First Indonesian symposium on dugong and seagrass habitat
August 22, 2016
ID1 Project Update: Jan thru June 2016
ID 1 was kicked-off with the first National Symposium on Dugong and Seagrass Habitat, held on 20-21 April 2016 and hosted by one of the Partners in Indonesia, the University of Bogor.
The aim of the Symposium was to collect data on the status of dugong populations and seagrass habitats distribution at the national level.
Four main topics were covered during the Symposium, including: 1) institutional and regulatory framework of dugong and seagrass conservation, 2) dugong biology, population, and pathology, 3) distribution, ecology and feeding habitat, 4) threats, awareness, and sustainable use. The results from the discussions at the Symposium formed recommendations on pilot sites for project ID3, which aims to launch incentives (for local communities) to support the conservation of dugongs and seagrass habitats in dugongs hotspots in Indonesia. Based on the discussions three more sites were selected in addition Bintan to pilot incentives for dugongs and seagrass protection. These are Kotawaringin Barat District, Alor District and Tolitoli District.
A press conference with MMAF, LIPI, IPB and WWF-Indonesia representatives was facilitated to accommodate journalists from 15 media.
The Symposium in figures: 140 participants, 4 keynote speakers, 49 papers
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An initial draft of Dugong and Seagrass National Plan of Action (NPOA) was developed through expert discussion and a subsequent meeting, held on 14 June 2016. The draft referred to the Symposium recommendation, the document of dugong strategy and action plan in Indonesia written by LIPI, and the strategic and action plan for protected and threatened species prepared by CMB-MMAF as well. (global Project activity 413)