Bali, Indonesia – Indonesia is on target to set aside 20 million hectares of its territorial waters for conservation and expects to fully deliver on its ambitious marine biodiversity goals, says the Indonesian Conservation Communication Forum (FKKI) at Our Ocean Conference 2018 – but it will need help to achieve that goal.
Government data shows that Indonesia has declared 19.14 million hectares of marine protected areas (MPAs) as of December 2017, or 96 per cent of its commitment to establish 20 million hectares by 2020.
“This is a highly commendable achievement, but we now need to move beyond declarations and focus on making sure these areas are effectively managed,” says Conservation International Indonesia Vice President Ketut Sarjana Putra (and the spokesperson for FKKI at the conference). FKKI consists of leading local and international environmental organizations that aim to deliver conservation impact in Indonesia at scale.
MPAs are a cornerstone of the “blue economy”, a theme that was explored in a conference session on investing in MPAs. “We need a holistic approach to managing our ocean resources,” adds Mr Putra, “and the blue economy approach provides a set of principles that can guide the government to reap benefits from the ocean without degrading it further.”
The focus of the Our Ocean Conferences is on generating commitments and taking actions to protect oceans, with around US$18 billion dollars and 12.4 million km2 of MPAs in commitments since 2014.
“We are committed to strengthen collaboration with governmental institutions at the national and sub-national level, along with communities and the private sector, to fulfil these commitments for protected areas. They need to be the backbone of sustainable fisheries and marine-based industries,” says Rizal Malik, CEO of WWF-Indonesia, a participating member of FKKI.
Areas such as aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, blue biotechnology and responsible tourism hold major opportunities to foster “blue growth” and promote inclusive development by generating new employment opportunities, while at the same time ensuring that marine resources are used and managed sustainably.
In another session, Riki Frindos, Executive Director of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI), highlighted the need for stronger partnerships between NGOs, the private sector and the government to support the management of our ocean by creating collaborative measures including sustainable financing.
Globally, more than 25 million km2 of ocean are designated as protected, representing at least 15,600 sites, or nearly seven per cent of the Earth’s oceans. With recent commitments made by governments around the globe, the world is on track to protect over 10 per cent of the ocean by 2020. These efforts are considered to be critical to protect oceans and coastal areas from the impacts of climate change and overfishing, among others.
Our Ocean Conference 2018 aims to increase partnerships between various ocean stakeholders, and generate commitments to maintain the sustainability of the oceans. This year’s conference focuses on MPAs, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution and climate change-related impacts to the oceans, as well as such cross-cutting themes as a sustainable blue economy and maritime security.
For further information
Mr Jaka Setia, Communications Manager, The Nature Conservancy Indonesia Programme, cell: +62 (0) 811 828 5264, [email protected]
Making marine protected areas the cornerstone of a ‘blue’ economy
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