A Goal Worth Scoring
Christiano Ronaldo to Serve as Environmental Ambassador for Indonesia’s
Dwindling Mangrove Forests
Christiano Ronaldo – the world famous soccer sensation who
plays for Real Madrid has accepted an ambassadorial appointment from the
Bali-based Peduli Mangrove Forum (Mangrove Care Forum) operated by the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation.
Supported by five NGOs in Bali, the soon-to-be-launch forum will dedicate
itself to raising public awareness on issues surrounding preserving mangrove
areas,energize the public to clean and protect the mangroves, and enhance the role of mangroves’ roles in preserving bio-diversity.
Ronaldo’s role as Ambassador for the Forum Peduli Mangrove was formalized
in Madrid on March 8th at a meeting between Ronaldo and Indonesian
businessman Tomy Winata.
Winata was in Madrid accompanying Gories Mere, the former Anti-Narcotic
Agency (BNN) chief, who was attending am international seminar on drugs and
crime.
Commenting on Ronaldo’s agreement to accept the ambassadorial appointment, Winata said: “I am absolutely delighted that Ronaldo has agreed to support our cause to conserve mangrove forests in Indonesia. He is an ideal ambassador for mangrove conservation as he has mass appeal and we want the message of ‘Save Mangrove, Save Earth’ to reach the young and old, rich and poor.”
“Mangrove conservation is an important but neglected area of conservation.
We are running out of time. The world is losing mangroves at an alarming
rate. The situation in Indonesia is particularly dire; we have lost more than two
million hectares of our mangrove areas. Conserving mangroves is not only
about protecting the environment but also the livelihood of many villagers,” said Winata
Indonesia is estimated to have lost over nine million hectares of mangrove
forests to shrimp farming, palm plantations and human development.
Responding to his appointment, Ronaldo said: “I am privileged to be able to
play a role in conserving mangroves in Indonesia. I was in Aceh after the
2004 tsunami and the devastation I saw left a deep impression. I understand that in places where there were mangroves to provide the ecosystem buffer against high waves, more lives were saved and less damage sustained.”
Winata who is a major tourism investor in Indonesia also embraces
environmental work that includes founding the Tambling Wildlife Nature
Conservation (TWNC) - a conservation and rehabilitation sanctuary covering 44,500 hectares of land and 14,500 hectares of sea on the southern tip of Sumatra.
Shown on Balidiscovery.com are Christiano Ronaldo and Tommy Winata shortly after the soccer superstar’s agreement to act as an ambassador for
mangrove forests in Indonesia.
Shark in Safe Haven
Indonesia has announced a new shark and manta ray sanctuary, the first to protect the species in the rich marine ecosystem of the Coral Triangle, known as the “Amazon of the ocean”.
Environmentalists Wednesday welcomed the creation of the 46,000-square-kilometre (18,000-square-mile) protection zone, in an area at risk from both overfishing and climate change.
The local government in Raja Ampat on the western tip of New Guinea island announced the move this week, issuing local regulations to ban the finning and fishing of sharks in the area, a tourist destination popular with divers.
Risal Algamar, Indonesia director of the Nature Conservancy, described the regulations in a joint statement with Conservation International as a “breakthrough in policy”.
An undated photograph of a shark swimming off Gansbaai, about 180 kms from Cape Town. Indonesia has announced a new shark and manta ray sanctuary, the first to protect the species in the rich marine ecosystem of the Coral Triangle, known as the “Amazon of the ocean”. (AFP)
“Scientific evidence states that the value of live sharks and manta rays far outweighs the one-time profit of dead sharks and manta rays, benefiting a growing world-class and increasingly popular marine tourism and dive destination,” he said.
Scientists have warned the Coral Triangle, which spreads across a vast area of Southeast Asia’s waters, is under threat, with heat-trapping carbon gases blamed for creating acidic seas hostile to much marine life.
Overfishing has also been a problem, but the sanctuary will support existing no-take zones that have helped shark numbers slowly recover.
“Sharks in particular play an important role, as apex predators at the top of the food chain, maintaining fisheries and ecosystem health,” the statement said.
The sanctuary is also expected to prevent a drop in manta ray numbers, with the species’ gills increasingly used in Asian medicines.
Shark populations are in a rapid and steep decline worldwide, facing intense pressure from fishing and in high demand for shark fin soup.
Up to 73 million sharks are killed annually, mostly for their fins, the statement said. As a result, many shark species have suffered declines greater than 75 percent and in some species up to 90 percent or more.
Indonesia ranks as the world’s largest exporter of sharks and rays.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/indonesia-announces-shark-manta-ray-sanctuary-112710594.html
Mari Berpartisipasi dalam Pengembangan Panas Bumi
2nd ITB Geothermal Workshop 2013 – Mari Berpartisipasi dalam Pengembangan Panas Bumi
ITB Geothermal Workshop merupakan acara tahunan yang merupakan agenda utama Program S2 Teknik Geothermal ITB untuk berpartisipasi dalam pengembangan energi panas bumi dunia, khususnya di Indonesia.
Dalam acara tahun ini, akan diadakan 2nd ITB Geothermal Workshop 2013 yang mengangkat tema “Broadening Participation and Initiatives Across the Geothermal Education and Research Enterprises in Indonesia” terdapat 3 (tiga) acara utama, yaitu Pre-Workshop Course yang berasal dari Geothermal Resource Council (GRC), Workshop (Plenary & Technical Sessions), dan Post-Workshop.
Acara Pre-Workshop GRC Course mengusung judul “Exploration Drilling and Early Stage Geothermal Reservoir Characterization”, serta mengundang berbagai pembicara terkemuka. Pembicara yang diundang antara lain dari EGS, Inc., Thermochem, Inc., Capuano Engineering, GheothermEx, ahli Teknik Geothermal ITB.
Adapun acara Plenary Workshop akan diisi dengan BU Scholarship Awards yang mengundang berbagai institusi panas bumi dunia, seperti PGE, Kyushu University, Star Energy, USAID, Auckland University, dan GFZ. Kemudian dilanjutkan Technical Sessions berupa presentasi paper seputar eksplorasi dan rekayasa pengembangan panas bumi.
Acara kemudian ditutup dengan field camp ke Tangkuban Parahu (Kawah Ratu dan Kawah Domas) – (Air Terjun Maribaya dan Ciater) serta field trip ke Lapangan Panas Bumi Kamojang pada tanggal 7-8 Maret 2013. Selain itu, acara akan dimeriahkan oleh pameran dari sejumlah perusahaan ternama, seperti Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), Chevron, dan lain-lain.
Dalam kegiatan ini diharapkan partisipan dapat mengambil manfaat dari kegiatan ini, di antaranya pertukaran pandangan, ide, pengetahuan, dan pengalaman serta teknologi terkini mengenai perkembangan panas bumi yang mengajak berbagai pihak baik peneliti, insinyur, akademisi, ahli, industri, serta pemegang kebijakan yang terlibat dalam studi maupun pengembangan panas bumi,
Dengan adanya acara ini diharapkan dapat membangun jaringan dan menyebarkan kemungkinan kooperasi, kerja sama, maupun hubungan bisnis dengan para ahli di bidang pengembangan energi panas bumi. Di samping itu, memungkinkan adanya laporan perkembangan tahunan mengenai akselerasi pengembangan panas bumi di Indonesia tiap tahunnya.
Bupati Gorut Terima Adibakti Mina Bahari
Bupati Gorontalo Utara, Indra Yasin, Sabtu (15/12), menerima penghargaan Adibakti Mina Bahari Bidang Pesisir 2012 untuk penilaian tingkat Provinsi Gorontalo.
Penghargaan terbaik dua yang diterimanya, kata bupati, merupakan apresiasi pemerintah Provinsi Gorontalo atas kepedulian pejabat pemerintah daerah terhadap pengelolaan willayah pesisir dan pulau kecil.
“Ini adalah penghargaan yang layak dipersembahkan kepada rakyat, khususnya dalam pengembangan dan peningkatan program wilayah pesisir daerah ini,” Ujar Bupati, usai menerima penghargaan yang diserahkan langsung wakil gubernur di Gorontalo, pada peringatan Hari Nusantara.
Menurut bupati, potensi wilayah pesisir di daerah itu sangat besar, didukung dengan panjang garis pantai yang mencapai 197 kilometer.
Sehingga pemerintah daerah menjadikan wilayah pesisir sebagai salah satu tumpuan peningkatan pendapatan asli daerah (PAD), melalui pengembangan sektor perikanan dan kelautan, dan kepariwisataan.
Peningkatan wilayah pesisir kata bupati, menjadi program unggulan yang ingin dicapai pemerintah daerah. “Khususnya fokus melaksanakan program pemberdayaan kepada nelayan,” Ungkapnya.
Mengingat masyarakat pesisir mayoritas berprofesi sebagai nelayan, merupakan pelaku utama yang akan menggerakkan sektor tersebut, seperti pembudidayaan perikanan tambak, pengembangan kerajinan tangan berbahan dasar sumber daya kelautan, maupun penyaluran bantuan kepada nelayan tradisional, diantaranya kapal ikan dan alat penangkap ikan modern.
sumber: www.rmol.co
sumber foto: kkp.go.id
Indonesia has succeeded in reducing deforestation: president
New York (ANTARA News) – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated that Indonesia has succeeded in reducing deforestation and the government is continuing its reforestation efforts by implementing a number of programmes involving the local community.
“The most depressing event relating to deforestation in our country is when we lost 3.5 million hectares of rain forests during the transition-to-democracy period in 2000,” he said in New York on Monday night.
“From that point on, Indonesia launched a number of policies to regain its forest cover,” he added.
President Yudhoyono admitted that it was not easy to implement such policies, which required cooperation of the local community as well as the international community.
“One of our decisions was to make a breakthrough by implementing the REDD plus program in cooperation with the Norwegian government,” he said.
However, the decision was widely criticized across Indonesia. The head of the state had to assure his countrymen that the move was part of the government’s efforts to preserve the environment and it would benefit Indonesia in the long term.
“We also issued a moratorium to protect our forests, as part of our reformation efforts,” the President said.
“One of the positive outcomes of the policy is that 35 percent of Indonesia`s tropical rain forests are currently protected by the government,” he explained.
“Besides, we also aggressively initiated our reforestation efforts. I led the campaign and have managed to plant one billion trees every year. So far, we have planted about three billion trees,” President Yudhoyono stated.
He also called on the global community to cooperate with Indonesia in its efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth.
(REUTERS/Daniel Hartley-Allen)
