Indonesia: Littoral Nations Endorse Arafura Plan

Jakarta Globe 16 may 14;

Indonesia’s Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, Timor-Leste’s Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Mariano Assanami Sabino and the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty on Thursday signed a declaration on the sustainable management of the marine and coastal ecosystem in and around the Arafura and Timor Seas.

The three officials endorsed a regional effort called the Strategic Action Program that will promote the restoration, conservation and management of marine and coastal ecosystems for the Arafura and Timor Seas — known as the ATS region, in recognition of the vital role the tropical region plays in the circulation of the world’s oceans.

The area is responsible for the livelihoods of millions of people and makes a substantial contribution to domestic food production and exports.

These seas contain the most pristine — and highly threatened — coastal and marine ecosystems in the world, underscoring the urgent need for trans-boundary management.

The waters also play an important economic and ecological part in the three countries bordering them as the area is extremely rich in marine resources as well as oil and gas reserves.

“This kind of regional cooperation and collaboration is so important to protect and manage this valuable global resource,” said Beate Trankmann, the country director of the United Nations Development Program in Indonesia, which is working closely with relevant ministries and providing technical expertise for the effort.

The declaration includes plans to recover and sustain fisheries, by restoring degraded habitats and reducing land-based and marine sources of pollution to allow sea life to flourish.