RI should build ecological ports: Expert

Bogor, West Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesia, as a maritime country, should develop ecological ports, according to an oceanographer of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB). 

"Building ecological ports has now become a trend. In essence, the concept means that ports must be built in ways that do not run counter to the sustainable development principle," Prof Dr Eng Tridoyo Kusumastanto, the head of IPB`s Oceanology and Coastal Resources Study Center, said here on Thursday. 

He made the statement to ANTARA in connection with a commitment the German government had made to help Indonesia improve port management through training of port authority officials in the next three years (2008-2010). 

The German government through "InWent Capacity Building International" would team up with the Center for Assessment of Coastal and Marine Resources (PKSPL) and the Community Research and Empowerment Institute (LPPM) of the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB). 

He mentioned pollution in the Jakarta Bay as an example of the importance to apply ecological port management in Jakarta. 

"Learning a lesson from the Jakarta Bay pollution case, we need to develop the ecological port concept," he said. 

An international seminar in the Netherlands recently discussed ecological ports focusing on the aspects of sustainable development, he said. 

Ecological ports should also bring benefits to the community, he said. 

The first Germany-funded training course which was attended by officials of the transportation ministry, academicians, state and private ports officers, discussed ecological ports and port security, he said.