May 21, 2009
Acting by itself and in concert with five other countries, the Philippine government has taken a giant step toward saving the Coral Triangle, considered the world’s richest underwater wilderness, that covers 1.6 million square kilometers of water bounded by six countries.
Biodiversity and food resources were the subjects of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs and Food Security Summit in Menado, Indonesia, on May 15. President Gloria Arroyo attended the global meet where she signed a wide-ranging agreement with the heads of government of Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Home to half of the world’s coral reefs in an area half the size of the United States, the Triangle’s ecosystems are facing ruin from a combination of climate change, overfishing and pollution. The region is a critical source of food and jobs for millions of Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders and a huge nursery for maritime life from turtles to tuna.
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May 20, 2009
SIX countries, including the Philippines, have finalized an ambitious and visionary 10-year plan of action to protect and rehabilitate the Coral Triangle, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza reported on Monday.
The 10-year plan of action also affirms their commitment to collectively protect and preserve the marine ecosystem in the region. The five other signatories are Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
The Coral Triangle includes the marine regions of Sulu-Sulawesi, part of the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and portions of the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands—with the Philippines at the apex.
The Coral Triangle is the global epicenter of marine-life abundance and diversity, with 76 percent of all known coral species, 37 percent of all known coral reef fish species, 33 percent of the world’s coral reefs, the greatest extent of mangrove forests in the world, and spawning and juvenile growth areas for the world’s largest tuna fisheries.
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May 20, 2009
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| In this photo taken 30 Apr 2009, divers swim near coral reefs off Komodo island, Indonesia |
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea have set new plans to protect the Coral Triangle – a 5.5 million square kilometer area that holds the largest biodiversity in the oceans. Scientists consider it to be the marine equivalent of the Amazon rain forest, and say it is crucial for preserving life in the world’s oceans. The agreement was reached in Manado, Indonesia.
In the area of the sea area wedged between Indonesia and the Solomon Islands lies an extraordinarily rich sample of biodiversity: three quarters of all coral species live here, a third of the world’s fish, half of its mangroves – all precious ecosystems.
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May 18, 2009
By Indah Setiawati
Google Earth and Maps officials have encouraged scientists, divers, government agencies and anyone willing to share their data to help improve their new free feature on oceans so people can get better access when they explore the deep over the Internet.
Google’s new Ocean feature has rich images and sharp resolution of the seabeds in select areas only, including the waters off the US and Japan, thanks to the cooperative data sharing from governments of the two countries.
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May 18, 2009
As the biggest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia has called on the global commu-nity to speak out on the need and significance to preserve the ocean, which plays a key role in food security.
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told a press briefing Sunday that many countries were affected by global warming, including rising sea levels and sea temperatures.
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May 18, 2009
The World Ocean Conference (WOC) “Climate Change Impacts to Ocean and The Role of Ocean to Climate Change” is currently held in Manado, North Sulawesi, 11-14 May 2009. The WOC will be followed by the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on 15 May 2009. The CTI is intended to protect the coral reefs, the sustainability of fisheries resources and food security.
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May 18, 2009
Greenpeace today called on the Forum Fisheries Committee meeting (1) in Niue to support strong measures to clamp down on the pirate and overfishing that threatens Pacific tuna stocks and the economic security of the region.
Greenpeace last week applauded the agreement reached by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) (3) to support closure of the four pockets of international waters between Pacific Island Countries (2) to all fishing. This follows an historic move last May, when PNA countries agreed to close the two biggest high seas pockets to fishing. The solidarity shown by Pacific countries in defence of the region’s tuna stocks resulted in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) agreeing in December 2008 to permanently stop tuna purse seine fishing in the two larger high seas areas from the beginning of 2010.
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May 17, 2009
The Hantu Blog will be at this year’s Envirofest at Toa Payoh HDB Hub!
If you’ve always wanted to see what Hantu is like or learn a little more about local marine life, join us at the festival this month! There’ll also be games and quizzes you can put your wits to for a little something special in return!
Our volunteers will also be at our booth to give you a first hand account of what diving in our low visibility but highly diverse local waters is like!
See you there!
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April 29, 2009
What’s there to see in the mucky depths of Hantu? PLENTY!
Here are some shots, speckled with the stuff that makes Hantu diving so endearingly infamous!
Pictures by Blog volunteer Khoo Ming Sheng.
Pseudoceros flatworm
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