TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, urged local governments to protect coastal and marine areas when faced with economic and ecological interests. The minister said there is no tolerance for ecological issues.

Sakti said that several coastal areas in Indonesia are sanctuaries for turtle hatchlings. The sanctuaries exist because of the turtle's habitat in those areas.

"Therefore, for whatever reason, the sanctuary cannot be moved because their natural habitat is there," Sakti said. "If [the sanctuary] is destroyed, for example for tourism purposes, the ecosystem will definitely be damaged," he added.

As an example, Sakti mentioned the hatchling conservation area at the Cenderawasih Bay National Park (TNTC) Center in the waters of Wondama Bay, West Papua. This area is a habitat for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), whose population is now experiencing a drastic decline.

"Because their natural habitat is in the bay, if the sanctuary is moved to Biak—say, for tourism purposes—the turtles would not want to move, and they will surely return," Sakti said. "It is the tourist site that should be moved. Away from an area that is clearly designated for conservation, which should not be moved," he said.

However, Sakti acknowledged that local governments sometimes do not understand issues such as the tug-of-war between economic and environmental interests. He therefore encouraged academics, researchers and environmental activists to help raise awareness of the issue in order to preserve Indonesia's biodiversity.

"If we ignore things like [ecological conservation] if everyone is in pursuit of economic profit or tourism, it's only a matter of time before our ecosystem and ecology is damaged," Sakti said.

Cenderawasih Bay National Park covers an area of 1.453 million hectares and is home to a variety of biodiversity, including whale sharks, dugongs, sharks, turtles, corals and a group of beautiful islands. Apart from tourism, this area also plays an important role as a marine conservation area.

PRIBADI WICAKSONO

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