Indonesiawill establish the School for Marine Conservation (SMC) in Wakatobi, SoutheastSulawesi, to produce experts who will help the country preserve its naturalresources, especially the ocean.
Fisheriesand Maritime Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad laid the foundation stone for thecenter's building, marking the start of construction on Saturday.
He said thecenter would train many new officers to manage water conservation areasnationwide, which are expected to reach 20 million hectares by 2020 accordingto government plans.
“We willneed up to 5,000 competent and professional people to manage the conservationareas,” Fadel was quoted as saying Saturday by Antara news agency.
He said thetraining center would offer students three major fields of study: conservationmanagement, biodiversity and ocean engineering.
“The schoolwill accommodate 400 students, 50 lecturers, 50 members of staff and 2,000trainees,” Fadel said.
He addedthat the government chose Wakatobi as the site for the school as it sat at thecenter of world’s coral triangle and had rich natural resources. Wakatobi isalso home to a 1.39-hectare national marine park with diverse coral reefs.
