GCRA
OVERVIEW
FAQ
NEWS
ARTICLES
PHOTOS
REEF ISSUES
RESTORATION
PAPERS
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Opening
Remarks, Tom Goreau I apologize that I am still unable to speak in Bahasa Indonesia, and must speak in English. Please excuse me. President Megawati Sukarnoputri said that only 6% of Indonesia's coral reefs were in good condition in her speech at the opening of the International Coral Reef Symposium here in Bali in 2000. It must be even less now. Indonesia is the most important coral reef country in the world for two reasons: It has more coral reef than any country in the world, and it has by far the largest number of different types of corals, fishes, and all forms of marine life. However, these are vanishing in front of our eyes for many reasons. The worst is the use of unsustainable fishing practices with bombs and poisons that destroy the reef, but mud washing into the sea after deforestation, pollution from untreated sewage, and global warming also play important roles. Fish are the major source of protein in Indonesia, and it is clear that we must restore the damaged reefs on a large scale if the people are to eat in the future. That is the purpose of this workshop. The Karang Lestari Project right in front of us here in Pemuteran is the largest and most successful coral reef restoration project in the world. This project has only been possible because Pemuteran has taken the lead in Indonesian community based coastal zone management by declaring their own marine protected area by themselves, and the hotels and dive shops contribute to the village to set up patrols to protect their reefs and make sure no-one uses bombs and poisons. They have done this on their own, using traditional village Adat Law, and without any outside pressure or funding. That is why we are working here. This project would not have been possible without far-sighted leadership from the village leaders, the Kepala Adat, the Kepala Desa, the fishermen, the hotels led by Pak Agung Prana, and the dive shops, led by Pak Chris Brown. Pak Narayana, Pak Komang Astika, Pak Danis, and Pak Ngurah have done an incredible job making these projects work, and we thank them too for their hard and constant work to make the project a success. I want to make a special mention of Pak Yos Amerta, who tracked Wolf and myself down in Bangkok, and asked us to come and start the first projects here in Pemuteran. We recognize that nothing would have been possible without all of them. We also wish to thank the Lighthouse Foundation for contributing for the materials used in this workshop, and Taman Sari Resort and Archipelago Dive for hosting it. We are very proud to say that the participants in this workshop come from three continents, but that most of them are Indonesian. They will be learning all aspects of theory, design, construction, installation, maintenance, and repair of coral reef and fisheries restoration projects through hands-on experience. We hope that hey will leave with the tools to go out and start restoration projects of their own all over Indonesia and other parts of the world. Thank you. Dr. Thomas J. Goreau President Global Coral Reef Alliance |
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