Antara News, Tuesday, November 23, 2010 15:07 WIB
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched a "Women Plant and Cultivate Trees Campaign 2010" at the Manggala Wanabhakti auditorium here Tuesday.
Present on the occasion were also First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hassan, Marine and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad and a number of foreign ambassadors in Jakarta.
The Women Plant Trees Campaign is a yearly activity which was started four years ago with different themes and formats of activity each year. In 2010, the program was focused on the activity of planting trees such as Ketapang and mangroves in coastal areas. It is expected that the program will improve the people`s economy and boost their awareness to preserve forests in coastal area.
The Tuesday inauguration also featured an exhibition and conference themed "Protection of Coastal Forests and Improvement of the People`s Prosperity."
Earlier, the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice has appealed to the government on the need to preserve and improve mangrove forests.
The mangrove preservation is necessary to prevent them from disappearance from the face of the earth because the forests provide ground for fishes, shrimp, and mollusks for spawning and rearing.
According to data of the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), damage of mangrove forests in the 1997-2008 period reached 68 percent.
Kiara program coordinator Abdul Halim said damage of the mangrove ecosystem was caused by industrial anthropogenic waste in coastal areas.
Besides, the other causes include coastal land conversion for industrial purposes, commercial centers and luxury residential areas. The wastes caused damage of the mangrove ecosystem, and consequently making it difficult for fishermen to earn a living, he said.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Marine and Fishery Affairs set itself a target that by 2014, some 1,440 hectares of coastal areas would be preserved preventing them from environmental damage along national coastal areas. And of the 1,440 ha, some 101.7 percent could be preserved each year.
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