RI gets US$33.3 million for coral reef management

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has received funds amounting to US433.3 million for coral reef management under the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), an official said.

The funds were among other things received from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) (US$25 million), the United States (US$4,3 million), and the Asian Development Bank (US$2 million), Saut P Hutagalung, head of the data, statistics and information Center of the marine and fishery ministry, said here on Thursday.

Indonesia also got US$1.4 million from Australia, US$500,000 from the Nature Conservancy (TNC), as well as technical assistance, facilities and grants from Conservation International (CI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), he said.

"The commitment of funding support from several donor countries and institutions was agreed on at a senior official-level meeting of CTI in Bali last week," he said.

The CTI groups Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Timor Leste (CT-6).

The CT-6 covered a total area of 75,000 square km and had 500 species of coral reef which is habitat of more than 3,000 fish species.

"The coral reef area is also known as the Amazon of The Seas because it has the world`s richest biodiversity," he said.

The coral reefs in the area are food sources for 120 million inhabitants of the coastal areas, breeding areas for tuna, and a regional economic source with an estimated money circulation amounting to 2.3 million US dollars per year, he said.

The CTI agreement would be formally signed during the World Ocean Conference (WOC) which will be held in Manado in 2009, he said.

He said coral reefs had a number of crucial functions such as to support food sources for coastal areas` inhabitants, ecotourism and to protect coastal areas from tropical cyclones or tsunami.