RI WORKS WITH GLOBAL PARTNERS TO DEVELOP MARINE SECTOR

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 9 (Antara) - With a blue economic concept, Indonesia is developing its marine and fisheries sectors through global partners to face global food challenges and free trade era.          "The world is currently facing a food security challenge in feeding its population which by 2050 will reach about nine billion.   Indonesia is considered consistent in accelerating the development of its national marine and fisheries sectors in the framework of blue growth," Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo said on Monday.          According to data obtained from the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it is estimated that by the year 2030, almost two-thirds of the consumption of fishery products in the world will come from the fishery sub-sector.          The Asian region, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan, are projected to meet 70 percent of the global fish demand.          In response to this issue, Indonesia, the World Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are holding a workshop on Blue Growth Global Alliance and Food Security to work out a work plan to be forwarded to the "6th Annual BlueTech and Blue Economy" Summit in November this year.            Minister Sutardjo said the world will face multiple challenges regarding food security in the future. Thus, Indonesia and the world community must immediately provide a response.      In addition, integrated efforts are needed to transform the world economy towards sustainable development which equitably and efficiently utilizes resources.          The presence of blue Economy paradigm, according to Sutardjo, is one of these responses to the food issues.          Blue Economy is an economic development model that unites sea and land development by emphasizing optimization of the use of technology, industry, land and marine waters that leads to increased use of marine resources.          This initiative is a positive momentum to encourage and accelerate the implementation of concrete actions and partnerships in the development of blue growth to support national security and food self-sufficiency, he affirmed.          Moreover, 21 countries grouped in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have agreed to focus cooperation in  development of "blue economy".          The agreement to make "blue economy" as the main focus of APEC cooperation has been confirmed in the Xainmen declaration approved in the recent APEC Ocean-related Ministerial Meeting (AOMM) in Xiamen, China,  Sutardjo said.          There are three fields of cooperation in priority. The first is conservation of ecosystem  and coastal areas  and resistance to natural disasters.  The second is the contribution of the seas to food security  and food related trade, and the third concerns marine affairs science, technology  and innovation.          After all, the fisheries sector in countries around the world, including Indonesia, has played a key role in achieving global food resilience, Marine and Fishery Ministry's Secretary General Sjarief Widjaya stated.          Indonesia is the third-largest supplier of fish products in the world after Myanmar and Cambodia, which has resulted in the fishery sector becoming the mainstay of world food security, Widjaja remarked in his speech at the International Fishery Conference in South Sumatra last week.          Besides supporting the world's food security, fishery products have also become the livelihood of communities across the world, including in Southeast Asia.          Therefore, the blue economic concept has increasingly played an important role in the development of the marine sector.          Minister Sutardjo said blue economy has been successfully developed in Indonesia such as in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and Nusa Peninda, Bali, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization.          Minister Sutardjo remarked that the presence of the blue economy paradigm in the development of national marine synergy is a reflection of growth, development, and the environment, which is based on the triple helix model.          In this model, the application of marine economy in the framework of blue economy will be synergized with various local and national policies, human resources, technologies, access to finance, industrialization, education, and public awareness about marine potential.          He asserted that Indonesia has a development potential that is much larger and diverse than that of other countries. If these marine potentials are well-managed then approximately 85 percent of the national economy, including food, will be supported by marine resources.          The marine and fishery sectors have inevitably become the main backbone of the Indonesian economy as 75 percent or 5.8 million square kilometers of Indonesia's territory is sea, which is greater than its land area.          The marine sector showed a significant growth of above six percent in 2010-2013, while the sector has contributed 22 percent to the gross domestic product.          Marine Affairs and Fishery Ministry's Secretary General Sjarief Widjaja said earlier his ministry has this year set a production target of 20.95 million tons of fish, with an expected export of US$5.65 billion.          "The production target consists of 6.08 million tons of catch fish and 13.97 million tons of cultured fish," Widjaja said in a written statement early this month.          The ministry's data shows that Indonesia's fishery product exports in 2013 totaled US$4.18 billion. It hopes that by 2019 the fishery exports will increase to US$10 billion.          Therefore, the ministry is also gearing up in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), by preparing efficient human resources.          "These measures have been taken for the industrialization of fisheries, stabilization of food security and sovereignty, and creation of job opportunities," said  Minister Sutardjo in a press release received on Monday.          Yet, Indonesian fishermen also needed to be prepared in the face of the AEC in order to prevent them from becoming mere victims of free competition in the AEC era.          Secretary General of the People's Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara) Abdul Halim said small fishermen and fish breeders were not yet ready to face the ASEAN free market which will be implemented by the end of next year.          He said that the ministry of marine affairs and fisheries had not yet provided small fishermen with a work plan in the face of the ASEAN Economic Community, though the AEC will come into effect in the near future.          "If no care is taken, small fishermen and fish breeders could only become daily laborers amid regional competition," Abdul Halim said.***2*** (T.A014/f001  ) (T.A014/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 09-09-2014 07:51: