N SULAWESI BACKS FORMATION OF TOMINI BAY AUTHORITY BOARD

Manado, N Sulawesi, May 24 (ANTARA) - North Sulawesi supports Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad's proposal for the formation of Tomini Bay Authority Board to conserve the marine environment, a local environmental official said.

The proposal for the formation of such an independent body was worth responding to, Head of the North Sulawesi Environmental Management Board (BPLH) Boyke Tamon said here on Sunday.

The North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Gorontalo provincial governments have agreed to prevent the bay which is home to millions of marine biotas from environmental destruction.

Tomini Bay is believed to have the world's best coral reefs capable of absorbing carbon dioxide.

Leaders of six countries agreed at their recent Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit here on May 16 to address threats to marine, coastal and small island ecosystems in the coral triangle region including the Tomini Bay.
The six countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and Salomon Islands.

The Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said early this week many countries agreed to launch a program on the CTI on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Securities and Adaptation to Climate Change (CTI-CFFC) in Manado.

Not only international institutions, several member countries of CTI also expressed their commitment to providing contribution for the implementation of the Regional Plan of Actions (RPOA) and the National Plan of Actions (NPOA) of the CTI program, the ministry said in a statement.

Among the CTI countries expressing their commitment were Indonesia with financial contribution amounting to US$5 million, Papua New Guinea US$2 million, the Philippines US$5 million, and Malaysia US$1 million, the ministry said.

Boyke Tamon said long-term efforts to conserve marine biotas in the 6 million-hectare Tomini Bay would cost trillions of rupiahs and therefore, a special body was needed to manage the funds.