"The target of Indonesia's marine protected areas to reach 22.68 million hectares in 2018 has been achieved. This has demonstrated the government's commitment to protecting its waters and its sustainability," Widjaja noted in a statement here on Tuesday.
Widjaja remarked that Indonesia had met most of its commitments inked during the Our Ocean Conference (OOC) 2017 and 2018.
The commitments encompass the development of climate capacity, prevention and monitoring of ocean acidification, and promotion of sustainable fishery.
Other commitments pertain to ocean preservation, reduction of sea pollution, safe working network, ocean mapping, and the future of ocean conference.
Secretary of the Directorate General for Ocean Spatial of the ministry Agus Darmawan stated that Indonesia had conveyed its four new commitments during the OOC 2019 held in Oslo, Norway, in October 2019 in a bid to preserve the world's oceans.
"First, Indonesia has committed to reserving 700 thousand hectares of area for marine conservation in 2020. Hence, Indonesia has allocated US$6.68 million of funding to support the establishment of new Marine Protected Areas and improve the effectiveness of management of the existing MPAs," Darmawan stated.
Indonesia is also committed to conducting stock assessment in its inland waters by employing a standardized method targeted at supporting the implementation of scientific management of fishery in 2020, with budget allocation reaching US$705 thousand.
"Indonesia is committed to extending the project of sea forecasting system improvement to reduce the risk of maritime disasters. The project will be extended to another period of 2019-2024, with budget allocation of US$121 million," he revealed.
Darmawan stated that Indonesia had committed to monitoring its marine and fisheries through sea and air patrolling, operation of a command center, investigation on marine and fishery crimes, improvement of public participation in monitoring, and continued fight against harmful fishing methods. Related news: Wonderful Indonesia eyes international sailors
Close
EDITED BY INE
Translator: M Razi Rahman, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
