Coral Triangle Initiative | Secretariat

The cooperation agreement was signed in the North Sulawesi town of Manado, on the sidelines of the World Ocean Conference.

Widi Agoes Pratikno, secretary general to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said that this year NOAA had already given $2 million in funds for the cooperation.

“While in 2010, they plan to fund about $5 million to $10 million,” Widi said on Monday night in Manado.

Widi, who is also the leader of the Indonesian joint cooperation team, said that during the joint study, the two countries will emphasize their research and supervision throughout the Indian Ocean.

“We will conduct research to find out whether there are important mineral or oil reserves in the Indian Ocean,” Widi said.

The two countries will also implement measures to encourage responsible fishing, deter illegal fishing and improve the safety and observation standards on each seaport to manage fish quality. Explorative research to determine the extend of oil reserves and important minerals in the ocean will also be carried out.

The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberi said that aside from funding the research, Indonesia had also asked United States to provide scholarships for ocean studies.

Numberi acknowledged on Monday that although a large part of Indonesia’s territory is water, the country’s ocean research lags behind other nations’ efforts.

To make up for having fallen behind, the country has sought joint cooperation and research opportunities with other countries with more advanced technology, Numberi said.

With limited resources at the Agency for the Assessment and Application Technology (BPPT), Numberi said, he expressed hope that in the future, the country would develop relationships with other research countries to improve the standard of domestic research.

“Don’t be afraid about joint research, the point is as long as the research in our territory, it must involve us and we must be taking the leading position during the research,” Numberi said.

Emil Salim, a senior adviser for the Indonesian delegation at the World Ocean Conference, stressed that Indonesia should increase its research on oceans. The ocean played a significant role in climate change, and Indonesia would become one of four countries to be most affected by changes globally.

“We have to improve marine and ocean research and we have to add to our ocean expertise to anticipate climate change,” Emil said.

source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/article/19580.html