MMAF and FAO commits to improve marine ecosystems
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and government agencies from seven provinces have agreed a plan to improve the management of the Indonesian Seas Large Marine Ecosystem (ISLME), with the support of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The provinces are Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and East Kalimantan.
Large Marine Ecosystems are defined as near coastal areas where primary productivity is generally higher than in open ocean areas. Globally, the world’s oceans have been divided into 66 large marine ecosystems (LMEs). The ISLME is located in the heart of the western Indo-Pacific marine biogeographical region, where species richness is greater than in any other location on Earth, supporting more than 500 species of reef-building corals, 2,500 species of marine fish, 47 species of mangroves and 13 species of seagrasses.
The ISLME sits at the heart of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste archipelagic waters. It is a crossing point between the Indian and Pacific Ocean, and a link between the other archipelagic seas and the seas of East and Southeast Asia. On that basis, the ISLME region is the focus of many transboundary issues and challenges.
The management plan was developed as part of a regional project implemented by Indonesia and Timor-Leste, which covers 213 million hectares of territorial waters included in the ISLME. Approximately 185 million people living in that area are highly dependent on coastal and marine industries including fisheries, aquaculture, oil and gas production, transportation, and tourism.
“In Indonesia, coastal communities are strongly depend on the sea as their main source of food and income. Together with the local governments, we expect this initiative will have a positive impact on the management of fish resources, especially the restoration of habitat and fish stocks in coastal and marine waters that are in line with the fisheries management plan set by the Ministry”, said M. Zulficar Mochtar, Director General of Capture Fisheries of MMAF at the closing of the workshop.
The five priority areas of the project located on the north coast of Java, in East Kalimantan, East Flores, Lombok, including the border area Batugede–Atapupu, were finalized in a meeting in Bogor that ended today.
Indonesian Marine Ecosystem is under pressure of a variety of threats
The ISLME is under pressure from a variety of threats. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a serious threat to fishery resources, including significant transboundary fishing. The MMAF estimates that losses from IUU fishing in Indonesian waters amount to USD 20 billion per year.
Significant ongoing degradation and loss of coastal and marine ecosystem is occurring in the ISLME region, including important areas of biodiversity habitat and fishery productivity such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. These habitats come under direct pressure from human activities, as well as from climate change, with impacts those natural resources and the livelihoods of those who depend upon them.
As the world’s largest archipelagic nation, Indonesia depends greatly on coastal and marine industries, which account for 25% of the country GDP and employ more than 15% of its workforce.
The activities in five priority locations will include demonstrations of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management and aquaculture, of marine spatial planning, and of marine protected areas for blue swimming crab, lobster, mud crab and deep-water fisheries. Support will be given to strengthen the institutions responsible for these ecosystems, for fishing ports, and for marine debris.
“This project will help Indonesia and Timor-Leste to collaborate on improving the management of coastal and marine resources. We also aim to improve the contribution of fisheries to enhance food security and reduce malnutrition in the region”, said Stephen Rudgard, FAO Representative in Indonesia in Bogor.