NGO CALLS FOR RESTORATION OF RI'S IDENTITY AS MARITIME STATE

Jakarta, June 12 (ANTARA) - An NGO called the "Manado Alliance" has urged the Indonesian government to restore and strengthen the country's identity as a maritime state.

"One of the the things characterizing a maritime state is policies to make sure that the seas function as a living space and a source of livelihood , and not as a looting area or a garbage dump," M Riza Damanik, secretary general of the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice, said here on Thursday.

In a dialog themed "Restoring Our Identity as a Maritime State" organized by the Manado Alliance, the NGO also urged the government to improve the welfare and safety of traditional fishermen.

"People living in coastal areas and small islands must get serious attention for the improvement of their welfare," Damanik said.

The government was also urged to issue economic and political policies which could guarantee traditional fishermen's safety from natural disasters, including the impact of climate change.

According to the Manado Alliance, around 147 million Indonesian people live in coastal areas, and about 20 million of them are fishermen.

Damanik also asked the government not to allow foreign researchers to study the country's waters because it is against the existing laws.

"Indonesia's seas must be studied by Indonesia's researchers. Indonesia has many capable experts for marine research," he said.

Manado, North Sulawesi Province, hosted a four-day World Ocean Conference (WOC) on May 11-15, 2009 which adopted the Manado Ocean Declaration (MOD) on the final day of the conference.

In their 21-point declaration, the WOC participants representing 73 courtries, stressed the need for national strategies for sustainable management of coastal and marine ecosystems as protective and productive buffer zones that deliver valuable ecosystem goods and services that have significant potential to address the adverse effects of climate change.