Currently there is a discussion among members of the coral health and
monitoring mailing list (coral-list) whether the 9th International Coral
Reef Symposium - Bali 2000 should be held in Bali, Indonesia as planned,
or not. Several members of the list proposed to change the location in
order to protest against recent human rights issues in East Timor. The
Council of the International Society for Reef Studies is currently
investigating the option of relocating the event.
The statement below for holding this important international Symposium
in Bali, Indonesia, is currently being signed by concerned
scientists/conservationists, who are Indonesians or who are or have been
working in Indonesia.
If you support the statement, please paste your name and affiliation
under the statement and use the reply function or send a mail to one of
us until Tuesday night 00:00 GMT. We will send the statement and a list
of all supporters on Wednesday to the Council of the ISRS for
consideration regarding their decision on the location of the 9th ICRS.
Hoping for a successful and inspiring 9th ICRS on Bali,
Lida Pet-Soede Jan Henning Steffen
Coastal Fisheries Marine Program Advisor
Biology and -Management Expert The Indonesian
Biodiversity
Foundation - KEHATI
Jakarta Jakarta
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Statement
Being Indonesian coral reef researchers, reef resource managers, nature
conservationists, or foreign scientists with experience regarding the
complexities involved in conserving and sustainably using Indonesias
rich coral reef resources,we would like to share our thoughts why the
9th ICRS should be held in Bali.
- It would seem that there is little potential to influence anybody in
Indonesia by moving the 9th ICRS elsewhere. In contrast, the expected
media coverage and ISRS activites at Bali 2000 will increase the
national awareness on coral reef issues tremendously.
- The overwhelming majority of people in Indonesia do not know, that the
9th ICRS is planned to be in Bali. It is likely that less people in
Indonesia know about it, than the ISRS has members.
- We do not want to suggest, that International pressure would not have
an effect on Indonesian decisionmakers, but we do question, whether
holding the 9th ICRS in another country would have a political effect
regarding the East Timor crisis or other human rights issues in the
country.
- Safety is of paramount importance to an international conference with
the magnitude of the ICRS event. Nobody can predict the situation in
Bali in a year from now. It should be noted, however, that, although
Indonesia experienced major political and economic shifts, particularly
in May 1998, safety of foreigners on Bali has not been an issue even in
the worst of times.
We would hereby like to make the following statement:
Unless the situation on Bali deteriorates and a guarantee for the safety
of the participants could not be given, we strongly suggest, that the
following points be taken into account in considering whether or not the
location of the 9th ICRS should be changed:
- Indonesia needs and deserves to host the 9th ICRS because its
represents the worlds marine biodiversity hotspot, it encompasses a
large proportion of the worlds reef area and at the same time it
continues to face the largest variety and intensity of destructive
activities on coral reefs.
- Given the scarcity of funds in Indonesia to participate in foreign
conferences and the growing numbers of concerned individuals and
institutions, the venue in Bali would provide a major opportunity to
build local capacity through exchange of experiences and knowledge.
- The existing and ongoing activities by NGOs, national and
international donor agencies, universities and researchers as well as
local communities will highly benefit from the increasing awareness of
decisionmakers as a major spinoff of "Bali 2000".
Summarizing:
In summary, we are of the view that any change in the venue of the ICRS
meeting would be a significant blow to coral reef science and management
in this country.
If you support the statement above, please paste your name and
affiliation under the statement and send an email before Tuesday night
00:00 GMT to:
Lida Pet-Soede Jan Henning Steffen
Coastal Fisheries Marine Program Advisor
Biology and -Management Expert The Indonesian
Biodiversity
Foundation - KEHATI
Jakarta Jakarta
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----
Ed Colijn
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Indonesian Nature Conservation Database
http://www.bart.nl/~edcolijn/
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