Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Freddy Numberi announced the formation of the biggest marine reserve in South East Asia, located in the Savu Sea, which is bordered by the islands of Flores, Timor and Sumba. This is a major migration route for 14 species of whale and also a tuna spawning ground. The 3.5 million hectares area will be the largest in Indonesia and is part of Indonesia President S.B. Yudhoyono's commitment to have 10 million hectares of marine reserve by 2010.
The area will be administered by The Nature Conservancy (Komodo National Park was under TNC in the beginning) and World Wildlife Fund, presumably ultimately moving toward an Indonesian run entity like PNK for Komodo.
Biggest Marine Park in South East Asia announced
I am tepidly optimistic as this will be a great boon to conservation in the Coral Triangle. However, even in Komodo (which is seen as a success) there is still illegal fishing going on and the fight continues. With the Savu Seas Marine Park, there will be zones set up to local fishermen who have depended on the area for centuries. Obviously destructive fishing methods like cyanide and bombs will be prosecuted. This will be an intricate process that will take years to implement but it is definitely in the right direction.
