Coral Triangle Initiative proposed at APEC Summit Sydney, September 2007.The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security is a proposal for a new multilateral partnership aimed at safeguarding the marine and coastal resources of the Coral Triangle for future generations. Read more...

 

New Zoning System for Wakatobi National Park: Supporting Economic Sustainability and Biodiversity Protection. The Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Forestry (PHKA-Dephut) and the Head of the Wakatobi District have formally signed Wakatobi National Park’s new zoning system. Read more...

 

Two New Bupati Regulations Set the Legal Framework for MPAs in Raja Ampat. The Bupati (Regent) of Raja Ampat has issued two regulations regarding Marine Protected Areas and the Joint Patrol Program to protect the region’s natural resources, particularly its marine biodiversity. Read more...

 

Mobile Doctor Program in Komodo. Entering its second phase, the program - which provides free fortnightly health services to Park residents - has now expanded to include communities in the immediate surroundings. Read more...

 

Berau Pride Campaign: Mainstreaming Conservation Efforts. More and more local communities now understand and support the Berau MPA. Read more...

 

MPA Planning and Management Training. The TNC-CTC training team has provided MPA planning and zoning training to a wide array of stakeholders in Denpasar, Mataram, Bogor, Alor, Kupang, Maumere, Ruteng and Kalabahi. Read more...

 

TNC-CTC Joins DKP-COREMAP II in Sounds from the Reefs. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) and CORE-MAPII organized a two-day National Symposium on Coral Reefs and Sounds from the Reefs Exhibition in Jakarta, gathering some 500 participants (national and district government agencies, conservation practitioners, local and international NGOs, and the academia) from throughout Indonesia. Read more...

 

A Whirlwind Tour of Bali by the Sall Family. TNC Board Member, John Sall, and his family visited the TNC-CTC office in Bali before embarking on a one-week trip to project sites in Wehea and the Derawan Islands in Berau-East Kalimantan. Read more...

September 2007

Coral Triangle Initiative proposed at APEC Summit Sydney, September 2007. The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security is a proposal for a new multilateral partnership aimed at safeguarding the marine and coastal resources of the Coral Triangle for future generations. This Initiative was proposed by Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, at the APEC Summit in Sydney in September. This Initiative seeks to facilitate high-level, joint political commitments by the six governments of the Coral Triangle region (the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands), supported by significant international and domestic funding commitments.

New Zoning System for Wakatobi National Park: Supporting Economic Sustainability and Biodiversity Protection. The Director General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Forestry (PHKA-Dephut) and the Head of the Wakatobi District have formally signed Wakatobi National Park’s new zoning system. This National Park zoning system is the first in Indonesia to be agreed upon jointly by the central and local governments as well as the local communities. The zoning system was formulated through a public consultation process that involved numerous stakeholders, including community groups and users of Wakatobi’s marine resources. With such a strong support, it is believed that the Park’s new zoning system will ensure the conservation of natural resources as well as sustain community livelihoods and the district’s economic development. The zoning system comprises three types of no-take zones – the core zone, the marine zone and tourism zone. Other zones include traditional use zones, general use zones and special zones for the protection of terrestrial biodiversity. The Park Authority, with support from the TNC-WWF Joint Program, will immediately conduct socialization sessions on the new zoning system to various stakeholders as well as put in place signage buoys that identify the boundaries of the no-take zones. The Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum played a pivotal role in the public consultation process. La Isai, a fisherman from Taipabu village-Binongko Island and a member of the Forum, said that the process has given him and other fishers the opportunity to be involved and take part in the planning process and management of Binongko’s coastal area. He also said that he had gained knowledge and skills by taking part in various training activities provided to the Forum – from community organizing and social analysis, marine protected area design and planning, developing village media to training on seaweed culture.

Two New Bupati Regulations Set the Legal Framework for MPAs in Raja Ampat. The Bupati (Regent) of Raja Ampat has issued two regulations regarding Marine Protected Areas and the Joint Patrol Program to protect the region’s natural resources, particularly its marine biodiversity. The MPA Regulation established the seven MPAs at Kofiau, Southeast Misool, Dampier Strait, Mayalibit Bay, Sayang-Wayag Islands, Ayau-Asia Islands. Combined with the Marine Habitat/Species Mana-gement Area in Southwest Waigeo, a network of MPAs totaling 901,680 hectares has been created. This will encompass approximately 50% of Raja Ampat’s coastal ecosystems. The designation of the MPA network is in line with the Indonesian Government’s commitment to enhance the area of MPAs in Indonesia to 10 million hectares by 2010. The Joint Patrol Regulation outlined a program for enforcement that involves stakeholders from the Fisheries Agency, BKSDA, traditional leaders, the police, navy, village-based traditional patrol team, and the Forbes Stakeholders’ Forum. TNC and CI-Indonesia have provided technical support to the Raja Ampat District Government and Traditional Leaders Council in the establishment of the six MPAs and joint patrol program.

Mobile Doctor Program in Komodo. Entering its second phase, the program - which provides free fortnightly health services to Park residents - has now expanded to include communities in the immediate surroundings. Residents of Soknar, Warloka, Menjaga, Kukusan and Messa villages can also now take advantage of the free health services. These services are provided by the Health Office of West Manggarai District which works together with the Park Authority and PNK. Last week, the medical team visited Menjaga and Kukusan villages. The Mobile Doctor Program is expected to run until the end of December 2007.

Berau Pride Campaign: Mainstreaming Conservation Efforts. More and more local communities now understand and support the Berau MPA. This is a result of the eighteen-month Pride Campaign in five coastal villages in the Berau Regency, East Kalimantan. Survey showed that 92% of local communities in target areas understand the status of Berau MPA (an increase of 70% compared to 2005). With the slogan “Berau Sea is My Life”, Hirmen Syofyanto, TNC-WWF Joint Program Outreach Coordinator, has successfully implemented the Campaign. These includes a wide range of community activities – production and distribution of various printed materials, composing conservation-themed pop songs, radio programs, school visits, and conservation education program. The campaign has also resulted in the establishment of three fishers’ community forums in Derawan, Biduk-Biduk and Batu Putih, comprising fishers, fish traders, community leaders and village government officials. The forums have committed to spread conservation messages, support and facilitate conservation activities in each sub-district (12 villages) and to report illegal and destructive activities in Berau waters.

MPA Planning and Management Training. The TNC-CTC training team has provided MPA planning and zoning training to a wide array of stakeholders in Denpasar, Mataram, Bogor, Alor, Kupang, Maumere, Ruteng and Kalabahi. This included the training of MPA planning support tool, MARXAN, a GIS-based software that incorporates biological data and socio-economic information of the coastal communities. Around 100 participants have taken part in the training sessions, representing government agencies from the districts of West and East Nusa Tenggara and Bali, universities and NGOs. TNC-CTC also worked closely with a number of institutions such as Udayana University, Nusa Cendana University, Bogor Agriculture Institute, SEACORM, DKP, and PHKA.

TNC-CTC Joins DKP-COREMAP II in Sounds from the Reefs. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (DKP) and CORE-MAPII organized a two-day National Symposium on Coral Reefs and Sounds from the Reefs Exhibition in Jakarta, gathering some 500 participants (national and district government agencies, conservation practitioners, local and international NGOs, and the academia) from throughout Indonesia.A call for the protection of coral reefs was extended through the Ancol Declaration which was signed by TNC-IP Country Director Rili Djohani along with a number of District Heads, NGO representatives and government agencies. At the symposium, TNC-CTC presented a paper on integrating resilience principles into MPA design. It also took part in the exhibition showcasing its marine conservation work in Indonesia in partnership with DKP, the Ministry of Forestry and other organizations.

A Whirlwind Tour of Bali by the Sall Family. TNC Board Member, John Sall, and his family visited the TNC-CTC office in Bali before embarking on a one-week trip to project sites in Wehea and the Derawan Islands in Berau-East Kalimantan. After receiving a comprehensive explanation on TNC-IP's program, a short puppet show was performed by CTC staff as an example of conservation education activities carried out in the field.

The Sall group also visited Bali's cultural center, Ubud, observing ceremonial preparations at a Hindu temple and visiting the Neka Museum. The day ended with dance performances and dinner at Rili Djohani's residence.