FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NORTH SULAWESI, INDONESIA, FEBRUARY 20, 2009—At the center of the expansive Coral Triangle of Southeast Asia, this province of over 2 million on the northeastern tip of the island of Sulawesi is a compelling choice for the site of the 2009 World Ocean Conference (WOC)( www.woc2009.org/home.php). The region includes a marine ecosystem with some of the highest biodiversity on earth—Bunaken National Marine Park (BNMP) boasts ten times the genera of coral as the Hawaiian archipelago. Nearly three quarters of all fish species of the Indo-West Pacific can be found within BNMP. The 2009 WOC will culminate in the naming of BNMP as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Organized by the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries of the Republic of Indonesia (DKP) the 2009 World Ocean Conference will include among the upwards of 5,000 attendees top-level government officials, representatives from the scientific community, and exhibitors from relevant international organizations. The 2009 WOC includes over thirty symposia on the themes of ocean science, policy, and technology. Issues to be addressed include individual threatened or endangered species, specific imperiled marine habitats, and particular conservation challenges.
In addition to symposia and exhibitions, a summit meeting of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI)(www.cti-secretariat.net) will be held. Launched in 2007, the CTI is a multilateral partnership tasked with the preservation of the marine and coastal resources of the Coral Triangle. The Coral Triangle spans Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste and covers 2,500,000 square miles. Problems plaguing this vast marine and coastal habitat include unsustainable fishing practices and coral bleaching due to industrial runoff and warming ocean temperatures. CTI is sustained through partnerships with The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and the DKP.
A major port city of Eastern Indonesia, Manado serves as an agricultural, economic, and cultural hub in the region. Manado’s Bitung seaport is a gateway for trade between eastern regions of Indonesia and the greater Asia-Pacific rim. The WOC will be held at the Wenang Conference Center, located halfway between the Sam Ratulangi International Airport and Manado. The 2009 WOC is sponsored by Telkom Indonesia and supported by UNEP and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
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