ID :
60366
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 14:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/60366
The shortlink copeid
OANA SHOULD ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS TO ADDRESS GLOBAL WARMING
Manado, May 13 (ANTARA) - Organization of Asia Pacific News Agency (OANA) President Ahmad Muklis Yusuf has asked OANA members to enhance public awareness to address the impact of global warming.
"We must not forget the massive geographical realities of the Asia-Pacific region. There are countries with the largest population on the earth like China, India, Indonesia and some others," he said in his opening address at a workshop on the role of media in preserving the global environment here on Wednesday.
Ahmad Muklis Yusuf, who is also chief executive officer of ANTARA news agency said a half of the world?s population live in this region and therefore, the media shoulder huge responsibilities in raising the public awareness of the need to address the global warming.
The rise in global temperatute could affect coral reefs as they could only thrive in a temperature of 25-30 degrees Celsius, he said adding coral reefs could also only really survive at a depth of 10-15 meters, in clear water with relatively strong light penetration.
Global warming caused bleaching-- a condition where coral reefs are killed because of undesirable sea conditions, he said.
The marine life relying on these reefs were also killed when this bleaching process took place, he said.
He said the ever degradative qualities of the environment was not confined to one or two countries alone but all the nations as well.
"The whole world faces this grave problems, meaning that the responsibilities to deal with these problems are everyone's duties, whoever and wherever they are," he said.
In this part of the world, the Asia-Pacific region, OANA played a decisive role in raising the people's awarenes of the need to address these environmental problems, he said.
The workshop was organized coinciding with the World Ocean Conference (WOC) and Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit held here on May 11-15.
Noting that the two events were of great significance ,the OANA President said Indonesia more than 70 percent of whose territory is made up of waters had actually been among the most active countries in seeking ways to deal with environmental issues.
"There are more than 17,00 islands with a coastline spanning a total distance of 95,000 kilometers. This sheer geographical reality makes Indonesia have the fourth longest coastline after Canada, the United States and Russia," he said.
Around 25 journalists from OANA member agencies, such as from ANTARA (Indonesia), Bernama (Malaysia), Kyodo (Japan), Yonhap (South Korea), VNA (Vietnam), QNA (Qatar) and Xinhua (China), are participating in the workshop.
Journalists from EFE of Spain, Venezuela, Cuba, Canada, Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentine, who group in the Journalist Visit program, also are attending the workshop.
Speakers and resource persons will include Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freedy Number, Minister of the Environment Dr. Rachmat Witoelar, UNESCO Program Specialist for Environment Sciences Robert Lee, Minister of Communication and Informatics Dr Muhammad Nuh, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Hassan Wirajuda, Google's Chief Technology Advocate (Google Earth) Michael Jones, and Prof. Tridoyo Kusumastanto of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.
In the last day of the workshop, the journalists will join a field visit to Bunaken marine park, around 10 km from Manado, to see the rich marine biodiversity of the protected marine park.
The Indonesian government is organizing the WOC (May 11-14) and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit (May 15) in Manado to discuss issues on the climate change and the oceans.
OANA, which was established in 1961 with the support of UNESCO, now has 40 member news agencies from 33 countries.
"We must not forget the massive geographical realities of the Asia-Pacific region. There are countries with the largest population on the earth like China, India, Indonesia and some others," he said in his opening address at a workshop on the role of media in preserving the global environment here on Wednesday.
Ahmad Muklis Yusuf, who is also chief executive officer of ANTARA news agency said a half of the world?s population live in this region and therefore, the media shoulder huge responsibilities in raising the public awareness of the need to address the global warming.
The rise in global temperatute could affect coral reefs as they could only thrive in a temperature of 25-30 degrees Celsius, he said adding coral reefs could also only really survive at a depth of 10-15 meters, in clear water with relatively strong light penetration.
Global warming caused bleaching-- a condition where coral reefs are killed because of undesirable sea conditions, he said.
The marine life relying on these reefs were also killed when this bleaching process took place, he said.
He said the ever degradative qualities of the environment was not confined to one or two countries alone but all the nations as well.
"The whole world faces this grave problems, meaning that the responsibilities to deal with these problems are everyone's duties, whoever and wherever they are," he said.
In this part of the world, the Asia-Pacific region, OANA played a decisive role in raising the people's awarenes of the need to address these environmental problems, he said.
The workshop was organized coinciding with the World Ocean Conference (WOC) and Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit held here on May 11-15.
Noting that the two events were of great significance ,the OANA President said Indonesia more than 70 percent of whose territory is made up of waters had actually been among the most active countries in seeking ways to deal with environmental issues.
"There are more than 17,00 islands with a coastline spanning a total distance of 95,000 kilometers. This sheer geographical reality makes Indonesia have the fourth longest coastline after Canada, the United States and Russia," he said.
Around 25 journalists from OANA member agencies, such as from ANTARA (Indonesia), Bernama (Malaysia), Kyodo (Japan), Yonhap (South Korea), VNA (Vietnam), QNA (Qatar) and Xinhua (China), are participating in the workshop.
Journalists from EFE of Spain, Venezuela, Cuba, Canada, Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentine, who group in the Journalist Visit program, also are attending the workshop.
Speakers and resource persons will include Indonesian Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Freedy Number, Minister of the Environment Dr. Rachmat Witoelar, UNESCO Program Specialist for Environment Sciences Robert Lee, Minister of Communication and Informatics Dr Muhammad Nuh, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Hassan Wirajuda, Google's Chief Technology Advocate (Google Earth) Michael Jones, and Prof. Tridoyo Kusumastanto of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.
In the last day of the workshop, the journalists will join a field visit to Bunaken marine park, around 10 km from Manado, to see the rich marine biodiversity of the protected marine park.
The Indonesian government is organizing the WOC (May 11-14) and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Summit (May 15) in Manado to discuss issues on the climate change and the oceans.
OANA, which was established in 1961 with the support of UNESCO, now has 40 member news agencies from 33 countries.
