Marine Parks Must be Well-Managed, President Jokowi Says

President Joko Widodo leads a limited meeting at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Wednesday (30/3) afternoon

“Indonesia is an archipelagic nation endowed with very beautiful marine parks and the beauty must be preserved, maintained, and conserved,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in a limited meeting at the Presidential Office, Jakarta, on Wednesday (30/3).

According to the President, Indonesia needs a ministry responsible for and authorized to preserve, conserve, and manage marine parks in the country.

However, the President stressed that synergy and cooperation among ministries and institutions is also necessary, for example, between Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries which will manage the conservation at waters as well as Ministry of the Environment and Forestry and Ministry of Tourism, which are also expected to cooperate.

“Ministry of Tourim can play its role to prepare tourist destinations and their promotions,” the President said.

President Jokowi added that so far, Indonesia has seven national marine parks which manages around 4 hectares of marine parks, including Thousand Islands, Wakatobi, Tapaborape, Karimun Jawa, Bunaken, Togean, and Cenderawasih Bay.

“I have asked the management of those marine parks to be seriously prepared, including in terms of the allocation of budget and human resources,” the President said, adding that once an agreement is decided in the meeting, the exploration of marine parks will be better.

Attending the limited meeting were Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Rizal Ramli, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti, Minister of the Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya. (RMI/FID/DNI/ES)(RAS/EP/YM/Naster)