Earth Day 2008, momentum for coral reef conservation
April 30th, 2008
The annual Earth Day celebration this year on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 aims to educate, encourage and draw support in order to conserving the environment. In December 2007, Bali hosted a United Nation Conference in conjunction global warming and climate change, in which countries around the world commit to saving the planet from the impacts of the global warming.
This year Marine Journalist in cooperation with the Bali Public Relations Association (HHPB- Himpunan Humas Perhotelan Bali) supported by the Bali Hyatt Hotel and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) holds a drawing and coloring competition for elementary school children in Denpasar and Badung regency. The chosen theme is fish, reef and ecosystem. “We all have a responsibility to conserve the earth especially our sea and coastal ecosystem such as the coral reefs, sea grass meadows and mangrove” said Supardi Asmorobangun, Chairman of this competition and also member of the Marine Journalist. “Approximately 100 kids participate in this competition, which is held in the Bali Hyatt Hotel Sanur. These children are divided into two groups, drawing and coloring” Supardi added.
At the same stage, Sugeng Purnomo, the Chairman for the Bali Public Relations Associations explains that coral reefs are the right theme for this year’s Earth Day as 2008 is internationally voted as the International Year of Reef (IYOR). This year various elements in the society around the world put an effort and work together to protect the coral reefs of the world. “Coral Reefs are very important for human lives, apart from being the source of fishery and maritime tourism asset. Coral Reefs are also natural protector of beaches and small island from waves and currents” said Marthen Welly, TNC Project Leader for Nusa Penida area.
The sea, particularly the coral reefs are very important for Indonesia especially because two third of the country is covered by water. Indonesia has approximately 17,500 islands, making it inseparable from the sea. It is also home to the largest coral species in the world, approximately 51,000 square km and the longest coast line after Canada approximately 81,000 km. At the moment Indonesia also has the largest biological diversity of coral reefs in the world with 537 species in Raja ampat island, West Papua. This is the reason why Indonesia is called the centre of the coral triangle, which is made up of six countries namely Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Timor- Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Salomon islands. There are more than 120 million people whose lives depend on coral reefs in this triangle.
Entry Filed under: Bali Tourism News
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