The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an 880,000 dollar technical assistance grant to help formulate a medium-term strategy for Indonesia's marine and fisheries sector, a bank statement said Saturday. The grant will fund the drafting of a 10-year sector strategy that will cover areas such as policy reforms, institution strengthening, resource management and eco-tourism. Indonesia, the largest archipelagic country in the world, is endowed with vast marine and fisheries resources and has the world's second longest coastline at 81,000 kilometres. The sector, which employs about 6 million people, contributes 3 per cent to Indonesia's entire economic output. It is known as the world's largest marine and fish producer and the world's 10th largest fish exporter. The Manila-based ADB, however, said that at present the sector is faced with numerous problems including degradation of marine habitats, pollution, illegal and overfishing, poverty among coastal communities and low productivity of small fishermen. "A new and comprehensive sector strategy and integrated action plan are required to systematically address the needs of Indonesia's marine and fisheries sector," said Weidong Zhou, an ADB senior agriculture and natural resources management specialist. The project will be carried out over eight months beginning this month. -- SP 2356 Local Time 2056 GMT
