West Pasaman district has been designated as a Regional Water Conservation Area according to the Regulation of KKP Minister Number 2 of 2022.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) Ministry has provided diving equipment worth more than Rp97 million (US$6.6 thousand) to the Tuah Basamo Diving Conservation Community in West Pasaman district, West Sumatra province.
The ministry’s Padang City Coastal and Marine Resources Management Center (BPSPL) has disbursed the aid to 15 conservation groups since 2018, Secretary of the Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management Hendra Yusran Siry informed in a press release here on Monday.
The assistance has been provided to support the protection, preservation, and utilization of conservation areas and the marine biota in the area, he added.
"West Pasaman district has been designated as a Regional Water Conservation Area according to the Regulation of KKP Minister Number 2 of 2022. We expect that Tuah Basamo Diving Conservation Community can maintain the beauty of West Pasaman district’s natural underwater tourism attraction," he remarked.
Head of the Padang City BPSPL, Mudatstsir, said that the BPSPL has agreed to a cooperation agreement with the Tuah Basamo Diving Conservation Community on synergizing efforts to implement conservation management and increase local human resource capacity.
He also asked the community to actively participate in conservation activities in the district by using the provided assistance.
Meanwhile, member of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Hermanto, said that as a working partner of the ministry, the commission strongly encourages the government and the community to collaborate on conservation activities.
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Chairman of the Tuah Basamo Diving Conservation Community, Ismail Marzuki, expressed thanks for the conservation assistance and said that his group is committed to actively supporting the government in carrying out conservation activities.
Currently, the conservation group is focusing on surveying maritime biota and areas, mapping biota locations, transplanting and monitoring coral reefs, creating underwater gardens and fish habitations, as well as educating people about the role of coral reef ecosystems.
Earlier, KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono had urged all beneficiaries of the ministry’s assistance to always be at the forefront in developing the maritime and fisheries sector through various preservation attempts.
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Translator: Razi Rahman, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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