Whistleblower aims to expose dark side of Japanese whaling

'Mr Whale' alleges widespread criminality among former colleagues on mother ship of Japanese whaling fleet

guardian.co.uk, Justin McCurry in Tokyo, Monday 14 June 2010 19.03 BST

'Mr Whale' wearing his Kyodo Senpaku whaling fleet uniform. Photograph: Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Greenpeace

He once wielded a knife on the deck of a Japanese whaling ship, slicing apart the behemoths of the ocean in the name of "scientific research", while much of the rest of the world looked on in horror.

Now, as Japan pushes to overturn the 24-year ban on commercial whaling, the former whaler has come forward with allegations of widespread criminality among the men with whom he spent months in the freezing waters of the Antarctic.

Sent every winter to slaughter the mammals for research that Japan says is vital to our understanding of whale populations, the crewmen are instead seizing and selling prized cuts of meat to earn extra cash and, in at least one case, earn many more times their annual salary, says the whaler-turned-whistleblower.

He refers to himself only as "Kujira-san" (Mr Whale), a precaution necessitated by a genuine fear for his safety. But the personal risks will be worthwhile, he says, if it means the world learns the truth about the dark side of Japan's whaling industry.

"Even before we arrived in the Antarctic Ocean," he says of a recent expedition, "the more experienced whalers would talk about taking whale meat home to sell. It was an open secret. Even officials from the Institute of Cetacean Research [a quasi-governmental body that organises Japan's whaling programme] on the ship knew what was happening, but they turned a blind eye to it."

Kujira, who worked aboard the Nisshin Maru mother ship, saw crew members helping themselves to prime cuts of whale meat and packing them into boxes they would mark with doodles or pseudonyms so they could identify them when the vessel reached port. "They never wrote their real names on the boxes," he said.

Some whalers would take home between five and 10 boxes, he said, while one secured as many as 40 boxes of prime meat that fetches ¥20,000 (about £148) a kilo when sold legally. One crew member built a house with the profits from illicitly sold whale meat, he said. "Another used the money he earned to buy a car," he said. "They were careful to select only the best cuts, like the meat near the tail fin. I never dared challenge them."

Kujira paints an unpleasant picture of life at sea, although he is reluctant to divulge details for fear of revealing his identity.

Newcomers are badly treated by more experienced whalers, fuelled by a machismo culture that is disappearing from other parts of the fishing industry. "The treatment of junior crew has improved a lot elsewhere over the last 40 years," he said. "But the industry seems to be trapped in time."

He contradicted Japan's claims that the industry, which reportedly required government subsidies of almost $12m in 2008-09, is highly efficient. The fleet would sometimes catch more whales than necessary, he said, strip them of their most expensive parts and throw what was left overboard.

"I didn't think of the embezzlement at first. I just couldn't stand the waste. A lot of meat was being thrown away because we kept catching whales even after we'd reached our daily quota. I decided I had to tell someone what was happening."

Oddly, perhaps, for someone with his professional background, he sought help from Greenpeace. In 2008, the organisation launched a secret investigation into embezzlement by the crew of the Nisshin Maru, during which two activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, intercepted a box containing 23kg of whale meat – worth about ¥350,000 – at a warehouse in Japan that they later presented as evidence.

After initially agreeing to act on their claims, prosecutors dropped the case and instead, Sato and Suzuki were arrested and charged with theft and trespassing.

Last week, prosecutors demanded an 18-month prison sentence for the "Tokyo Two", who were held without charge for 23 days and interrogated while strapped to chairs without their lawyers present. A ruling is expected in the next few months.

Kujira's allegations come as the International Whaling Commission [IWC] prepares to meet next week in Morocco to discuss a proposal that could end the moratorium on commercial whaling in return for whaling nations agreeing to smaller quotas. In the run up to the meeting, Japan has reverted to its preferred tactic of using aid to sway small islands and even landlocked nations to vote with it in the 88-member body.

Under the IWC moratorium, Japan is permitted to catch just under 1,000 whales – mainly minke – in the name of scientific research. Meat from the cull is sold on the open market and the profits used to fund future whaling expeditions.

Japan denies allegations of vote-buying, but has acknowledged that it invests heavily in the fishing industries of some IWC allies, and pays the expenses of delegates from poorer countries.

Kujira says Greenpeace's investigation has forced whaling crews to change their ways. "I heard from my sources that the theft of whale meat has stopped because of the media attention. But dozens of younger crewmen have left the fleet because they can no longer steal whale meat. They only joined the fleet because they knew they could make lots of money at the end of each trip. It was the only perk of a very tough job. The older whalers are just hanging on for their pensions."

The Institute of Cetacean Research has insisted that crew members take home only small quantities of whale meat as a reward for spending months working in some of the world's most inhospitable waters.

Kujira is trying to generate interest among Japan's media, which are reluctant to criticise the country's research culls while it defends itself against mounting international criticism of the annual slaughter.

Although he no longer works for the fleet, Kujira adds that he will continue to campaign behind the scenes, at great risk to his own safety, until the Japanese public learn the truth about the industry: "I dread to think what the other whalers would do to me if they knew who I was. They could do anything they wanted to me. I would be living in fear of my life."

A whale tale

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is bitterly divided over Japan's research whaling programme.

The country slaughters about 950 mainly minke whales every year in the name of scientific research, but critics say the culls are commercial whaling in disguise, since the meat is sold on the open market.

Under a proposal submitted by IWC chairman Cristian Maquieira, Japan would be permitted to resume commercial whaling for 10 years, but would have to adhere to strict quotas "significantly lower" than current ones.

One estimate says the move could spare more than 5,000 whales over the next decade. Two other whaling nations, Iceland and Norway, would also be able to take part in the experiment. The three nations have killed 35,000 whales since the IWC ban went into effect in 1986.

They would have to agree to other conditions, such as the presence of observers on ships, DNA registers of slaughtered whales and market sampling to detect illegal whaling.

Campaigners fear the proposal could lead to a return to large-scale commercial whaling and say the IWC should be forcing whaling nations to end the culls altogether.

There are large numbers of minke whales in the north Atlantic and western north Pacific, but the proposal would also permit limited catches of fin and sei whales, both listed as endangered.

The move is under discussion and would require the support by 75% of the IWC's 88 members to pass. Despite allegations of vote buying, Japan is currently some way short of acquiring the votes it needs.

Allegations: The Yushin Maru ship captures a whale. Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling

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Jakarta asks EU to lower import duty tariff

Antara News, Thursday, June 17, 2010 23:31 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - With a view of increasing economic cooperation between Indonesia and the European Union, Minister Marine and Fishery Affairs Fadel Muhammad on June 16 received a visit from the EU Ambassador for Indonesia.

The two sides discussed the development and trade cooperation especially in Indonesia`s assets to the EU and investment in marine and fisheries in Indonesia.

Fadel said that the meeting also discussed EU technical assistance to Indonesia related to the catch certification.

Fadel asked the EU ambassador to lower the import tariff of Indonesian tuna products which was considered still too high. Right now the import tariff for fresh tuna and canned tuna is 12 and 23 percent, which was too burdensome for Indonesian exporters.

The effect of the high import tariff caused the Indonesian product difficulties to compete with similar products from other countries.

In response to the request, the EU ambassador said may consider lowering the tariff by way of the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) scheme.

The bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and the European Union is based on partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) signed on November 9, 2009.

The EU ambassador`s visit was also utilized by Fadel to promote Indonesia`s fish products which is expected to increase fish exports to that country.

As an illustration, Indonesia`s fish products with the EU was still a surplus. The volume and value of Indonesian fishery products to the EU in 2009 reached 74.67 thousand tons and US$ 296.31 million.

On the other hand the volume and value of EU fishery product exports to Indonesia in the same year reached 3.78 thousand tons and US$ 4.58 million.

Nestle to Sail Amazon Rivers to Reach Emerging-Market Consumers

Businessweek, June 17, 2010, 1:13 AM EDT

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA will begin sailing a supermarket barge down two Amazon river tributaries tomorrow as it competes with Unilever to reach emerging-market customers cut off from branded goods.

The world’s largest food company will send a boat with 100-square meters (1,076 square feet) of supermarket space on a journey to 18 small cities and 800,000 potential consumers on the Para and Xingu rivers in Brazil, before starting the journey again. The vessel will carry 300 different goods including chocolate, yogurt, ice cream and juices.

“Direct distribution gives them a competitive edge over regional competitors who don’t have the resources to do this kind of thing,” said James Targett, an analyst at Consumer Equity Research in London. He has a “positive” rating on Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle.

Nestle expects as many as 1 billion people in emerging markets to exit poverty and be able to afford its products in the coming decade. The foodmaker has adapted its products in such regions by offering smaller, cheaper versions of products such as Alpino ice cream and Ninho milk powder through direct distribution to make them more accessible to low-income shoppers. Unilever has also been building a distribution network into Brazil’s shantytowns.

Strong in Brazil

“Unilever is very strong in Brazil and has been there a long time, and is used to getting poorer consumers in rural areas,” said James Amoroso, a food industry consultant based in Walchwil, Switzerland. “It’s obviously more expensive to establish yourself before the retail distribution is there, and this is what Nestle is trying to do.”

Supermarket purchases in Brazil’s impoverished northern and northeast regions have outpaced growth from richer states in the south and southeast for the last two years as social programs and a higher minimum wage increased disposable income for the poor, Sussumu Honda, head of the national supermarkets association, said in an interview June 2.

Brazil’s supermarket sales rose a record 15 percent in March from a year earlier, according to data from the country’s statistics agency. The increased demand means that supermarkets in remote areas have had difficulty keeping products on the shelves as suppliers are unable to meet orders, Honda said.

Economic Growth

Latin America’s biggest economy expanded 9 percent in the first quarter, the fastest annual growth rate since 1995, led by domestic demand and investments, the statistics agency said last week. Policy makers raised the benchmark interest rate for the second time this year to 10.25 percent last week to keep the economy from overheating.

Nestle sells 3,950 products in “popularly positioned” formats designed for low-income consumers. Smaller packs allow poor consumers to afford branded goods like richer shoppers rather than turn to generic alternatives. The company often adds nutrients such as iron, zinc, iodine and vitamin A to address deficiencies among the poor.

The Swiss company has a team of 7,000 saleswomen who peddle packs of Nestle goods door-to-door in Brazilian slums. In Indonesia, Nestle cut out middlemen and began shipping directly to wholesalers to expand its reach to consumers among the country’s 17,000 islands.

Nestle has forecast global sales from such products eventually reaching 20 billion Swiss francs ($18 billion) from 8.8 billion francs last year. Unilever, which sells smaller sizes of its products, such as Seda shampoo, in Brazil, already gets half its sales from developing countries.

Emerging Markets

Nestle had 2009 food and beverage sales growth in emerging markets of 8.5 percent, more than double the rate of its total business. The company has said it aims to boost the proportion of sales from developing countries to 45 percent in a decade from 35 percent now.

Nestle isn’t the only one to take to water transport in the Amazon. Banco Bradesco SA, Brazil’s second-biggest bank by market value, started to offer banking services in December via the Solimoes River, also in the Amazon. Bradesco made 700 new clients after six months, Director Odair Afonso Rebelato said.

“These clients don’t want to be labeled as poor,” Rebelato said. “They want the same products as everybody else.”

--Editors: Chris Staiti, Paul Jarvis

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.net; Iuri Dantas in Brasilia at idantas@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net.

Sperm whale faeces offset CO2 emissions

BBC News, by Richard Black, Tuesday, 15 June 2010 22:33 UK

Sperm whales may put a gentle (and unwitting) brake on climate change

In a somewhat unusual research project, scientists have found that sperm whale faeces may help oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the air.

Australian researchers calculate that Southern Ocean sperm whales release about 50 tonnes of iron each year.

This stimulates the growth of tiny marine plants - phytoplankton - which absorb CO2 during photosynthesis.

They note in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B that in the end, this also provides more food for the whales.

Phytoplankton are the basis of the marine food web in this part of the world, and the growth of these tiny plants is limited by the amount of nutrients available, including iron.

Faecal attraction

Over the last decade or so, many groups of scientists have experimented with putting iron into the oceans deliberately as a "fix" for climate change.

Not all of these experiments have proved successful; the biggest, the German Lohafex expedition, put six tonnes of iron into the Southern Ocean in 2008, but saw no sustained increase in carbon uptake.

But the Australian group calculates the natural fertilisation by the 12,000 or so sperm whales estimated to inhabit the Southern Ocean result in the absorption of about 40,000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year - more than twice as much as they release by breathing.

The Lohafex expedition was the latest to probe iron fertilisation

Although 40,000 tonnes of carbon is less than one-thousandth of the annual emissions from burning fossil fuels, the researchers note that the global total could be more substantial.

There are estimated to be several hundred thousand sperm whales in the oceans, though they are notoriously difficult to count; and lack of iron limits phytoplankton growth in many regions besides the Southern Ocean.

So it could be that whale faeces are fertilising plants in several parts of the world.

Crucial to the idea is that sperm whales are not eating and defecating in the same place - if they were, they could be just abrosbing and releasing the same amounts of iron.

Instead, they eat their diet - mainly squid - in the deep ocean, and defectate in the upper waters where phytoplankton can grow, having access to sunlight.

Releasing the iron here is ultimately good for the whales as well, say the researchers - led by Trish Lavery from Flinders University in Adelaide.

Phytoplankton are eaten by tiny marine animals - zooplankton - which in turn are consumed by larger creatures that the whales might then eat.

The scientists suggest a similar mechanism could underpin the "krill paradox" - the finding that the abundance of krill in Antarctic waters apparently diminished during the era when baleen whales that eat krill were being hunted to the tune of tens of thousands per year.

Japan 'gave cash and call girls to rig whaling vote' in bid to end 24-year ban

Daily Mail, By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE, 13th June 2010

Allegations: The Yushin Maru ship captures a whale. Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling

Japan has been accused of bribing small countries with cash and prostitutes to help end the ban on whaling.

Poor nations have 'sold' their votes on the International Whaling Commission to Japan in return for millions of pounds of aid, free travel, bribes and the services of call girls for ministers, it is claimed.

The IWC will vote later this month on ending a ban on commercial whaling that has been in place for 24 years.

Backing from several small nations – including Caribbean and Pacific islands and impoverished African states – could lift the moratorium and allow the hunting of thousands of whales, including the endangered fin and sei species.

Yesterday the British Government and environmental campaigners demanded that the IWC investigates.

Many of the tiny nations – who have a vote equal in weight to countries such as Britain and France – have no interest in whaling but joined the IWC at Japan's behest because it offered huge aid payments, it is claimed.

During an undercover investigation, a senior fisheries official from Guinea said Japan gave its minister a minimum of $1,000 (£680) a day spending money during IWC meetings, with the cash handed over in envelopes.

The average annual wage in Guinea is £680. Tanzania's IWC commissioner said 'good girls' were available for ministers during all-expenses paid trips to Japan.

He said he always turned down 'massages and comfort', but said Japan had given his country £80million in fisheries aid in the past two years.

An official from the Marshall Islands, a nation in Micronesia in the Pacific, said: 'We support Japan because of what they give us.'

The claims, which Japan denies, raise serious questions about the IWC's credibility, and there were swift calls for an investigation.

Britain's minister for the marine environment, Richard Benyon, said: 'These are serious allegations and I'm sure the IWC will wish to look at them more closely.'

Dr Nicky Grandy, secretary to the commission, said: 'We have no comment to make because this has not yet been raised with member governments. I do not know if it will be.'

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Marine sports event aims to heal local welfare woes

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 06/12/2010 10:18 AM

The Sail Banda event to be held in Maluku promises hope for future economic development and improved welfare a decade after the province was ravaged by bloody sectarian conflict.

Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said Friday the government would announce his province as the country’s national fishery buffer stock region.

“We pray that on Aug. 3, 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially announce Maluku as a national fishery storage area and this plan will revive Maluku province’s maritime and fishery development,” he said in a press conference in Jakarta. Sail Banda is slated to kick off next month and will run until mid-August.

The maritime affairs and fisheries minister said the Sail Banda yacht rally would be preceded by a charity event involving the United States’ hospital ship USNS Mercy.

The USNS Mercy, along with local ship KRI Dr. Suharso SHS-990 and ships from Singapore and Australia, will channel aid, as well as procedures related to maternal and child health to a number of areas, including Banda Island and Seram Island.

During an event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) earlier this year, the Health Ministry cited data from the 2007 basic health research.

It revealed that Maluku ranked second after East Nusa Tenggara in terms of malnutrition.

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said the event was marked by its philanthropic support. “What makes [Sail Banda] different from Sail Bunaken, is the abundance of social [charity] events,” he said. Last year, the country hosted the Sail Bunaken marine festival off Manado in North Sulawesi.

Karel said that despite progress made since the post-conflict days, Maluku province was still struggling. “During the riots, our economic development growth rate has been minus 26 percent; nowadays… our economic growth is almost 6 percent,” he said, adding that he hoped the Sail Banda would boost the province’s welfare.

Fadel said that his ministry was planning to lure investors from China, Australia and Japan to boost the province’s fishery activity.

The Sail Banda event will feature a number of activities such as marine sports, mangrove planting and the celebration of the nation’s Independence Day in Kisar Island, one of Indonesia’s outermost islands.

The yacht rally is scheduled to flag off from Darwin, Australia on July 24. Thus far, 106 ships from 16 countries have registered.

Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said the proposed budget for the event was Rp 161 billion.

Kupang fishermen`s fleet to greet sea expedition from Britain

Antara News, Saturday, June 12, 2010 07:34 WIB

Kupang, E Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - Four westerners making a round-the-world boat journey in the Falisker Bounty Boat Expedition from Britain will be welcomed by hundreds of local fishermen`s boats on their approach to Kupang, a provincial tourism official said.

The foursome left Britain last April 28 on a voyage taking the same route as the 18th century British seafarer Captain Bligh did 221 years ago, Ubaldus Gogi, head of promotions at the East Nusatenggara (NTT) culture and tourism office, said here Friday.

He said the boat carrying the four men from Britain and Australia was now in waters south of Papua and expected to head to Kupang from the Tablolong coast next June 17 or 18.

If the expedition team was to approach Kupang from the south, the local fishermen would be directed to sail to the Tablolong coast to greet it there, and then escort it to Kupang`s Teddys beach, Gogi said.

The NTT tourism office had decided to give the special welcome as a gesture of respect for the team`s preparedness to make the long journey to Kupang where Captain Bligh once stayed, he said.

Bligh`s exploits were the subject of three Hollywood films, one of which was titled "The Bounty" with Mel Gibson acting as the British seafarer.

In the film, Kupang was repeatedly described as a land abounding in milk and honey, thus making Kupang favorably known to the world.

Gogi said 221 years ago Captain Bligh embarked on a journey from Britain to America and Australia. But on its way from America to Australia his ship was hit by a storm near Tahiti where he was forced to throw anchor to repair damage suffered by his vessel.

When, after a period of time, the repairs were completed, and Bligh ordered the resumption of the journey, many of the crew did not want to leave because they had become attached to the Tahitians. Bligh , however, forced them to board the ship and say goodbye to Tahiti. The crew continued to resent having to leave Tahiti and when the ship had reached the Tonga islands, their objection culminated in mutiny, The mutineers were able to overpower Bligh and a few crew members who had remained loyak to him , and eventually decided to get rid of them.

Bligh and 11 of his supporters were lowered on to the sea in a small boat and left to their own resources. It was then that Bligh told the others in the boat "Let us head to Kupang where there is plenty of milk and honey" and they eventually did reach Kupang although a few of them died on the way.

One of Bligh`s assistants who died, a sailor named Alphons, was buried in Kupang. One of the things the Felisker Bounty Boat Expedition members plan to do in Kupang is trying to find Alphons`s grave, Gogi said.

Teen sailor missing at sea

CNN News

Abby Sunderland was attempting to become the youngest to sail solo around the world and had reached the halfway point Monday.

A teenage girl attempting to sail solo around the world has gone missing after sending out distress signals in the Indian Ocean, according to a CNN affiliate in her hometown.

Abby Sunderland, 16, of Thousand Oaks, California, has not been heard from since losing contact with her family during a storm Thursday, her brother told CNN affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles.

Sunderland activated her emergency beacon locating devices an hour after losing contact with her family, and a rescue effort is under way. The nearest boat is believed to be at least 40 hours away, according to KTLA.

Sunderland celebrated passing the halfway point Monday on her quest to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat, according to her website.

"I've been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts," she wrote Wednesday on her blog. It took her two hours to repair a torn sail in the wind and high waves, and her internet connection on board her 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, was failing, she wrote.

Abby Sunderland, 16, looks out from her sailboat, Wild Eyes, as she leaves for her world record attempting journey at the Del Rey Yacht Club, Saturday, Jan 23, 2010, in Marina del Rey, Calif. Sunderland is attempting to be the youngest person to complete a nonstop, unassisted solo-circumnavigation of the globe by sea. (AP Photo/Richard Hartog) (Richard Hartog - AP)

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Rescued: In this Saturday photo provided by The Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA), the French ship Ile De La Reunion, top left, comes to the rescue of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland and her stricken yacht Wild Eyes in the Indian Ocean after her sailboat became damaged by 30-foot (9-meter) waves. AP/Grant Pipe

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Millions of fishermen still live in poverty

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, CILACAP | Wed, 06/09/2010 12:21 PM

More than 90 percent of the country's 15.5 million fishermen are living below the poverty line due to an underdeveloped local fishing industry, an official from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry says.

The ministry's director general of fisheries, Dedy Heryadi Sutisna, said that his office was working to improve the situation.

"We are now thinking hard about how to improve the living conditions and dignity of millions of fishermen in Indonesia so they can be as prosperous as fishermen in developed countries," he said during a recent official visit to Cilacap, Central Java.

He said one strategy the ministry was considering was building economic development centers for fishery activities - called "Minapolitan Cities" - in a number of regions that have fishing communities.

"The plan will certainly require the involvement of all stakeholders if it is to be realized and for marine potentials to be fully exploited," he said.

He said that 16 cities and regencies had been designated as guinea pigs for the new centers, including Jakarta and the Cilacap, Pelabuhan Ratu and Bitung regencies.

The ministry, he said, believed the low productivity of the nation's fishermen was largely due to problems in the nation's distribution of fuel, which has suffered numerous hiccups over the last three years since fuel prices were increased across the board in 2007.

"Unless the problem is well taken care of as soon as possible, the Minapolitan City program will be hard to carry out," he said.

Dedy said the nation's fishermen required on average 2.5 million kiloliters of fuel per year.

However, he added, only 1.5 million kiloliters had been designated by the government for the fisheries industry for the period from 2010-2011.

"We can do nothing about *the fuel supply* but propose the amount we need.

"It's fully the authority of Pertamina to manage the fuel distribution," he said, referring to the state-owned oil and gas company.

"Only Pertamina knows exactly why the fuel allocation for fishermen keeps decreasing."

Separately, head of the Cilacap Marine Fishery Port, Mian Sahala Sitanggang, also said there was a lack of fuel supply for fishermen.

Mian said that there was a special fuel station for fishermen in Cilacap managed by KUD Minosaroyo cooperatives.

He said that to supply the 30,000 fishermen in the region, the station needed 1,200 kiloliters of fuel per month.

This demand, he said, would increase sharply during harvest season.

"But in reality, we are only supplied with an average of 950 kiloliters of fuel," Mian said.

President: Do not throw garbage into rivers

Antara News, Monday, June 7, 2010 16:13 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday called on the people not to litter rivers with garbage because it could destroy mangrove forests along the coast lines.

"Again, I ask the people not to throw garbage arbitrarily into rivers because it will destroy our mangrove forests at the sea shores," President Yudhoyono said when he inspected a mangrove forest area in the Muara Angke natural tourist park in North Jakarta.

On the occasion the president said environmental pollution would cause floods , various kinds of disease which would in the long run compel the government to spend a lot of funds on people`s health programs.

The head of state said it was better at the earlier stage to use the funds to save the environment, including mangrove forests, in an effort to save the people from the threat of natural disasters in the future.

"Some parts of the rivers are clean enough but most of them are still littered with garbage," the president said.

During his visit to the Muara Angke park, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

The Angke Kapuk natural tourist park is a 99.82-hectare natural conservation area covered by mangrove forests.

The area has been declared a tourist forest area for mangrove reforestation and rehabilitation and natural tourist activities.

Up to the end of April 2006, some 40 ha of the area had been rehabilitated and reforested with mangrove trees.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the occasion that his office has been cooperating with the Jakarta City Administration for five years to plant at least 9 million mangrove trees in the area.

"We have planted mangrove trees several times here, at Teluk Angke, at Ancol resort, and even at other locations in an effort to make Jakarta green," the forestry minister said.

According to him, mangrove-tree-planting activity should be intensified because environmental damage along the coast of Jakarta Bay had reached an alarming level.

Indonesia to Improve Underwater Defense, US Ties

Jakarta Globe, Harry Suhartono & Nopporn Wong-Anan, June 06, 2010

A Kri Kakra-class submarine of Indonesia on a test run after a revamp by South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering at Okpo 21 February 2006. Indonesia has 2 submarines but hopes to buy 10 more. (AFP Photo/DSME)

Singapore. Indonesia plans to increase the size of its submarine fleet over the next two years to defend its territory as well as protect international shipping lanes, its defense minister said on Saturday.

Purnomo Yusgiantoro also told Reuters the country was discussing buying 10 more C-130 military transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) but had not come to any agreement. Indonesia currently has two submarines.

Singapore put out a warning earlier this year about possible attacks on ships in the Malacca Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes that lies between the city state, Indonesia and Malaysia and carries about 40 percent of global trade.

“We have several countries that we think are able to supply them (submarines). We want to make sure that it would be compatible to our needs as well as our sea (conditions),” Yusgiantoro said in an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialog security conference in Singapore.

“They are very important in order for us to guard sea lanes. We are going to have that in a couple of years,” he said, without giving further details.

Yusgiantoro also said the government had earmarked funds in this year’s budget to modernize some of its 32 C-130s.

“We can use that (plane) not only to bring troops, but also for humanitarian missions. We are ready to buy but we are still in discussions with the seller.”

Indonesia set aside 42 trillion rupiah ($4.6 billion) in 2010 for defense spending, with most earmarked for operating expenditure for its 550,000-strong military force.

The country plans to boost its defense spending up to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2014 from about 0.7-0.8 percent in 2010, among the lowest in the region.

Yusgiantoro held a meeting with U.S. defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday, which he characterised as “very good”.

Indonesia is currently working to improve its military ties with the United States, including removing a ban on military training for its special forces, put in place over rights abuses blamed on elite troops.

“I think things will become more positive,” Yusgiantoro said, but he did not comment on when the ban was likely to be removed.

Yusgiantoro, a Catholic minister in the world’s most populous Muslim country, said his nation’s defense ties with Washington were akin to a marriage, which could be rocky at times.

“I don’t see any problem with our cooperation. But you know you always have little things going on, something like little arguments between you and your wife after she found a picture of another girl in your pocket,” he said.

Reuters

Indonesia plans to buy more submarines, C-130s

Reuters, By Harry Suhartono and Nopporn Wong-Anan, Sat Jun 5, 2010 10:27am EDT

SINGAPORE, June 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia plans to increase the size of its submarine fleet over the next two years to defend its territory as well as protect international shipping lanes, its defence minister said on Saturday.

Purnomo Yusgiantoro also told Reuters the country was discussing buying 10 more C-130 military transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) but had not come to any agreement.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, lies across shipping lanes between the Indian and Pacific oceans as well as between Asia and Australia, heavily used for transporting commodities and energy. It currently has two submarines.

Singapore put out a warning earlier this year about possible attacks on ships in the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes that lies between the city state, Indonesia and Malaysia and carries about 40 percent of global trade. [ID:nSGE62409F]

"We have several countries that we think are able to supply them (submarines). We want to make sure that it would be compatible to our needs as well as our sea (conditions)," Yusgiantoro said in an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore.

"They are very important in order for us to guard sea lanes. We are going to have that in a couple of years," he said, without giving further details.

Yusgiantoro also said the government had earmarked funds in this year's budget to modernise some of its 32 C-130s.

"We can use that (plane) not only to bring troops, but also for humanitarian missions. We are ready to buy but we are still in discussions with the seller."

Indonesia set aside 42 trillion rupiah ($4.6 billion) in 2010 for defence spending, with most earmarked for operating expenditure for its 550,000-strong military force.

The country plans to boost its defence spending up to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2014 from about 0.7-0.8 percent in 2010, among the lowest in the region.

Yusgiantoro held a meeting with U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Friday, which he characterised as "very good".

Indonesia is currently working to improve its military ties with the United States, including removing a ban on military training for its special forces, put in place over rights abuses blamed on elite troops.

"I think things will become more positive," Yusgiantoro said, but he did not comment on when the ban was likely to be removed.

Yusgiantoro, a Catholic minister in the world's most populous Muslim country, said his nation's defence ties with Washington were akin to a marriage, which could be rocky at times.

"I don't see any problem with our cooperation. But you know you always have little things going on, something like little arguments between you and your wife after she found a picture of another girl in your pocket," he said.

Blast fishing threatens Bangka Belitung`s coral reefs

Antara News, Saturday, June 5, 2010 21:08 WIB

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA News) - A senator has called on fishermen in Bangka Belitung Province to stop the practice of blast fishing so as to protect human life and marine resources.

"I deplore the fact that certain fishermen still practice blast fishing because it can endanger themselves and other people," Regional Representatives Council (DPD) member Noerhadi Astuti said.

Besides harming human life, using explosives to catch fish could also threaten coral reefs, he said.

On Friday, a home-made bomb that was to be used for poaching exploded inadvertently injuring two people at Kurau village, Bangka Tengah district.

Due to the harmful consequences of the fishing method, Astuti urged local fishermen to stop blast fishing for their own sake and preservation of marine resources.

The province`s coral reefs were currently in danger as a result of blast fishing and floating tin mining activities, he said.

Instead of using home-made bombs, the fishermen were advised to use fishing nets , he said.

Blast fishing activity in the waters of Bangka Belitung Province was believed to be just like the tip of an iceberg.

The same method was also, among others, used by fishermen in West Tapalang village, Central Sulawesi.

As a result, lots of traditional fishermen in the province could no longer get fish easily.

Rusdi, a local fisherman, recently said blast fishing operations in Central Sulawesi waters might have destroyed coral reefs that affected the fish population in the area.

Blast fishing activity in various parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi Province, have attracted world attention.

Endowed by nature with more than 50,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, Indonesia has been listed by the United Nations as a nation with the largest coral reef resources in the world, along with Australia and the Philippines.

According to the United Nations Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC)`s World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), Indonesia had 51,020 square kilometers of coral reefs or 17.95 percent of the world`s coral reefs.

This archipelagic nation topped the list , followed by Australia with 48,460 square kilometers, the Philippines (25,060), France (14,280), Papua New Guinea (13,840), Fiji (10,020), Maldives (8,920), Saudi Arabia (6,660), Marshall Islands (6,110) and India (5,790).

The benefits that Indonesia can get from its coral reefs are obvious because coral reefs are evidently the sources of food and income for a lot of people from fisheries and tourism and also sources of raw materials for medicines.

But the UNEC-WCMC has warned that activities, such as fishing using explosives, are seriously degrading coral reefs in various parts of the world, including in Indonesia.

The UN body`s warning is based on factual information collected over the years. Blast fishing itself has been practiced in Indonesia since World War II.

RI undecided on underwater heritage convention

Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 06/03/2010 10:36 AM

Despite being rich in sunken treasure, Indonesia is undecided whether to ratify a world convention that protects underwater cultural heritage, a senior official said Wednesday at a workshop for officials and academics in Jakarta.

“Indonesia still needs to carefully weigh up the benefits and consequences of ratifying [the convention],” Hari Untoro Drajat, the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s director general for history and archaeology said.

He said ratifying the UNESCO convention on protection of the underwater cultural heritage needed careful preparation, including adequate legislation, human resources, infrastructure and funding.

The convention was adopted by UNESCO in 2001, and has been ratified by 31 countries as of May this year. Cambodia is the only signatory in Asia.

According to Masanori Nagaoka, the head of culture unit of UNESCO office in Jakarta, the convention carries four main principles: The obligation to preserve underwater cultural heritage, in situ preservation preferred, no commercial exploitation, and training and information sharing.

Arief Rachman from the Indonesian National Commission for UNESCO said the third principle has been the most challenging for Indonesia.

Last month, the government, through the National Committee of Excavation and Utilization of Precious Artifacts from Sunken Ships, conducted an auction of around 271,000 artifacts, including ceramics from China’s Zheijang province and a gold sword from the Middle East, collected from a ship presumed to have sunk around 900 years ago in waters off Cirebon, West Java.

The auction was a flop with no bidders registering, but the government said it would maintain its effort to sell the artifacts, which had been excavated by a private company five years ago.

Many, ranging from royalty to academics and history enthusiasts, opposed to the auction, but the committee defended it, saying a number of unique items had been conserved.

Supratikno Rahardjo from the University of Indonesia said there were risks that the government should take if it chooses to ratify the convention.

The consequences of what he called “option two” — ratifying the convention as soon as possible as opposed to the first option of delaying it up to a certain period — include the government paying back investors the costs of obtaining permits for recovering sunken treasures.

“If it were up to us, we would like the government to take option two,” he said.

Chairijah, the director for international law at the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said Indonesia could ratify the convention with a law or a Presidential Regulation.

Regardless of whether Indonesia chooses to ratify the convention or not, the country should stop referring to the heritage as “treasures” to be hunted and traded in, the workshop concluded.