Half of RI`s mangrove forests heavily damaged : Expert

Antara News, Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Bogor (ANTARA News) - Half of Indonesia`s mangrove forests are heavily damaged and facing total destruction due to ecological problems, an expert said here Tuesday.

Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) mangrove expert Professor Cecep Kusmana said most of Indonesia`s mangrove forests were in critical condition because of ecological disturbances.

Cecep hoped the government, the Forestry Ministry in particular, would undertake an emergency response to save the mangrove forests as they were on the brink of complete destruction.

"The threat to our mangrove forests is very concerning and they will vanish if we don?t act now," Cecep said.

The precarious conditions of the country`s mangrove forests needed to be addressed through serious actions by the central government , the Forestry Ministry and all stakeholders, he said.

The governments of regions where the mangroves were located also had an important role to play in saving them as they were the local policy makers.

"Local governments and the Forestry Ministry are expected to work together to stop further damage to mangrove forests," he said.

On the occasion, Professor Cecep also introduced the "Guludan" technique to save mangrove forests, which was considered as the appropriate technology to revitalize heavily damaged and critical forest areas.

The Guludan technique was mainly done by using a bamboo pole that planted deep in the mangrove areas and formed as a square partition with adjustable size.

In the research, the proper square measurement was done by 4 four meters wide, six meters long and two meters deep into the mangrove`s soil.

These Guludan must be filled with bags full of dirt on the bottom and then piled with approximately 50 centimeters high dirt on the top as the plant`s medium.

After the structure is built, mangrove sprouts can now be planted at a certain distance from each other.

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Here's Looking @ Earth... Mangrove Mania (Imagery—NASA)

These maps show the location and relative density of mangroves, which cover roughly 137,760 square kilometers (53,190 square miles) of Earth’s surface. The forests can be found in 118 different countries and territories, though nearly 75 percent of their area occurs in just 15 countries. They are most often found straddling the equator between 25º North and South latitude. About 42 percent of the world’s mangroves are found in Asia, with 21 percent in Africa, 15 percent in North and Central America, 12 percent in Australia and the islands of Oceania, and 11 percent in South America.

Fishing nations agree slim Atlantic tuna quota cut

Reuters, PARIS | Sat Nov 27, 2010 12:14pm EST

Freshly-harvested Bluefin tunas are uploaded from a ''tuna farm'', off the Calabrian
coast in southern Italy November 20, 2009. (Credit: Reuters/Tony Gentile)

(Reuters) - Fishing nations agreed on Saturday to trim back the 2011 quota for catching Atlantic bluefin tuna, the ICCAT fisheries group said.

The Madrid-based International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) set a 2011 quota of 12,900 tones, down from 13,500 this year.

Prized by fishermen, Atlantic bluefin can weigh up to 650 kg (1,430 lb) and fetch as much as $100,000 in markets like Japan, where they are popular with sushi-lovers.

But their stocks have plunged by more than 80 percent since the 1970s, according to western scientists. The European Commission had said a limit of 6,000 tones was needed for 2011 to give the fish a real chance of recovery. Environmental groups say the quotas are anyway widely flouted.

The species is found in the north Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean, where captured fish are fattened in enclosures.

France, Italy and Spain catch most of the Atlantic bluefin consumed in the world and 80 percent of the haul goes to Japan.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Conservationists have been demanding more
substantial reductions in fishing quotas

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Kiesha in Zurich from kedarvideo on Vimeo.

4,000 Indonesian islands may disappear due to global warming

Antara News, Saturday, November 27, 2010 20:47 WIB

Makassar (ANTARA News) - Around 4,000 islands in Indonesia may disappear when the sea surface rises due to global warming, a government official said.

"Global climate change could cause the sea level to rise high enough submerge 4,000 islands in Indonesia," William Suhandar, deputy to the head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Management and Supervision (UKP4), said here Saturday.

As many as 4,000 of Indonesia`s 17,500 islands might disappear if the sea level rose by two meters, he said.

"This will be unavoidable if global warming continues causing the sea level to keep rising as happened thousands of years ago when ice bergs melted," he said.

The earth`s surface temperature had risen 0.7 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years, he said, adding that this was tangible and reasonable evidence of climate change.

Moreover, the period 1995-2010 had been recorded as the hottest in the last 150 years since 1850, he said.

"There has been an unusual shift in rainfall patterns so that it is now difficult to distinguish the seasons, to differentiate the rainy from the dry season," he said.

Extreme weather and temperatures which occur every year could lead to or trigger natural disasters, he said.

He aid there were two major causes of climate change. One was mismanaged land utilization, deforestation and carbon emission from fossil fuels that exacerbate the green house effect in the atmosphere leading to rising global temperature.

The increasing global temperature could cause the sea level to rise and this posed a threat to around 4,000 islands in Indonesia, he said.

Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change could be advantageous to minimize the effect of global warming and climate change, he said.

Scientists Find Eyeless Cave Fish in Indonesia's Papua

Jakarta Globe, November 26, 2010

Indonesia. Eyeless cave fish and a frog that carries its offspring on its back are among the new species a team of scientists have discovered in Indonesia's eastern Papua region.

The researchers from the Institute of Research and Development (IRD) in Montpellier, southern France, studied caves, underground rivers and jungles in the remote Lengguru area of New Guinea island.

"In terms of discoveries almost everything remains to be done in this area, which is very difficult to access but which has exceptionally rich biodiversity," IRD scientist Laurent Pouyaud told AFP.

For seven weeks, the team including biologists, paleontologists and archaeologists explored the vast limestone "labyrinth" where species have evolved in isolation for millions of years.

In one previously undocumented cave they found a new species of fish which had developed without eyes or pigmentation.

"This is, to our knowledge, the first cave fish that has been discovered in Papua," Pouyaud said.

The team's archaeologists were "overwhelmed" by cave paintings and tools made of shell which provided further evidence of the ancient migration of people from Asia to the Australian continent some 40,000 years ago, he said.

The research was "the first step" in an ongoing project to study the region's biodiversity in conjunction with the Indonesian Maritime Affairs Ministry and Institute of Sciences.

Papua's biodiversity is at risk from plans to expand plantations and mining operations in the area, Pouyaud said. 

Agence France-Presse

US designates 'critical' polar bear habitat in Arctic

Google/AFP,

WASHINGTON — The US government on Wednesday designated "critical habitat" for polar bears who live on Alaska's disappearing sea ice, a move that could impact new oil and gas drilling projects in the Arctic.

The United States has classified the polar bear as
"threatened," but not endangered

The Fish and Wildlife Service set aside 187,000 square miles (484,000 square kilometers) off Alaska as the threatened bears' habitat, which means any project that could impact the animals' way of life must undergo careful review.

"This critical habitat designation enables us to work with federal partners to ensure their actions within its boundaries do not harm polar bear populations," said Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

"Nevertheless, the greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of its sea ice habitat caused by human-induced climate change. We will continue to work toward comprehensive strategies for the long-term survival of this iconic species."

The move falls short of barring any drilling or other activity in the area, but "identifies geographic areas containing features considered essential for the conservation of the bear that require special management or protection."

US environmental advocates earlier this month warned that polar bear habitats could be disrupted if oil companies eager to exploit the Arctic for fuel were to experience an accidental spill like the BP gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that the designation, which includes swaths of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas off northern Alaska, "encompass(es) areas where oil and gas exploration activities are known to occur."

Any activity there would now have to undergo a review to "identify ways to implement these actions consistent with species conservation," the statement said.

"This applies to oil and gas development activities, as well as any other activity within the range of the polar bear that may have an adverse affect on the species."

The United States has classified the polar bear as "threatened," but not endangered, due to the struggles it endures because the sea ice on which it lives and hunts is melting due to climate change.

The US government is considering opening the Chukchi Sea, a body of water off the coast of Alaska that is shared with Russia, to drilling but is reviewing leases awarded in 2008 after a lawsuit by indigenous people and green groups contended that the government does not have enough facts about how drilling will impact the environment.

Companies like Royal Dutch Shell want to begin drilling in the coming months, once winter ice begins to break up, and are submitting proposals to show they can meet tougher new government regulations.

The US Geological Survey said in 2008 that within the Arctic circle there are 90 billion barrels of oil and vast quantities of natural gas waiting to be tapped, most of it offshore.

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Australia blames Thai oil rig firm for Timor Sea spill

13 nations meet to try to save wild tigers

Wild tiger populations have dropped from 100,000
a century ago to 3,200 today.

.

Australia blames Thai oil rig firm for Timor Sea spill

BBC News, 24 November 2010 Last updated at 06:46 GMT

Related stories

• Australia oil well leak 'plugged'
• Australia oil well catches fire
• 'Huge damage' in Australia spill

An Australian government inquiry has blamed the country's worst offshore oil leak on the rig's Thai owner.

Engineers tried to stop the leak for 10 weeks
before succeeding

The report said PTTEP Australasia, a unit of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production, had failed to observe "sensible" practice.

The Australian Resources Minister told parliament the Thai firm should have its operating licence reviewed.

More than 400 barrels of oil a day spewed into the pristine Timor Sea off Australia's north coast for 10 weeks.

The oil hit the coast of Indonesia and East Timor.

Oil began leaking from the West Atlas rig and Montara wellhead platform north of Australia last August.

It was plugged on a fifth attempt in November 2009, after a slick had spread an estimated 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles).

Loss of control

"The widespread and systematic shortcomings of PTTEP Australasia's procedures were a direct cause of the loss of well-control," Mr Ferguson said.

"Well-control practices approved by the regulator would have been sufficient to prevent the loss of well-control, however PTTEP Australasia did not adhere to these practices or its own well-construction standards," he said.

The company paid $390m (£245m) for the clean-up but the minister said he thought relevant laws needed to be strengthened to make absolutely clear that companies would be held responsible for any future leaks.

He also criticised the Australian government regulator which had pursued a "minimalist" approach in handling the emergency, saying the entire incident had been avoidable.

There was no immediate response from PTTEP.

The government ordered the inquiry while environmentalists have expressed concerns about the waters off Australia's north-west coast, which are home to whales and dolphins.

Related Articles:

Australia releases Montara inquiry commission`s final report

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Govt may bring Montara case to int’l court

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Seaweed Production Provides Alternative Income for Fishpond Farmers

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 23 November, 2010 | 15:24 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Brebes: Seaweed cultivation in Brebes has saved the economy of fishpond farmers, whose ponds have been inundated by sea water since the beginning of last year. “We survived by letting seaweed grow, and fortunately the price is currently improving,” said Wirangrong Renggolo, Tambak Mina Mandiri Farmers’ Group Chief in Randusanga Kulon, Brebes.

According to Wirangrong, seaweed cultivation has become their alternative source of income. “We still hope to raise fish again. Seaweed is only for our survival,” he said yesterday.

Muhammad Supriyono, the Brebes Disaster Management Agency executive director, following the fishpond farmers’ complaint, said he will immediately coordinate with related offices to save the residents’ ponds. “This involves the public works and irrigation offices,” he said. Since the regent position is still vacant, this issue is being handled by simple methods.

EDI FAISOL

President launches women plant trees campaign 2010

Antara News, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 15:07 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched a "Women Plant and Cultivate Trees Campaign 2010" at the Manggala Wanabhakti auditorium here Tuesday.

Present on the occasion were also First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hassan, Marine and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad and a number of foreign ambassadors in Jakarta.

The Women Plant Trees Campaign is a yearly activity which was started four years ago with different themes and formats of activity each year. In 2010, the program was focused on the activity of planting trees such as Ketapang and mangroves in coastal areas. It is expected that the program will improve the people`s economy and boost their awareness to preserve forests in coastal area.

The Tuesday inauguration also featured an exhibition and conference themed "Protection of Coastal Forests and Improvement of the People`s Prosperity."

Earlier, the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice has appealed to the government on the need to preserve and improve mangrove forests.

The mangrove preservation is necessary to prevent them from disappearance from the face of the earth because the forests provide ground for fishes, shrimp, and mollusks for spawning and rearing.

According to data of the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), damage of mangrove forests in the 1997-2008 period reached 68 percent.

Kiara program coordinator Abdul Halim said damage of the mangrove ecosystem was caused by industrial anthropogenic waste in coastal areas.

Besides, the other causes include coastal land conversion for industrial purposes, commercial centers and luxury residential areas. The wastes caused damage of the mangrove ecosystem, and consequently making it difficult for fishermen to earn a living, he said.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Marine and Fishery Affairs set itself a target that by 2014, some 1,440 hectares of coastal areas would be preserved preventing them from environmental damage along national coastal areas. And of the 1,440 ha, some 101.7 percent could be preserved each year.

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President Yudhoyono acknowledges coastal communities` poverty

FAO rates RI as world`s fourth biggest shrimp producer

Antara News, Monday, November 22, 2010 15:43 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has placed Indonesia in fourth position on its list of shrimp producing countries in 2010 after China, Thailand and Vietnam, a fisheries ministry official said.

The ministry`s Chief of Statistic and Information bureau Soen`an H Poernomo said Indonesia was in fourth position after China was in the first position with a production 1.3 million tons, Thailand in second position with 560,000 tons and Vietnam in third position with 370,000 ons.

Marine and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said last August 2010, the government had initially set the country`s shrimp production target for 2010 at 400,000 tons. But due to a disease that had infected shrimps, the figure had been revised downward to 350,000 tons.

The disease was still spreading in a number of shrimp producing regions such as Lampung, East Java and South Sulawesi.

To deal with diseases affecting shrimp and fish, the Marine and Fisheries Ministry was planning to build special shrimp and fish hospitals in Semarang, Central Java, and in Banten province at the end of 2010.

In 2008, Indonesia was able to produce 410,000 tons of shrimp making the country the third biggest shrimp producer in the world. Hence, the country`s shrimp exports in that year increased by 21 percent compered to 2007

During the past few years, Indonesia has been trying to increase its shrimp exports by entering new markets, namely in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

For 2014, the Marine and Fisheries Ministry`s shrimp production target was 699,000 tons.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (KIARA), Riza Damani said the government must realize its shrimp pond revitalization program in an effort to boost shrimp production at home.

"The government must revitalize the program soon," he said.

He said that in Lampung there were at least 25,000 hectares of shrimp ponds which should be revitalized soon because their production at present was low. The revitalization was expected to increase farmers production.

The government was also urged to take stern actions against firms which had taken over traditional ponds in violation of existing regulations on the environment.

Indonesia, US Sign Up to Preserve Nusa Penida’s Marine Environment

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana | November 21, 2010

Nusa Penida, Bali. The Indonesian and US governments have announced a new initiative to establish a marine conservation area in the waters around Nusa Penida Island, to the southeast of Bali.

The conservation area will cover 200 square kilometers of waters around the island, and become part of the larger national conservation area totalling 200,000 square kilometers across the archipelago by 2020.

The Nusa Penida initiative has already received Rp 100 billion ($11.2 million) in funding from USAID, through the Coral Triangle Support Partnership, according to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad.

Of the fund, Rp 960 million will go toward helping seaweed farmers improve productivity, as part of the government’s target to boost seaweed production in Nusa Penida from 117,000 tons a year to 500,000 tons a year.

Fadel said the richness of the marine diversity around Nusa Penida deserved to be studied in greater depth.

“We’ll manage this conservation area in the same way that Brazil successfully manages the Amazon,” he said at a ceremony to inaugurate the area on Sunday.

The biodiversity around the island, he added, was apparent in a 2009 marine survey performed by scientists Emre Turak and Gerry Allen, which uncovered 296 coral species and 576 fish species, five of which were previously undiscovered.

Fadel also noted that a study by the Nature Conservancy’s Indonesian Marine Program had found 1,419 hectares of coral reef, 230 hectares of mangrove forest with 13 species of mangroves, and 108 seaweed patches with eight types of seaweed.

“We’ll also build a seaweed cultivation center here as well as a seaweed processing plant,” the minister said.

“In addition, we’ll build fish processing plants so that the fish caught in these waters will be ready and packed for shipment.

“We’ll also enlist the local community’s assistance in helping safeguard the waters.”

He added other aims of establishing the conservation area included to encourage fishermen to adopt sustainable fishing practices, and to boost tourism in the area.

US Ambassador Scot Marciel, who also attended Sunday’s event, said Indonesia was well-placed to support global conservation efforts, which made it an important partner for the United States, including in efforts to preserve marine ecosystems.

“We see the marine environment as key to the sustainability of humans,” Marciel said.

Related Article:

US supports creation of RI`s seven marine protected areas

Indonesia Mentawai Tsunami Was 17 Meters High: Expert

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran | November 19, 2010

Jakarta. The tsunami that devastated the Mentawai Islands off West Sumatra last month featured waves much larger than would normally have been expected from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that spawned it, according to a tsunami expert.

Jose Borrero, from ASR Ltd., a marine consulting firm, said on Friday that the finding was extraordinary.

“We were extremely surprised by the size of the waves on one of the small islands offshore of Pagai,” he said at a press conference at the office of the presidential advisory council.

“We found evidence that the tsunami waves reached a height of 17 meters, which was much bigger than we had expected to find,” he said.

Borrero, who is also a researcher at the University of Southern California’s Tsunami Research Center, said that while most residents of the islands were aware of the potential for a tsunami, the majority had been caught unawares by the relative weakness of the Oct. 25 quake.

“They knew that earthquakes are associated with tsunami, and that they should be aware of evacuating if they felt a strong earthquake,” he said.

“However, this earthquake didn’t feel that strong to them, especially when compared with previous earthquakes in the area. So some people didn’t evacuate immediately upon feeling the earthquake. It wasn’t until they actually heard the sound of the waves coming through the trees and tearing down the forest that they actually knew that they had to go.”

He said that because Indonesia would always be prone to tsunamis, residents should learn to read the signs.

“Basically, tsunamis and earthquakes are part of natural life,” Borrero said.

“You can’t live in fear of them. It’s best to understand them and work with a national system. By understanding them, we have the chance for survival. This isn’t something to be afraid of, but to be aware of, to know what to look for,” he said.

At least 461 deaths have been confirmed as a result of the tsunami, while 43 others remain missing and are feared dead.

The waves also rendered nearly 8,000 people homeless.

Hermann M. Fritz, a tsunami expert from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, said the real measure of an earthquake’s potential for causing a tsunami in tectonic subduction zones such as the Mentawais, was not the perceived strength of the quake but rather its duration.

“How long the quake lasts will indicate its potential for a tsunami,” he said.

“If you feel the shaking for more than 30 seconds or a minute, it’s important to evacuate immediately.”

Danny Hilman, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the Mentawai quake lasted more than a minute.

However, he said most local people interviewed by the experts had said that at the time of the quake they only felt a swaying motion, and thus did not feel the need to evacuate.

He said that in the case of Mentawai, while the quake registered at a magnitude of 7.7, its long duration meant it was more like a magnitude 8 temblor.

Indonesian Government Opens 4 New Blocks for Oil, Gas Exploration

Jakarta Globe, Ririn Radiawati Kusuma | November 18, 2010

Jakarta. Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has awarded four oil and gas blocks to local and foreign companies, including BP Exploration Indonesia, a unit of oil major BP, a government official has confirmed.

Indonesia has awarded four oil and gas blocks to local
and foreign companies. (AFP Photo)

As much as $28 million was expected to be spent on exploration activities in the newly opened blocks, including $4.2 million going straight to the government for so-called signature bonuses, Evita Legowo, director general of oil and gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said on Thursday.

Aside from BP Exploration Indonesia, the other companies awarded the oil and gas blocks were Ephindo Oil and Gas Holding, the Awe Consortium and Mitra Energy.

BP Exploration Indonesia is set to spend $3.4 million on exploration in the North Arafura block in Papua.

Ephindo was granted rights to explore the North Sokang block in Riau, with an investment plan totaling $10.2 million.

The Awe Consortium, which consists of Baruna Recovery Energy and Sillo Maritime Perdana, was awarded the Titan block in Java, although no details were provided about which provinces would be covered by the project.

Its total investment is estimated at $8.3 million.

Mitra Energy is set to explore the Bone block in South Sulawesi, with a total investment of $6.1 million.

“The companies have three years to explore the oil and gas potential of those blocks,” Evita said.

Indonesia has so far this year awarded 42 blocks across the country for exploration.

While the North Sokang block is estimated to hold 600 billion cubic feet of gas, and the Titan block is believed to hold 300 bcf, Evita said the companies might find more oil and gas reserves in those blocks.

The newly opened blocks are expected to help the country meet its increased oil production targets over the coming years.

The government had hoped to see oil production reach 965,000 barrels per day for the year.

But a number of recent incidents, including a major leak in a pipeline operated by Transportasi Gas Indonesia at the end of September that caused disruptions to about 20 percent of the nation’s total production capacity, have made reaching the ambitious target all but impossible.

Chevron Pacific Indonesia’s Duri oil field in Riau also stopped production in October after one of its pipelines burst. CPI accounts for some 40 percent of the nation’s total oil output.

Oil production is now forecast to reach an average of 955,000 bpd for the year, lower than the 2010 state budget target, Evita said in September.

Indonesia has been struggling to attract foreign investment to develop new oil and gas fields.

Although it has offered incentives, including favorable tax treatment and production sharing, an uncertain regulatory environment has hampered investment in the sector.

Rescue endangered marine turtles

English.news.cn, Editor: Wang Guanqun, 2010-11-18

Tourists and local volunteers release a rescued green turtle at Kuta beach during a ceremony on the resort island of Bali on November 18, 2010.

Indonesian maritime police intercepted a boat loaded with 87 green turtles and arrested the boat crew during an operation in nearby Kubu sea as part of a campaign to protect the endangered marine turtles. (Xinhua/AFP)

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Indonesia's New Shark Sanctuary for Coral Triangle

Jakarta Globe, November 17, 2010

Indonesia has declared a vast sanctuary for sharks, turtles and manta rays in a region known as one of the world’s richest sources of marine biodiversity, officials said on Tuesday.

The sanctuary covers 46,000 square kilometers of waters around the Raja Ampat islands in eastern Indonesia, part of the so-called Coral Triangle region of Southeast Asia.

Sharks, manta rays, mobulas, dugongs and turtles are fully protected within the sanctuary, and destructive practices including reef bombing and the aquarium fish trade are banned.

“Sharks, as apex predators, play a vital role in regulating the health of important commercial fish species, population balance, and coral reefs,” conservation group Shark Savers and the Misool Eco Resort, which are supporting the sanctuary, said in a statement.

“Despite this importance, up to 73 million sharks are killed annually with some shark populations declining by as much as 90 percent, mostly for shark fin soup. In Raja Ampat, three-fourths of its shark species are threatened with local extinction.”

Peter Knights, executive director of conservation group WildAid which is backing the project, said: “It’s tragic that so much of Raja Ampat’s biological treasure is destined for consumers who are unaware of the impact.”

Raja Ampat marine and fishery office head Yohanis Bercmans Rahawaryn said shark numbers in the area had “dropped steadily in the past few years.”

“Divers rarely find big sharks around Raja Ampat. That’s the main indicator,” he said.  

Agence France-Presse

Kiara regrets PTTEP`s rejection of RI`s claim on oil spill

Antara News, Monday, November 15, 2010 18:55 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) regrets the decision of PTTEP (PTT Exploration and Production Australasia) to reject the compensation claim filed by Indonesia for the oil spill in the Timor Sea, a apokesman said.

"It`s regrettable PTTEP has twice refused the claim amounting to US$2.4 billion presented by Indonesia for the oil spill in the Timor Sea," Kiara Secretary General Riza Damanik said here Monday.

Indonesia must not keep quiet about the matter but follow it up, he said.

He said, since the beginning, documents issued by the Australian authorities had indicated that the Montara oil field leakage had polluted Indonesian waters.

Indonesia and Australia should come to an understanding that the Timor Sea had been contaminated by oil from the Montara oil field operated by PTTEP, he said.

"An anticipative step must be prepared to sue PTTEP, including canceling a possible expansion of PTTEP in Indonesia," Riza Damanik said.

Internally, Indonesian authorities should conduct a repositioning and restructuring of the National Team of Emergency Response to Oil Spill in Sea (PKDTML) led by Freddy Numberi.

Earlier, Ferdi Tanoni, a Timor Sea issue observer, had said that Indonesia`s claim over the oil spill in the Timor Sea following an explosion in the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009, was rejected by PTTEP Australasia.

The company had referred to a scientific report saying that the oil spill had not reached Indonesian waters, Ferdi said in Kupang on Sunday (Nov 14), quoting a report of "Peduli Timor Barat" Foundation network in Canberra.

The Indonesian government has demanded a compensation amounting to US$2.4 billion from Thailand`s PTTEP Australasia for the oil spill in Timor Sea. The oil has spilled for 74 days after the Montara oil field on August 21, 2009.

PTTEP Australasia (PTTEP AA), a subsidiary of the Thai-listed PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited on September 2, 2010, confirmed the Government of Indonesia that it has not accepted any claims for compensation relating to the claimed impacts of oil released from the company?s Montara field in the Timor Sea last year.

PTTEP CEO and President Anon Sirisaengtaksin said that the letter of claim and attached documents contained no verifiable evidence to support the claim.

Related Articles:

RI demands Australian damages for Timor sea oil pollution

Govt denies Montara oil spill compensation claim turned down

S.Korean naval ship sinking after collision-report

Antara News, Thursday, November 11, 2010

Seoul (ANTARA News/Reuters) - A South Korean navy ship was sinking off the country`s southwestern coast, with two of the sailors on board missing, after it collided with a fishing boat, Yonhap news agency reported early on Thursday.

The accident took place 5.4 nautical miles north of the port of Jeju on the southern island of Jeju at around 10:50 p.m. (1350 GMT) on Wednesday, Yonhap quoted a military official as saying.

It said 28 of the 30 sailors on board had been rescued while the other two were missing, citing the official.

The accident took place as leaders from the Group of 20 major economies and international organisations were due to start a two-day summit in the capital Seoul.

Mentawai tsunami moved at 800 km per hour : Expert

Antara News, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 22:30 WIB

Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA Bews) - Indonesian and Japanese tsunami experts have concluded that the tsunami that hit the Mentawai Islands recently had moved at a speed of 800 km per hour at sea.

"Based on the results of research conducted by tsunami experts from LIPI, Tokyo University and Hokkaido University, the tsunami at Maonai, Sabeuguggung, Purorougat, North Pagai, had moved at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour at sea and at 30-40 kilometers per hour after land fall ," an earthquake specialist of LIPI`s geotechnology division, , Eko Yulianto, said here Wednesday.

The tsunami surged over a distance of 100-250 meters inland , depending on the height of the tidal wave, he said.

"The height of the tidal wave that hit North Pagai was around six to seven meters," he said.

The tsunami in North Pagai occurred seven minutes after a magnitude- 7.2 earthquake had rocked the region on October 25, he said.

The epicenter of the earthquake lay close to the Mentawai Islands, he said.

Therefore, the information given to the local people that the tsunami would occur 30 minutes after the quake was incorrect, he said.

Eko advised anyone not to wait for an instruction from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) about what to do when an earthquake with the potential to cause tsunami happened. It was also unnecessary to measure the magnitude of the earthquake when an emergency situation occurred, he said.

"It is better for us to evacuate to the hills," he said.

The earthquake that shook the Mentawai Islands was recorded to measure 7.2 on the Richter Scale and triggered a tsunami on Monday (Oct 25) at 09.42 p.m. local time.

The epicenter of the earthquake lay at 3.61 degrees Southern Latitude and 99.93 degrees Eastern Longitude at a depth of 10 kilometers below sea level.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located 78 kilometers southwest of South Pagai, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 102 kilometers southwest of North Pagai, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 158 kilometers Southeast of Sipora, Mentawai, West Sumatra, 174 kilometers Southwest of Mukomuko, Bengkulu, and 817 kilometers Northwest the Jakarta Bay.

Students propose new ideas to conserve sea life

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 11/08/2010 9:21 AM

Three high school student groups won a competition out of 112 teams from across the nation in the 5th Young Innovation Contest with proposals to develop eco-tourism in their respective hometowns.

On Saturday, the contest organizer, Indonesia Institute of Sciences (LIPI) named Ni Wayan Surya Darmayanti, AA Pillar Dy Kusuma and AA Istri Intan Yuniari from state high school SMAN 4 Denpasar, Bali, as the first winners of the contest.

The team highlighted the synergy between local people and tourists in preserving the coral reef ecosystem at Pemuteran village, Singaraja, Bali.

The team said the local people, with their long-rooted traditions like puppet play, could have an important role in preserving local reefs, while the tourists might contribute to the environment through coral reef revitalization program using Biorock, a widely known method to grow coral reef using mineral and electric current.

A Makassar high school team won second prize with their idea to develop tourism on little-known Gusung Island, South Sulawesi.

Geby Oktavia Sari, Fitriyah Dewi Haramaeni and Muh. Amran Permana Putra R. from SMAN 11 Makasar senior high school propose to develop educational tourism.

“Education about coral reef conservation would be an added value for tourism on the island,” Geby said. She said young people would be the main target of the tourism package.

This was expected to bring local people economic and social benefits.

Geby said the government should help the island by building infrastructure like piers and toilets.

A team from Wakatobi regency which recently became famous for its coastal beauty, came in third, also with an eco-tourism concept.

Dewi Sartika, Nining Hariani Ode, and Hasdiman Aludin from SMAN 1 Wangi-Wangi, Wakatobi, proposed to develop Hoga Island in Kaledupa district in Southeast Sulawesi.

Suharsono, the chairman of Oceanograhy Research Center at the institute, said the jury evaluated the papers on originality, the extent of research into the problems, and the way ideas were presented.

Suharsono said the contest was aimed at raising young people’s awareness to use what was available in their environment, to do their best to help preserve nature.

“Coral reefs are the entry point for us to invite them to love the seas,” he said.

LIPI’s data shows that most of the coral reef ecosystems in the country are damaged with only around 30 percent of the total being in a very good or good condition. (lnd)