- Antara/ Basrul Haq
VIVAnews – The icon of North Sulawesi Province, Bunaken National Park, has long garnered international fame as it has a high diversity of corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges. The park is now threatened because of careless waste disposal. An professional in biodiversity said that waste has greatly damaged the coral reef.
North Sulawesi’s fish biodiversity expert, Dr. Teguh Peristiwady told VIVAnews that around 70 percent of world’s richest coral reef can be found in this area. Fish schools, the main resource in the coral reef and hold a significant role in the coral reef ecosystem, are also facing great danger.
“Corals are animals. When plastic waste covers corals, it would block the sunlight to go through them. Hence, the corals would die. When we were researching fish, we found out that many corals have died,” he said.
Teguh was unwilling to reveal the numbers of the damaged corals.
“The bottom line is that we must pay attention to the ecosystem there. The coral reef is badly spoiled,” he said.
Teguh said that Indonesia has around 51 thousand square kilometers of coral reef area. It contributes to 65 percent of the total area in the coral triangle and 18 percent of the world’s coral reef area.
Geographically speaking, Indonesia is located between two continents, Asia and Australia. Indonesia is also located between two great oceans, the Pacific and the Indies. The center of marine biodiversity is located in an area that covers Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Salomon islands.
When a line is drawn covering the coral reef area in these six countries, then it would form a triangle-like area. That is why it is called the world’s coral triangle. The total area of the coral triangle is around 75 thousand square kilometers.
Teguh expected that the government can take immediate actions about plastic waste drifted to the coral reef.
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Coverage by: Roger Wenas | North Sulawesi
