Brazil did it. Then Malaysia stepped up. The US got in on the act, too. And now Indonesia is doing it! Following a trend to protect sensitive marine ecosystems, Indonesia has announced plans to create a marine protected area (MPA) covering 2.96 million acres off the eastern coast of the Derawan Archipelago (PDF) in the Sulawesi Sea.
Containing more than 450 species of coral and supporting one of the world's largest varieties of reef fish, the region is also home to commercial and community fisheries, which have been compromised recently due to cyanide and dynamite fishing. However, after noting decreasing revenues and depleting fish stocks, community members of more than 25 coastal villages initiated the call to protect their marine areas. To that end, the WWF and The Nature Conservancy are busy working with local communities to develop no-take zones, traditional-use zones, and other zones for tourism, fishing and diving.
[Via Asia Dive Site]
1. This is great news for both the tourism industry in Indonesia and divers around the world. Now, let the trend continue!
Posted at 11:45AM on Jun 23rd 2006 by Calvin Tang