need for industrial minerals."

He said that the country lacked experience in the field and hoped to learn from experts about seabed mineral resources, the rules and regulations governing them and the latest state-of-the-art technology available.

Freddy also said that in the Celebes Sea north of Manado indications of hydrothermal sulphide deposits have been found. In the Banda Sea, magnesium nodule deposits have been detected and gas hydrates have been recorded on seismic sections collected from the seabed in the western part of Sumatra and to the south of Java.

"However, in anticipating the need for national development in the industrial sector, we must expand our horizons in seeking new marine resources such as polymetalic nodules, polymetalic sulphides, metal crusts of seamounts, methane hydrates and genetic resources of the ocean as the next frontier in the development of marine resources," said Freddy.

He said four important factors needed to be addressed before exploiting seabed mineral resources.

Technological knowledge and components need to be mastered and developed, a competent team will be required to meet the challenge of exploring this new frontier, environmental impacts related to exploration and exploitation of seabed minerals need to be determined, as do the legal ramifications of the endeavor, he said.

Freddy hoped domestic stakeholders would benefit from knowledge and awareness generated by the meeting and realize the potential to develop international cooperation in the field.

North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Harry Sarundajang and his staff were present at the opening of the seminar, which was attended by 110 participants from 14 countries. Among the participants were ISA secretary-general Satya Nandan from Jamaica and speakers Hasyim Djalal from Indonesia, ISA vice secretary general Nii Allotey Ondunton, M. Syam Prasad from India, Mike Johnson from Australia, Shenh Xieng from China and Kim Juniper from Canada.

The seminar, which runs until Thursday, was organized by the Maritime and Fisheries Research Agency, in cooperation with the North Sulawesi administration and the ISA Secretariat. A workshop is also planned to discuss the potential mineral wealth on the Indian and Pacific ocean beds.