Special Phinisi Boat to Carry Touristis to Raja Ampat, Papua

Bulukumba, S Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - A Jakarta entrepreneur is to operate a traditional South Sulawesi Phinisi sail boat as a cruise ship to serve tourists who wish to enjoy the beauty of the Raja Ampat Marine National Park in Papua.

Yayu Yuniar, director of Haniar Mutiara Prima company, said the newly-built Phinisi boat, named "Pearl of Papua", was launched at Sapolohe Bontobahari village, Tanahbaru subdistrict, Bulukumba district, South Sulawesi, on Friday morning (Sept 17).

The boat would still undergo some finishing touches, including the installation of five-star hotel facilities, and be ready for operation in October.

With a displacement of over 100 tons, 7.5 meters wide and 30 meters long , the boat would have 15 luxury passenger cabins, and a crew of 12.
The Pearl of Papua was made from the best types of wood available in Sapolohe Tanahberu village which is famous for its skilled traditional boat craftsmen who carry on the centuries-old legacy of their ancestors.

"The reputation of this traditional wooden boat making village is already well-known around the world," he said.

The Pearl of Papua would be operated as a cruise ship to serve foreign tourists wishing to visit the Raja Ampat marine park in Papua.(KR-AES/S012)

Earthoquake Hits S Sulawesi City of Makassar

Makassar, S Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale rocked Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province, for a few seconds on Sunday at 11:59 PM local time.

The Makassar-based meteorology and geophysics agency reported that the earthquake's epicenter was located 6.11 degrees southern latitude and 117.55 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 19 kilometers.

Indonesia is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Last June, a strong earthquake, for instance, had damaged several hundred wooden houses along the coastline of Tiyoka Bay in Yapen Islands district, Papua province.

Some houses in Sarawandori village, Kosiwo sub-district, were destroyed and washed away by Saerari sea currents.

The Sarawandori villagers, whose wooden houses were damaged and destroyed, had to take refuge in emergency tents they set up on a hilly area to avoid a tsunami.

Last October, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale also jolted Mentawai islands in West Sumatra.

The epicenter of the 5.2-magnitude earthquake was 78 km west of Pagai Selatan subdistrict, Mentawai district, at a depth of 10 km.

The Mentawai earthquake triggered a deadly tsunami.

The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that the natural disaster had affected a large number of villages and caused 408 deaths, 303 people to go missing and 270 others to sustain severe injuries.

The number of affected people was initially estimated at 33,817. However, many islands had become inaccessible and the number of potentially affected people could be over 65,000.

In 2009, Padang city in West Sumatra province, was hit by a powerful earthquake, killing at least 1,100 people.

The earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale which devastated West Sumatra on September 30, 2009, also caused serious damage to 65,380 houses and light damage to 78,604 others.(R013/S012)

Climate change to affect marine tourism

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Sea and Coastal Areas Director of the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry Subandono Diposaptono said that climate change could affect the marine tourism, particularly natural tourism in coastal areas.

"When the climate changes as a result of global warming the sea surface would rise so that white sand will disappear because it is submerged with water," Diposaptono told a seminar on climate change here on Tuesday.

He said that the increase in global warming would also bring impact to tourism as it would cause inconvenience in the natural tourism areas.

For marine tourism, the impact of global warming would be the whitening of coral reef and if this happened the condition under the sea would no longer be attractive to tourists.

Besides, this condition will also cause extreme waves that would change the environment into a situation which is not safe or dangerous to the visitors of a beach.

He said that at present the sea water was experiencing an average surface increase by five to 10 millimeters per annum. Although it was small, yet it would impact the convenience of human life if it continued to take place for a long time.

"Besides due to climate change, the water surface increase also happened due to excessive exploitation of ground water that causes the land surface to subside.

Generally, big cities in Indonesia are near to the sea so that we think that the sea surface has risen while in fact it is the land surface which is subsiding," he said.(*)

Kisar airport expansion needed to support Sail Banda

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The runway of Purpura Airport in Pulau Kisar, Southwest Maluku (MBD) district, needs to be expanded to support the upcoming international marine event "Sail Banda 2010".

Pulau Kisar is a small, remote island of the southern part of Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia. It lies just off the northeast coast of Timor-Leste, and although traditionally very hard to get to, it now has a small airport, called Purpura and located on the northern tip of the small island.

Purpura airport in Pulau Kisar receives flights from Maluku`s provincial capital of Ambon and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)`s provincial capital of Kupang.

Flights go Mondays and Fridays from Ambon (1 hour, 45 minutes) with Merpati Nusantara Airlines. Passenger ships also call at Pulau Kisar`s Nama and Jawalan ports from Ambon, Kupang and Surabaya.

Parts of Pulau Kisar have that untouched look and it is generally only adventurous people who would make the boat trip of several days from Ambon to Kisar.

It is a small, rocky island and, along with neighboring Pulau Wetar, it is one of the remotest in the country, being a lot closer to Australia`s Northern Territory city of Darwin than to Ambon, for instance.

The airport at the MBD district town of Wonreli in Pulau Kisar needs to be expanded to support Sail Banda 2010 but the Transportation Ministry has yet to allocate funds from the 2010 state budget for the project.

"The Transportation Ministry has actually received the proposal of Kisar`s airport expansion from MBD acting district head Frangky Rejaan, but the funds from the 2010 state budget have yet to be allocated," Maluku Transportation Office chief Benny Gaspersz said in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon on Tuesday.

Gaspersz said the expansion of Purpura airport`s runway was a strategic way to support Sail Banda 2010 and therefore the Transportation Ministry should wisely channel the funds in accordance with existing mechanism.

"Thus to allocate the funds for Kisar`s airport expansion, a team from Air Transportation Directorate General at the Transportation Ministry should first make a survey," Gaspersz said, calling on MBD district administration and the local people to be patient.

Gaspersz said he understood that the expansion of Kisar`s airport runway was strategic to step up air transportation service to the island by operating bigger aircrafts than Cassa 212 plane being operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

"If the runway of Purpura airport in Pulau Kisar is extended from 800 meters to 1,300 meters, ATR 42 aircraft with 40 seats, operated by PT Wings Air will be able to make a landing there," Gaspersz said.

MBD acting district head Franky Rejaan said on a separate occasion that the local administration was expanding the runway of Purpura airport to support Sail Banda 2010 scheduled for July 24 until August 17, 2010.

"Southwest Maluku (MBD) district is scheduled to be the location for the peak event of Sail Banda 2010 with undersea ceremony on August 17, 2010 to observe independence day, and therefore the local government is currently expanding the airport`s runway," Renjaan said.

The upcoming international marine event "Sail Banda 2010" in Maluku, scheduled from July to August this year, has gained support from various parties.

Support to make the event a success came among others from Maluku-born people in the Netherlands, Bank Indonesia, as well as air and sea transportation agencies.

In the Netherlands, Maluku-born people are ready to support the Sail Banda 2010 by intensively promoting it in European countries, a Maluku tourism official said.

"At least 350 Moluccans in the Netherlands have expressed their readiness to intensively promote the coming event in Holland and other European countries," head of Maluku`s Culture and Tourism Office, Florence Sahusilawane, has said in Ambon.

Florence said the expatriate Maluku people had expressed their readiness to her when she attended the Dutch tourism event, "Vakantiebeurs" in Utrecht, the Netherlands, last January 12-17, 2010.

"The most important thing in their support to Sail Banda 2010 is that they will also come to Maluku along with their relatives, Dutch friends, and other colleagues from Europe for the event scheduled for July to August 2010," she said.

Florence added that she highly appreciated the seriousness of Moluccans in the Netherlands to help make Sail Banda 2010 a success because it would be a strategic event to assure the international community that peace and calm have returned to Maluku after the province was engulfed by a communal conflict from 1999 to 2002.

"We actually want the Netherlands to be the gateway for netting West European tourists who increasingly visit Maluku every year," Florence said.

Besides Maluku-born community in the Netherlands, Bank Indonesia (the central bank) of Ambon branch is to open money changer counters and ATM booths in Banda to support the international marine event.

"Bank Indonesia and a number of banks such as Bank BRI, Bank Central Asia (BCA), and Bank BNI will also provide services for financial transactions in Banda to support the event," Ambon branch Bank Indonesia spokesman Totok Hermianto said in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon on Monday.

Totok admitted that he had discussed the event with the leaders of the banks operating in Ambon and they agreed to open banking service counters in Banda.

In addition, Transportation Department`s Air Transportation director general Herry Bakti has said his office was ready to support Sail Banda 2010, because according to him,inter-department coordination was necessary to support the success of the international event.

"In principle, the Transportation Directorate General is ready to support the event," he has said in Bandaneira, Banda, Maluku.

The most important thing is to prepare reliable telephone and internet infrastructure. This can facilitate communication and telecommunication access so that people would not all gather in Ambon if they want to promote Banda," he said.

Sail Banda, he said, needs to be supported by a maritime armada with the capacity and speed that can sail across 159 miles from Ambon to Bandaneira in at least three to four hours.

The national shipping company PT Pelni is also ready to help make the Sail Banda 2010 event a success by putting more ships into service on its route to the Banda Islands in Central Maluku, a spokesman said.

Bachtiar, head of PT Pelni`s Ambon branch office, said in Ambon that the national shipping company felt it bore the moral responsibility to support the international maritime event in Banda.(*)

by:Otniel Tamindael-Antara

Indonesia seeking to be world`s biggest fish producer

Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - Indonesia, as a maritime country, is seeking to be able to be the world`s largest fish producer in 2015, a ministry official said here on Saturday.

Victor Nikijulu, the director general of business and investment at the ministry of fishery and marine resources, said he was optimistic the target would be reached through development of various fishery products.

"What needs to be improved first is the fishery infrastructure and facilities for fishermen," he said.

If the infrastructure and facilities is improved it is not impossible for the quality and quantity of fishery products to rise, he said.

He said his office was now seeking to develop markets in the Middle East and Africa, relying on processed fishery products.

He said unless Indonesia changed its marketing strategy it would lose to Vietnam who is a newcomer in the field.

"We must immediately change the products to have more added value so that they would market well," he said.(*)

Source:AntaraNews.com

Only six percent of RI`s coral reefs in excellent condition

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Only six percent of Indonesia`s coral reefs is now still in excellent condition, a senior marine affairs official said.

M Syamsul Maarif, secretary general of the Marine and Fisheries Ministry, made the statement after attending the signing of a memorandum of understanding by his ministry and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) here on Monday on cooperation in sustainable and responsible management of marine resources.

He said six percent of Indonesia`s coal reefs was in excellent condition, 30 percent in good condition but the rest was categorized as damaged.

According to Maarif, one of the ways to fix the damage to coral reefs was by conducting sustainable and responsible management of marine resources with emphasis on the economic, ecological , and socio-cultural aspects.

However, he added, the most important thing to be done was to organize public campaigns to educate the people about the importance of keeping coral reefs in good condition.

"If the people`s empowerment effort goes well, environmental conditions in their areas will likely also improve," he said.

According to data collected by the Marine and Fisheries Ministry , Indonesia now has around 75,000 square kilometers of coral reefs or about 12 to 15 percent of the world`s.

The Indonesian Coral Reef Foundation has noted that Indonesia as the largest archipelagic state in the world has 17,508 islands of which 6,000 are inhabited.

Comprising 14 percent of the Earth`s land territory, Indonesia had the longest coastline in the world. It also has a sea area of about 5.8 million square km, representing approximately 70 percent of its total territory.

Coral reefs in Indonesia are mostly to be found towards the eastern end of the archipelago (Bali, Flores, Banda, Sulawesi). But cora; reefs also exist off the Sumatra and Java coasts. Indonesia supports a diverse array of reef types (fringing, barrier, and atoll).

The dominant reef type is fringing reefs. Fringing reefs can be found along the coasts of Sulawesi, Maluku, west and north Irian Jaya, Lesser Sundas, Bali, and some of the islands off the west and east coasts of Sumatra.

Patch reefs are in best developed condition in the Seribu Islands and best-developed barrier reefs are to be found along the edge of the Sunda Shelf, east of Kalimantan, and around Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi.

There are few atolls but the Taka Bone Rate atoll in the Flores Sea is the third largest in the world.

The Indonesian coastal zone supports approximately 60 percent of Indonesia`s 182 million people. In some areas, local people are heavily dependent on a wide variety of reefs and reef-associated animals for home consumption and trade, including turtles, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.

Source:AntaraNews.com

Central Sulawesi`s Tourism Potentials In Need Of Promotion

Thursday, July 8, 2010 14:15 WIB | Features | | Viewed 765 time(s)

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Central Sulawesi is blessed with historical, cultural, religious, and even culinary tourism assets that need to be promoted all-out at home and abroad.

Early 20th-century Eorpean scholars Albert C Kruyt (1909 and Kaudern (1917-1920) did a lot of research on Central Sulawesi`s historical background but part of it has remained undisclosed.

Therefore, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is now determined to promote the province`s abundant tourism potentials overseas through its "Garuda Holiday" program.

"Promotion of Central Sulawesi`s tourism potentials will soon be included in our `Garuda Holiday` program," Muhammad Yunus, manager of the airline`s Palu branch office, said in Palu on Wednesday.

Yunus said Garuda had reopened its route to Palu not only to make Central Sulawesi more accessible by air but also to help the region attract more tourists.

Meanwhile, Yunus`s assistant, Erwin, said Garuda`s Jakarta-Makassar-Palu route which was reopened on July 1, 2010 would make it easier for foreign tourists, especially those from Europe, to come to Central Sulawesi because Garuda flights from Amsterdam to Jakarta usually arrive at 8 am while the Jakarta-Makassar-Palu flight departs at 12 noon and arrives in Palu at 5 pm local time.

"Thus European tourists intending to visit Central Sulawesi by Garuda jetliners will not need to spend too much time at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta to take a connecting flight to Palu via Makassar," Erwin said.

Palu Avia Tour President Director Ari Wowor expressed optimism that the number of European tourists visiting Central Sulawesi would increase following the resumption of Garuda`s service to and from Palu.

He said he was optimistic because foreign tourists always preferred to fly Garuda when they wanted to travel around in Indonesia.

The first Europeans who came to Central Sulawesi to trade with the local kings were Portuguese, followed by the Dutch.

And the prehistoric sites are still there for the European tourists to see in Central Sulawesi, which also has megalithic spots scattered across the highlands of Bada, Napu, and Besoa, areas inhabited by the Lore people.

Central Sulawesi is beautiful with its fascinating mountain, lakes, and valleys that can make foreign tourists love every minute of their stay.

This is why Garuda Indonesia is determined to promote the valuable assets of the province`s natural beauty in other countries.

Garuda reopened its Jakarta-Makassar-Palu route with the first flight with a significant number of passengers to Central Sulawesi city of Palu on Thursday, July 1, 2010.

Yunus did not go into detail of the specific number of passengers, but said the air transportation business in the country at present was quite promising.

He said following the reopening of the Garuda route to Palu, it was expected that both domestic and foreign investors will be more interested in investing in various sectors in Central Sulawesi province.

"With the reopening of the Garuda route, we hope more domestic and foreign tourists will visit the province and more investors will operate here," Yunus said.

According to him, the more air line services are avalable , the more people will travel byh air.

He added that Garuda Boeing 737-400s with 134 seats for business and economic class would make return lights every day between Jakarta and Palu.

The reopening of Garuda`s Palu route was also welcomed enthusiastically by the Central Sulawesi provincial government.

Local Tourism Office chief Suaib Djafar said the provincial government hoped Garuda`s regular flights to and from Palu would help increase foreign tourist arrivals in the province.

He said the reopening of Garuda`s Jakarta-Palu route would also facilitate the local people to travel to other parts of the country and abroad.

Djafar said Garuda was the fourth airline to open a regular air service to and from Palu after Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Batavia Air, and Sriwijaya Air.

He added that Central Sulawesi had a lot of interesting and unique places for tourists to visit but the problem was that road access to those places had yet to be made more convenient.

Tanjung Karang beach in Donggala district, some 37 km northeast of Palu, is also one of the places recommended to tourists to visit.

A local resident of Palu, Rolex Malaha, said by making car trip of about one hour from Pulu city, tourists would find an extremely peaceful spot attached to a beautiful tropical garden and a relaxing atmosphere on the white sandy beach of Tanjung Karang.

He said a protected coral reef just off the white sandy beach of Tanjung Karang would also enable the tourists to explore its magnificent underwater dive spots.

Each year hundreds of European tourists visit Tanjung Karang beach and Togean Islands in the province, and the number is predicted to keep increasing following the reopening of Garuda`s Palu route.

Togean Islands, or just the Togeans, is an archipelago of 56 pristine coral and volcanic islands and islets located in the Gulf of Tomini in Central Sulawesi.

No wonder, the Central Sulawesi Cultural and Tourism Office has planned to organize a "Sail Togean" marine tourism festival next year as a follow up to Sail Banda 2010.

"We have consulted the marine and fishery affairs minister and the cultural and tourism minister on the idea. They gave their support," head of the Central Sulawesi cultural and tourism office Suaib Djafar said.

He said the Central Sulawesi provincial administration would learn from the experiences of North Sulawesi in organizing `Sail Bunaken` and Maluku which is to hold `Sail Banda` this year. (*)

By:Otniel Tamindael-Antara

Encroachments threaten Togean National Marine Park

Ampana, Southeast Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - Encroachments on the Togean National Marine Park at Tojo Una-una, Southeast Sulawesi province, have been going on unchecked so that they may soon cause serious damage to the beautiful underwater wildlife, according to a local forestry officer.

Rasiman Kaimuddin, a staffer at the Togean Islands National Park office, said here on Tuesday residents close to the national park have been hunting Napoleon fish (Cheilinus undulates), an expensive species of coral saline water fish that are in high demand in Hong Kong and Japan for their supposed medicinal potential.

The fish are mostly caught by contaminating the waters with cyanide that make them easy to catch, he said, and therefore their population in the park was fast depleting. But in the process, the scenic under-sea beauty of the national park was also deteriorating.

The beauty of the Togean National Marine Park was characterized by the green coral reefs, but now the green was gradually turning white because of the appearance of the quickly multiplying sea centipede. This centipede is the main staple for Napoleon fish.

"If there`s no action to stop (the encroachments), the beauty of this area will soon only exist in our memory," Kaimuddin said, adding that a problem hampering efforts to halt the encroachments was the fact that the government had yet demarcate the borders of the park.

The government had declared the Togean waters a national marine through a Forestry Ministry decree in 2004 which mentions that Togean islands, situated in the middle of Tomini bay, with a total area of 362,605 hectares, including 10,659 hectares of protected forest on the islands.

This unclear status of the limits, he said, had often led the park authority to face problems. All the authority could do was going to the local people and explain to them about the need to preserve the environment there.

Source: AntaraNews.com

Fadli planned `Mumbai-style` terror attack : police

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian terror suspect Fadli Sadama who was recently nabbed by the Malaysian police had allegedly planned to plot a `Mumbai style` terror attack in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, a police officer said.

"Fadli had planned to mount an attack in Pekanbaru like the terrorist raid in Mumbai, India, some time ago" the National Antiterror Agency`s (BNPT) Director Petrus Golosse said.

Speaking to newsmen here Saturday, Golosse also accused the 28-year-old terror suspect of planning a robbery in Medan, North Sumatra`s provincial capital, along with Tony Togar.

Togar himself was captured by Indonesian police in Siantar city, North Sumatra, for his alleged involvement in the first bombing of the JW Marriott hotel, Jakarta, in 2003, he said.

"Fadli is also suspected of planning a terror attack in the Mount Anak Krakatau area with foreign tourists as his main target," he said.

Fadli Sadama alias Fernando alias Said was recently caught in Malaysia and subsequently extradited to Indonesia.

He reportedly arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Saturday at 5.30 PM abroad a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur, an informed source said.

Fadli was caught in October 2010 by the special branch of the Malaysian Police (PDRM), which is a unit specially assigned to deal with terror problems and domestic security.

The arrest was made as a result of cooperation between the Indonesian and Malaysian police forces. Fadli carried two handguns when caught. The pistols bought in Malaysia would be brought to Indonesia.

Fadli was released from the Tanjung Gusta jail in Medan, North Sumatra, in July 2010 where he had been jailed in connection with his involvement in the Bank Lippo robbery in Medan in 2003.

He had used the loot to finance the JW Marriot I bombing in 2003 by a militant group led by the late Azhari and Noordin M Top.(*)

Climate change forces farmers to find alternative livelihoods

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Climate change is forcing farmers in certain parts of Indonesia to adapt and look for other livelihoods as symptoms of global warming had disturbed the pattern of their crop planting activity.

"The long dry season that we experienced recently has caused crop failures which is why we have taken the initiative to change the cropping pattern to adjust with rainfall conditions and choose more robust and short-lived varieties plants," said Surono, a farmer in Godean, Sleman, Yogyakarta.

Based on the global symptoms of climate change, some Indonesian farmers now seemed to be looking for alternative sources of income to adapt to the surrounding conditions that have changed, in order to survive from crops failure.

Surono is also looking for alternative income sources other than rice crops such as breeding ducks which considered not affected by climate change.

"If a farmer has a 1,000 square meters wetland area, some 100 meter square of the area can be used for breeding livestocks as an alternative business," he said.

In addressing to the matter, the National Council on Climate Change (DNPI) spokesperson Dr. Amanda Katili Niode said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in this case is committed to reducing carbon emissions by 26 percent with its own strength and 40 percent if with the help of other countries" she said here Monday.

The Indonesian central government is fully committed to addressing climate change which is shown by the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono statement to cut 26 percent carbon emission, an official said.

Amanda said that climate change was marked by a change in rainfall and global warming which due to the stacked gases like methane and CO2 within the earth`s atmosphere.

"Indonesia as a developing country has contributed to reduce the rapidly increasing carbon emissions, therefore a continuous mitigation and adaptation efforts must be done, such as reforestation and energy efficiency by using renewable energy such as wind, water and sun," she said.

Developing countries are given some financial assistance of 30 million US dollars to reduce emissions, while developed countries are expected to be a role model in efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

"Such environmental issues became a mutual responsibility where everybody is involved in it, ranging from policy makers to the public," she said.(*)

Strengthening role of teenagers in halting HIV/AIDS

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The spread of HIV/AIDS virus among the people from productive age group remains high in Indonesia.

In the East Java district of Jember, for instance, 69 percent of its residents with HIV/AIDS was in the productive ages of 25-49 years, teenagers accounted for 14 years old, and toddlers and elderly and 17 years old, spokesperson of the district`s health office Yumarlis said.

"HIV/AIDS patients in Jember are mostly in the productive age group. They are generally people who often use the services of prostitutes," he said.

Over the past six years, at least 36 HIV/AIDS patients in Jember district had died, he said.
At national level, the Health Ministry has noted 21,770 cases with a death toll of 4,128 people since April 1987.

Majority of the infected people was men as a result of heterosexual and bisexual relationship and injection drugs.

Due to its great impacts of the disease on the country`s economy and productivity, the fight against HIV/AIDS remains part of the government`s priority program.

However, the number of young people with comprehensive knowledge about this disease remains relatively low.

Secretary of the Indonesian Commission for AIDS Eradication Nafsiah Mboi has even revealed this fact in her article titled "AIDS Eradication Target by 2015" in Kompas` Wednesday daily edition.

Referring to the outcome of what she claimed as the latest survey, Nafsiah said only 14 percent of Indonesians of the 15-24 age group had comprehensive basic understanding about HIV.

Compared to the target of the UN Millennium Development Goals that percentage was so low because Indonesia had expected that 90 percent of 15-to-24-year-old Indonesians should have comprehensive basic knowledge about HIV, she said.

The depth of knowledge about HIV/AIDS is closely related to the access of children and teenagers to education.

Therefore, the increasing access to education for children and teenagers is believed to pave the way for the nation`s success in halting the growth of HIV/AIDS cases in Indonesia.

According to Director of World Vision Indonesia`s Campaign Division Asteria T Aritonang, education had evidently played an important role in halting the spread of the deadly disease.

"Education plays an important role in halting the threat of HIV/AIDS at national level. By increasing access to education, our younger generation can get knowledge and skills that enable them to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS," she said in a press statement.

In this connection, all stakeholders in the educational sector in Indonesia share an important role in creating young Indonesians` way of thinking about HIV/AIDS problems so that they can get rid of the deadly virus.

The younger generation`s role in helping the various stakeholders` efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS has been part of the World Vision Indonesia`s sustainable programs.

Along with its partner, Wahana Visi Indonesia, World Vision Indonesia had paid serious attention to the prevention of the HIV/AIDS spread among children and teenager groups, Aritonang said.

One of the sustainable and strategic programs that has been designed and developed at schools in various parts of the country is setting up junior high student peer groups.

Among towns and cities that already had student peer groups with the average age of 12 - 15 years were Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Sambas (West Kalimantan), Eruwok (Papua), Keerom (Papua), and Port Numbay (Jayapura), she said.

The student activists joining these peer groups were well trained to disseminate accurate information on all things related to HIV/AIDS virus and the ways to handle and get rid of it to the children of the same age group, Aritonang said.

The peer-to-peer approach is not only applied in Indonesia but also in such countries with relatively high prevalence rate as India.

This approach is, for instance, applied by those working for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the South Asian country.

"Through this approach, members of at-risk groups -- sex workers, their clients and partners, high-risk men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users -- provide outreach within their own communities."

As revealed in the foundation`s official website, the trained peers would identify those who were at risk and assisted them by providing them with correct information on how to improve their attendance at recommended clinics and self-help programs.

The teenagers` role in halting the spread of HIV/AIDS is undoubtedly important.

However, the question that needs to be raised is how to increase the number of acknowledgable young people to enable this sexually-active age group to have a comprehensive understanding about HIV/AIDS and ways to avoid it, as well as make them consistent with the "no-sex-before-marriage" principle and have sex only with their spouses.

By:Rahmad Nasution-Antara

Efforts To Maintain Papua`s Cultural Diversity

Jakarta, (ANTARA News) - Made up of 193 ethnic groups that speak 193 different dialects, the population of Papua, Indonesia`s easternmost province, cannot be compared with any other region in the country in terms of cultural diversity.

In other parts of Indonesia, modernization has resulted in profound changes in many aspects of the people`s life but in Papua much of the traditional social structures, tribal customs and arts of the Asmat, Ka Moro, Dani, and Sentani have endured.

Besides, the source of various local wisdoms for humanity and better environmental management can be found among the tribes of Aitinyo, Arfak, Asmat, Agast, Ayamaru, Mandacan, Biak, Arni, Sentani, and others.

Ancient rituals are still performed for important social events in which each province and district has its own cultural festivals and shows for visitors and tourists to have the opportunity to glimpse the many visual and performing arts of Papua.

The most popular annual Lembah Baliem Cultural Festival and Lake Sentani Festival are the event that attract tourists from all over the world.

No wonder various efforts have been made to maintain and preserve the cultural diversity in Papua.

In the provincial city of Jayapura on Friday, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu said a Papua cultural research center would soon be established in the city.

"Papua provincial government will soon establish a cultural research center in Jayapura to protect and preserve the local culture and arts," Governor Barnabas Suebu said.

Suebu said the center would be established as a follow-up to a number of recommendations that had been made in a four-day international conference on Papua cultural diversity in Indonesia`s cultural mosaic in Jayapura from Monday to Thursday (November 8-11, 2010).

With the presence of the center, the governor expressed hope that cultural experts at home and abroad could get together to discuss ways to preserve Papua culture and traditional arts.

In addition, he said Papua culture could continue to be preserved and maintained in the globalization and modernization era.

"Therefore we will provide the funds and the location where the Papua cultural center will be built," Governor Suebu said.

Commenting on the international conference on Papua cultural diversity which was concluded on Thursday, the governor said it was intended for the participants to study, to understand, to respect, and to promote the local cultural diversity in various ways.

UNDP Indonesia official Tuan Wisnu who attended the conference in Jayapura said several recommendations have been produced to maintain and preserve Papua`s cultural diversity.

"A drafting team, made up of academics, researchers, experts, and some participants of the conference, formulated a number of important recommendations," Tuan Wisnu said in Jayapura on Friday.

He said the recommendations covered among others the importance to respect and fully support Papua provincial government`s effort to conduct a conference of Papua cultural diversity, to encourage the local government to facilitate and inventorize Papua culture, and to develop Papua cultural heritage through a research and documentation, to encourage the local people including youth and women participation in cultural preservation, and to encourage the central government to preserve Papua cultural diversity.

More than 300 Academics and representatives from culture and tourism offices from Indonesia, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, and religious community of non government organizations in Papua participated in the conference, organized by Papua Province in cooperation with Tourism and Culture Ministry, UNDP Indonesia, WWF, and UNESCO.

Papua province is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and unique culture and traditional arts, but economically its people`s standard of living lag far behind those of their brothers and sisters in other parts of the country.

The central and regional governments have already made various efforts to improve the Papua people`s standards of living and preserve the province`s resources and cultural heritage, but so far without optimal results.

It is a non-governmental organization, the Asmat Progress and Development Foundation, that has shown a serious commitment to preserving the local cultural heritage and raising international awareness of and support for the progress of the Papuan people.

Governor Barnabas Suebu once said the abundance of traditional art potential in the province needed serious attention and the gentle touch of professional and skilled hands.

Suebu said skilled and professional people with a vision of the future were encouraged to explore, develop, and save the plenteous Papua traditions and cultural arts from extinction.

"Not only that, Papuan traditional arts really have precious market value, and they also support the future of the province`s tourism sector without the risk of losing their specific characteristics," the governor said.

Papua is actually rich in traditional arts and culture but unfortunately it lacks human resources to develop them, although the Asmat traditional sculptures have crossed the mountains and oceans to hit international markets.

Other effort to maintain Papua cultural diversity was that in June his year Governor Suebu installed the new administrators and supervisors of Bina Seni Budaya Papua foundation, namely Septer Manufandu as chairman, and Dominggus Rumadas, Habelino Sawaki, and James Mayor as members.

Governor Suebu then called on them to understand and to implement their respective tasks well, and make a good cooperation among them in a bid to save the local culture and traditional arts from extinction.

Preservation and promotion of Papua`s culture and traditional arts are also made through a so-called Lake Sentani Festival (FDS) which has been organized twice in the two consecutive years from 2008-2009, and the third of its kind was staged from June 19-23, 2010.

Themed `Loving Culture for Our Future,` Jayapura district head Habel Melkias Suwae said the Lake Sentani Festival was conducted to attract as many domestic and foreign tourists as possible to visit Papua. (*)

by:Otniel Tamindael-Antara

Bangka`s Batu Rakit Beach good for family tourism

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Spending an evening at Batu Rakit Beach in Bangka Barat district, Bangka-Belitung (Babel) province, is a memorable experience for new visitors.

Stretching over about one kilometer on Bangka Island`s western coastline, Batu Rakit Beach can be reached in less than two hours by car from the provincial capital of Pangkal Pinang.

Bangka Island is blessed with a lot of pristine white sandy beaches which are perfect for family outings, and Batu Rakit Beach is one of them worth visiting.

No wonder, the administration of Bangka Barat district is planning to develop Batu Rakit Beach as a family tourism area.

"Batu Rakit beach will be developed into a resort for family outings," local Culture and Tourism Office spokesman Khairul Amri said in Muntok on Monday.

He said the facilities such as children`s play grounds and small cottages for relaxation on Batu Rakit beach would continue to be improved and upgraded for family outings.

"We will also build accommodations with adequate sanitation at Batu Rakit beach for the comfort of visitors," Khairul said.

He said the 20-hectare white sandy beach is one of the most attractive and favorite recreational spots in Bangka Barat district for family vacations.

"Every day the beach is visited by more than a hundred people and perhaps 10 times that number on holidays," he said.

With its breath-taking panoramic view, Batu Rakit beach has a great potential to be developed into another tourist object, but unluckily it has yet to be supported by adequate facilities.

"We will continue to develop the beach into a leading tourist attraction in Bangka," Khairul said.

It is a real joy for the visitors to see such a beautiful white sandy beach Batu Rakit with its tranquil and crystal clear water.

"Indeed, Batu Rakit Beach has a special attraction for visitors who arrive in Bangka Island for the first time in their lives," said Gwendoline Wurlina and Madeleine Laurail, two Harapan Baru Penabur High School students from Jakarta, who visited the beach recently.

They said that whether you are into fishing, swimming, snorkeling, or strolling along the edges of waterways, Batu Rakit Beach is the perfect escape.

For Gwendoline and Madeleine, strolling on the white sand of the pristine Batu Rakit Beach and contemplating the view was a humbling experience.

"Therefore, it becomes difficult for us to remember why we ever got stressed because life seems to take on entirely different perspectives in Bangka," Gwendoline said.

And again, Khairul Amri said, Bangka Barat district`s administration was currently developing two other tourism objects in addition to Batu Rakit Beach.

"With their appealing natural beauty, the two tourism objects namely Menumbing rest house, and Dendang Hot Spring including Batu Rakit Beach are expected to attract a multitude of both domestic and foreign tourists," Kahirul said.

He said Menumbing rest house has historical value because the house used to be the residence of Bung Karno and Bung Hatta when they were exiled to Bangka island during the Dutch colonial era.

"Visitors can enjoy the original state of the house in a more comfortable atmosphere because we have renovated it," Khairul said.

To introduce the three tourist objects, he said Bangka Barat district government would continue to make familiarization through photos and brochures.

"With continuous familiarization, we hope many domestic and foreign tourists will come to Bangka Barat," he added.

Therefore, Chairul also expressed hope that the local people would actively improve their creativity by creating various typical crafts for souvenirs in a bid to support the tourism in their area.

Batu Rakit is one of so many beaches on Bangka Islands such as Matras, Parai, Tanjung Pesona in Sungailiat district, Romodong beach at Bukit Ketok village in Belinyu district, and Pasir Padi and Sampur in Bangka Tengah district.

Located some 9 kilometers from Sungailiat, the 3-kilometer beach of Matras is considered one of the best in Bangka Island.

Matras in an unspoiled white sandy beach with swaying coconut trees around it.
Meanwhile, Parai is also one of Bangka Island`s prides because the visitors can find various forms of boulders in this beach, which add its beauty.

That beach is very ideal for swimming, sun bathing and relax for it has luxurious hotels and water sport facilities for the tourists to enjoy their visit with the local fishermen.

In reality, Bangka Island has marine tourism and historical attractions in abundance.

Having lush tropical forests surrounded by crystal clear sea with white sandy beaches, Bangka island is another tourism destination in Indonesia.

Therefore, after visitors have set foot on those pristine, beautiful beaches of Batu Rakit, Parai, Pasir Padi, Sampur, Matras, Tanjung Pesona, and Parai, returning to their hotels and accommodations will be the hardest thing to do.

It is because of these abundant marine tourism and historical attractions that the Pangkalpinang city government is currently making every effort to develop them for both domestic and foreign tourists.

"Besides marine tourism, historical attractions also have a great potential to attract and increase the number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit the island," Pangkalpinang culture and tourism office spokesman Ahmad Elvian said in Pangkalpinang recently.

By Otniel Tamindael-Antara

Yogyakarta airport now operating until late at night

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Adisutjipto airport in Yogyakarta , about 35 kilometers south of Mount Merapi,Indonesia is now operating normally until late at night.

"After being reopened following its closure as a result of Mount Merapi`s eruptions last month, the airport has so far been opened only from 6am to 6pm but now after the danger status of the mountain has been lowered the airport is operating normally," airport operator PT Angakasa Pura`s operations manager Halendra W said here on Saturday.

He said after the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency lowered the danger status of Mount Merapi at 9am on December 3 all parties concerned had conducted a coordination meeting that produced notice to airmen (NOTAM) Number B2162/10 stating "aerodrome normal operation and on request."

"The NOTAM is effective as of December 3," he said.

The decision earlier to open the airport only from 6am to 6pm from November 21 to December 3 was based upon NOTAM Number B2130/10.

Based upon the data collected by the airport operator, he said, number of arrivals and departures of passengers at the airport had started to reach normalcy.

On December 2, the number of passengers arriving at and departing from the airport reached 84.7 percent and on Sunday the number was expected to reach 95 percent.

"It is hoped next week it will reach 100 percent," he said.(*)

Maluku`s Pombo Island to be another tourist attraction

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Surrounded by white sandy beaches marked by natural purity and crystal clear water, the small island of Pombo in Maluku needs to be turned into another tourist attraction in the "province of one thousands islands."

Having a good time with family members at the beach around the efficiently and environmentally friendly island of Pombo will be an unforgettable experience for the visitors.

Since Pombo Island is part of Central Maluku district, the local culture and tourism office has undoubtedly called on investors to develop that coral island`s tourism potential.

Central Maluku Culture and Tourism Office spokesman Mansyur Tawainela said in Ambon on Thursday that investors were expected to develop Pombo Island and preserve its natural tourism heritage as another tourism object in Maluku.

Maluku province is a chain of around 1,000 islands, extending over 851,000 square kilometers.

Some of the islands are volcanic regions covered with luxurious vegetation and the others are surrounded with the finest coral reefs and atolls with crystal clear waters.

The beaches there are lined with swaying coconuts that make them some of the finest in the world, and one of them is at Pombo Island.

Therefore Mansyur said he was prepared to facilitate the investors who wanted to develop that tiny island, located northeast of Ambon, into a marine and natural tourism destination in Central Maluku district.

"Pombo Island has natural and undersea beauty that can make the visitors feel at home once they set foot on the island," Mansyur said, adding that the most interesting part of the island was its natural purity and beauty.

Pombo Island is geographically close to Liang, Waai, and Tulehu villages at Salahutu subdistrict in Ambon Island, and near Kailolo village in Haruku Island.

Mansyur said the development of Pombo Island into a tourism object should also be approved by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan because of the island`s status as a nature preserve.

"We are ready to give a recommendation to the forestry minister if the investors have met various requirements," Mansyur said, adding that Liang, Waai, Tulehu, and Kailolo villagers would also be encouraged to participate in making Pombo Island tourism development a success.

According to him, an investor from Jakarta had an intention to develop Pombo Island into a tourism object, because a team of the investor was currently making a familiarization with Liang, Waai, Tulehu, and Kailolo villagers.

Pombo Island is about 30 minutes from the coast of Waai Village by boat and it takes approximately 45 minutes to get to Waai from Ambon City.

Mansyur said the travelers to Pombo Island could get there by boat, provided by the local agencies.

The agencies will also provide the visitors with diving equipment so that they can dive to enjoy the beauty and amazing Pombo Island`s underwater world.

"The colorful fishes swim across so that all divers may photograph or capture the moment by video cameras. The complete species of fishes may be observed by observers who want to make research," Mansyur said.

Meanwhile, Din Kelilauw of Ambon residence said that not only the complete collection of fishes that would amaze the scuba diver but also its coral reef as the fishes home redecorated the scene.

The tropical sun shine will brighten the scene and give certain effect on the photographs, so that we recommend Pombo Island as a destination for challenging family holiday, Kelilauw said.

Pombo Island marine recreation park comprises an area of 1,000 hectares with nothing more than sandy beaches and coral debris, covered by shrubs and nesting trees for various big and small birds species.

But unfortunately the coral reefs immediately surrounding the island are heavily damaged, and only a small area south-east of Pombo Island is still worth visiting.

Pombo Island marine park, an atoll with white sandy beach inhabited by sea gulls, is also located just across from Ambon Island`s Honimua beach at Liang village.

"But Honimua beach sometimes looks desolate even on holidays or weekends, because people now prefer going to other places," said Rosny Marasabessy, a visitors from Ambon.

She admitted that holiday makers seldom visited Honimua beach because it was rather far from Ambon while its services and recreation facilities were not good enough.

The beauty of Liang`s Honimua beach seemed to have been grossly neglected by the local government, whereas this tourism asset needed the attention of all parties in the region.

Liang village head Abdul Razak Opier said to take care of the facilities at Honimua beach the village administration got only Rp1.5 million for the period 2009-2010 from the local government.

But now, Maluku tourism and culture office spokesperson Ima Tualeka said, the recreation and other facilities at the beach would be rehabilitated and upgraded to attract more tourists.

Maluku`s culture and tourism authorities also made every effort to do an upgrading and rehabilitating job on the facilities at Honimua beach to make it more presentable to tourists and other visitors.

The stretch of pristine beach at Liang village in Salahatu sub-district which in the 1990s was rated as the most beautiful seashore in Indonesia by the UN Development Program (UNDP) once attracted many visitors, but somehow it became a forgotten recreational spot.

Located northeast of Leihitu Promontory, Honimua beach facing Seram Island used to draw numerous visitors on holidays and weekends.

There was also a restaurant, run by local people to provide visitors with typically local food , baked fish, and so-called "Colo-Colo."

Next to the beach was a Ferry Deck to make the crossing to Seram Island and Pombo Island.

Source:Otniel Tamindael-Antara

Will there be the sultanate republic of Yogyakarta?

Indonesia(Antaranews) -A heated discourse on determining the status of Yogyakarta has been filling the air with a big question: will there ever be a Sultanate Republic of Yogyakarta?

"No, there`s no way for any referendum to determine the status of Yogyakarta. That`s would be unconstitutional as there will be no legal basis for holding a referendum in this regard," said Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D. who spoke to the media here Tuesday afternoon.

Yogyakarta is a province within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. Yet, Yogyakarta is steeped in royal culture inherited from the long history of the Javanese sultanate which resulted in the sultan becoming automatically the governor of the province since the birth of the republic in the mid 1940s.

Mahfud, who built his teaching career at the Yogyakarta-based Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) before moving into politics a decade ago in Jakarta, tried his best to stand in between the seemingly open conflict between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Yogyakarta province governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

President Yudhoyono has voiced opposition to the discourse on letting the Sultan of Yogyakarta hold the automatic governorship of the province. He apparently wants Yogyakarta governorship filled by someone elected through a direct election, just like in all the republic`s 32 other provinces.

In his response, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has said that he will tender his resignation as governor of the province if the central government regards him as an obstacle in the restructuring of the province`s administrative arrangement.

Citing relevant articles of the Indonesian 1945 Constitution, Mahfud said both President Yudhoyono and Governor Hamengkubuwono were constitutionally correct in their stances vis a vis the discourse.

Article 18 point 4 of the Constitution, Mahfud said, stipulates that governors, district heads and mayors are respectively the heads of provincial, district and city governments. They are all democratically elected leaders who get their term in office through direct elections.

Whereas, just underneath that very article of the Constitution, Article 18B stipulates that a special status is granted to Yogyakarta. This article clearly points out that the state acknowledges and respects the certain units of regional governments which enjoy special status, or of special characters, though remain being governed by the laws.

"I just want to say that both (leaders) have their constitutional views which must be respected," said Mahfud in a clear tone of balancing his position in the debate, in contrast to the positions taken by some political and public figures who indicate their pro- or contra ideas.

Mahfud added that there are five regions in Indonesia that hold special status. Aceh province was made a special region due to its Islamic law system implemented in the province; Jakarta became special because it was the capital of the country and Yogyakarta has special status because of its historical heritage.

Mahfud, however, let both camps, those in support of the specialty of Yogyakarta and therefore back the Sultan as an automatic governor, and those with a contrary opinion and deem that a democratic political process a necessity, to debate their arguments openly in the parliament.

Monarchy System
The national discourse has been developing fast since earlier this week after President Yudhoyono made a comment related to the issue.

"There should not be a monarchy system which contradicts our Constitution or democratic values," the president said, adding that the nation "need to find a system that represents all considerations, including the special status of Yogyakarta and the implementation of democratic values."

This statement was then followed by a comment by Sultan Hamengkubuwono in which he said ready to resign from the Yogyakarta governorship. He hinted that his being on the governorship seat of the province might have been seen as an obstacle to include the province in the direct election systems applied nationally.

However, a Presidential aide, Velix Wanggai, said to the media that President Yudhoyono has always "respected" Yogyakarta`s special status as a province and a sultanate. And that he would consider the long history of the Yogyakarta sultanate as the central government works to implement democracy in all regions.

"The President still takes into account the special status of Yogyakarta, the existing system there and the history of the kingdom`s merger into the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia," Velix said on Sunday.

Airlangga University sociologist Hotman Siahaan said that it was wrong to consider Yogyakarta a monarchy. Yogyakarta was a "symbolic" monarchy for the Javanese - and not a true political monarchy.

"The government of Yogyakarta has applied all the principles of democracy and the administration functions just like other provinces. It would be wrong if the President did not immediately affirm Yogyakarta`s special status," he said on Monday.

New Law
The government has been asked with preparing a new law on the status of Yogyakarta after the old one prepared by the previous House of Representatives was suspended following a deadlock over the main issue of whether the province`s governor was to be elected or appointed.

All nine House factions have proposed the automatic appointment of the Yogyakarta king or sultan to governor, but the government represented by former home minister Mardiyanto wanted the governor to be elected through a public direct election.

Indonesia owed its Independence to Yogyakarta Sultanate when the highly respected Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX stood decisively in defense of the fledgling republic after declared that the sultanate merged into the republic. President Sukarno then awarded a province status, a special one, including the sultan`s privilege to be governor.

A survey conducted by Kompas daily in April 2007 showed that 74.9 percent of residents in the province agreed that their governor should be someone from the sultanate. Another survey conducted in the same year showed a similar result.(*)

Source: Vicki Febrianto - Antara

Kompasiana To Get Asia Achievement Level

Kompas --In the age of two, Kompasiana (www.kompasiana.com) managed to establish itself as one of the best social media in Asia by Asian award winning Digital Media Awards (ADMA) 2010. Award given by the association of newspapers world WAN-IFRA in Digital Media Asia conference in Singapore a few days ago.

"It's a pride for us all, because Kompasiana no longer at the national level, but also Asia," said Edi Taslim in front of hundreds who attended the celebration kompasianer Kompasiana second anniversary at United Cafe & Bar on Saturday (11/27/2010) morning .

This award complements two national awards achieved Kompasiana few weeks earlier, namely the award for Best Channel Citizen Journalism Blog of Pesta Blogger 2010 and Marketeers Marketeers Netizen Champion of the magazine.

At the awards event that was held for the first time that, Kompasiana won the Silver Award (second place) Best Digital Content User-Based Content category (Best in Digital Content Award - User Generated Content) along with two other social media sites, namely Oknation (www.oknation. net) in the first rank and Stomp (www.stomp.co.sg) ranked third.

Kompasiana's Admin Pepih Nugraha express, rewards the best content is evidence that the presence Kompasiana was very calculated, not only at national level, but also Asia.

"This award is certainly dedicated to all kompasianer, because they not only fill in the content but also jointly maintain beneficial for the incoming content to Internet users," said Pepih.

Pepih further explained, could be a place Kompasiana circulation of good content because it does not apply moderation. Any content that was written people can start running, so that every Netizen free to post news and aspirations they had.

However, freedom of Kompasiana can not be misused by the user to publish content that is unlawful because behind the scenes there is a team that monitors the contents to ensure no violation of rules. "Kompasiana also do not accept the results of Copas content especially plagiarism," added Pepih. (JET)

4,000 Indonesian Islands May Disappear Due to Global Warning

Jakarta(ANTARA-News) - Around 4,000 islands in Indonesia may disappear when the sea surface rises due to global warming, a government official said.

"Global climate change could cause the sea level to rise high enough submerge 4,000 islands in Indonesia," William Suhandar, deputy to the head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Management and Supervision (UKP4), said here Saturday.

As many as 4,000 of Indonesia's 17,500 islands might disappear if the sea level rose by two meters, he said.

"This will be unavoidable if global warming continues causing the sea level to keep rising as happened thousands of years ago when ice bergs melted," he said.

The earth's surface temperature had risen 0.7 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years, he said, adding that this was tangible and reasonable evidence of climate change.

Moreover, the period 1995-2010 had been recorded as the hottest in the last 150 years since 1850, he said.

"There has been an unusual shift in rainfall patterns so that it is now difficult to distinguish the seasons, to differentiate the rainy from the dry season," he said.

Extreme weather and temperatures which occur every year could lead to or trigger natural disasters, he said.

He aid there were two major causes of climate change. One was mismanaged land utilization, deforestation and carbon emission from fossil fuels that exacerbate the green house effect in the atmosphere leading to rising global temperature.

The increasing global temperature could cause the sea level to rise and this posed a threat to around 4,000 islands in Indonesia, he said.

Mitigation of and adaptation to climate change could be advantageous to minimize the effect of global warming and climate change, he said.

Source: Antara

Angklung receives world recognition

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Angklung, Indonesia`s traditional bamboo musical instrument, which has been frequently played before international audiences in Indonesia as well as overseas, has finally received world recognition.

Angklung was one of 47 nominations from 29 countries, which had been examined by the UNESCO Inter-Governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (IGC-ICH) in its fifth session in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday (Nov 17), for inscription into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

"The inclusion of angklung in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list will contribute positively to the preservation (of angklung) nationally and regionally," Tjetjep Suparman, director general of film, art and cultural values at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said in a press statement, Thursday.

UNESCO had concluded Indonesia`s angklung has met criteria of world intangible cultural heritage because it had basic values of cooperation, mutual respect and social harmony, which are main elements of the cultural identity of West Java and Banten people.

With the support of UNESCO, Indonesia would intensify angklung`s preservation and promotion, said Tjetjep Suparman, head of the Indonesian delegation to the Nairobi meeting being held until Nov 19.

He hoped that the younger generation would be more interested in learning and playing angklung in schools in Indonesia and overseas.

Angklung consisting of two to four bamboo tubes suspended in a bamboo frame, bound with rattan cords is originally from West Java.

The tubes are carefully whittled and cut by a master craftspersons to produce certain notes when the bamboo frame is shaken or tapped. Each Angklung produces a single note or chord, so several players must collaborate in order to play melodies.

Traditional Angklungs use the pentatonic scale, but in 1938 West Java musician Daeng Soetigna introduced Angklungs using the diatonic scale.

The Angklung is closely related to traditional customs, arts and cultural identity in Indonesia, played during ceremonies such as rice planting, harvest and circumcision.
In the old time, angklung voice believed to invite the attention of Goddess Dewi Sri (Nyi Sri Pohaci) who brought fertility to rice farmers and happiness and prosperity for mankind.

The oldest angklung in history is called "Angklung gubrag" and was made in Jasinga, Bogor. It has reached 400 years old. Some old angklungs are currently stored in the Museum angklung Sri Baduga, Bandung, West Java.

Over time, Angklung is not only known throughout the archipelago, but has spread to various countries in Asia such as in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The special black bamboo for the Angklung is harvested during the two weeks a year when the cicadas sing, and is cut at least three segments above the ground, to ensure the root continues to propagate.

Angklung education is transmitted orally from generation to generation, and increasingly in educational institutions.

"Because of the collaborative nature of Angklung music, playing promotes cooperation and mutual respect among the players, along with discipline, responsibility, concentration, development of imagination and memory, as well as artistic and musical feelings," UNESCO wrote on its official website, Wednesday.

In order to be inscribed, the elements must comply with a series of criteria, including contributing to spreading the knowledge of intangible cultural heritage and promoting awareness of its importance. Nominees for the inscription must also justify protective measures taken to ensure their viability, according to UNESCO.

the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meets annually to evaluate nominations proposed by State Parties to the 2003 Convention, and decide whether or not to inscribe those cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage on the Convention`s Lists.

Indonesia has become a State Parties after ratifying the 2003 Convention in 2007.
The Committee incorporated 90 elements, including `Keris` (traditional dagger) and wayang puppet theater of Indonesia, in 2008; and inscribed 76 elements, including `Batik` from Indonesia, in 2009.

In 2010, 47 elements, including angklung, have been added to the list. This year`s list also included acupuncture and moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine; Al-Bar?ah, music and dance of Oman Dhofari valleys; Daemokjang, traditional wooden architecture of South Korea; and Flamenco of Spain; and Gingerbread craft from Northern Croatia.

Welcoming the inscription of angklung in the world cultural heritage list,West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, in Bandung, West Java, recently, said his province would intensify promotion and innovation of angklung.

"After being recognized by UNESCO, the next step is to develop further angklung through various means, and to continue promotion of the traditional music instrument," Ahmad Heryawan said.

In the future, angklung would be made a compulsory musical instrument to be played by students and more angklung cultural centers would be set up, according to the governor.

For those wanting to know better about angklung, they could visit an exhibition of angklung being organized by Saung Angklung Udjo at Bentara Budaya in Jakarta from November 18 to 27, 2010.

The exhibition called "Awi-Awi Mandiri - Anglung for the World" is supported by PT Bank Mandiri, Satria Yanwar Akbar, operational director of Saung Angklung Udjo, said in Bandung Thursday (Nov 18).

UN launches "stop violence against women" campaign

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The United Nations Secretary-General`s UNiTE to End Violence Against Women campaign to reduce the increasing number of reported cases commemorates the world day on violence against women on every November 25.

"The campaign activity will be done in various forms with one objective, namely stop violence against women and children," said the Indonesian UN Resident Coordinator El-Mostafa Banlamih here Thursday.

The campaign is done in cooperation from the UNIFEM (United Nation Development Fund for Female), the Indonesian Women and Children Empowerment Ministry and the National Commission for Women.

The program was internationally initiated in 2008 and scheduled to end by 2015 which aimed to prevent and erase any violence acts against women and child all over the world.

UNiTE Campaign is a collaboration of several UN agencies that cooperating with the central and regional governments, private sectors, schools and universities.

Benlamih emphasized on the importance of this program by mentioning that based on the UN member countries data that shows more than 70 percent of women in the world has experienced physically and mentally violence.

The campaign also considered as a joint act that must be done immediately in Indonesia considering the high number for such cases.

According to the Indonesian National Commission for Women, there are some 143,586 violence cases recorded in 2009.

Despite the fact of increasing cases number, Benlamih praised on Indonesia`s improvements development in this case, by the issuance of domestic violence law number 23/2007, the establishment of women and children integrated counseling center and improving data by the national commission for women (Komnas Perempuan).

To achieve the goals, there are other things that hurdles the violence against women handling which is different situation in every country.

Some of the matters that hamper violence handling are the absence of punishment for perpetrators, lack of counseling services for victims, attitudes and behavior that strengthens the negative stereotypes and violence against women, also the lack of resources.

In 2015 the UNiTE`s global target consisting of adopting and apply national laws to punish every form of women and children violence act, multi-sector action plan for the national level, reinforcing data collection on every cases, increase people`s awareness and social mobilization, along with handling sexual violence in conflicts.(*)