Lesser Sunda Ecoregion Protects 9.8 M Hectares of Sea Habitation
18 April 2015 06:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The design of a resilient network of marine protection in Lesser Sunda ecoregion stretches along waters of Bali Province, West Nusa Tenggara Province, East Nusa Tenggara Province, and Maluku in Indonesia, as well as a part of Timor Leste waters. According to the Marine Conservancy Project Manager of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Mirza Pedju, the protected area reaches around 9.8 million hectares.
“There are six types of status determination of marine reserves in Bali, NTB, and NTT,” said Miza at the Lesser Sunda Ecoregion Marine Reserve workshop which was held by the Society of Indonesian Environental Journalists and TNC in Denpasar.
Mirza also said that the network is built as a strategy to increase the ecosystem’s resilience against climate change, as well as to reduce threats produced by human.
The 3.3 million-hectare Sawu Marine National Park in NTT is one of the latest area joining the network. The area has been protected since January 2014 after a decree issued by Marine and Fisheries Minister. Sawu Marine Reserve Area holds an abundant marine biodiversity and it is home to several kinds of whales including sperm-head whales, melon-head whales, and pygmy killler whale.
Data from the Marine Ministry shows that Sawu Sea bears 500 types of corals, 336 types of coral fishes, 14 species of cetacea, and 3 types of tortoises.
AHMAD NURHASIM
