Sail Bunaken 2009 to have 12 side events

Twelve side events will be organized during the Sail Bunaken 2009 which will take place in Manado, North Sulawesi, August 12-20, 2009.

The side events would include a sailing pass, a fly pass, a city parade, and a diving record breaking to be participated in by more than 1,500 divers, Marietha Kuntag of the Manado administration, said here on Sunday.

Other events would be a seminar, an admiral dinner, water sports, traditional sports, a crew party, tourism and recreation, a cultural performance, and a food gathering of ship crew members, she said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially open the foreign ship parade which will be held in Manado and Bitung, North Sulawesi.

Some 42 countries have confirmed their participation in the Sail Bunaken 2009, according to her.
The Sail Bunaken 2009 is aimed at strengthening seamen brotherhood and international relations, as well as promoting North Sulawesi as a gate of East Asia.

Foreign participants are also expected to be able to see the beautiful scenery of North Sulawesi`s sea, especially Bunaken National Marine Park.

The Bunaken National Marine Park, one of the world`s best of its kind, covers a total surface area of 89,065 hectares, 97% of which is overlain by sparkling clear, warm tropical water.

Around 150 yachts have been registered to take part in a Darwin (Australia)-Bitung-Manado Yacht Rally which is to be organized as part of Sail Bunaken activities.

Around 8,000 sailors from all over the world are expected to participate in the Sail Bunaken 2009.
The Sail Bunaken will be the largest maritime event ever organized in Asia as it will involve 24 warships, 150 sail boats, and cruise ships from 26 countries.

The warship parade will be participated in by among other things USS George Washington, one of the world`s largest aircraft carriers, with around 5,000 crew members on board.

The US warship will be guarded by three frigates each having 500 crew members on board. The warships will arrive in Bitung starting August 12, 2009. (*)

Action, not words

The grim warning of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that South-East Asia’s biologically diverse coral reefs would disappear by the end of this century if no measures were taken now comes at a time when the whole world is focused more on climate changes than anything else. What is equally important in the ecological and biodiversity chain is oceans that occupy two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. Their importance in the weather cycle that produces monsoons needs no emphasis. It is the benign face of oceans. But they pack destructive power during hurricanes, tsunamis and storms. Understanding the nature of ocean currents and their behaviour is as quirky as predicting the weather. What lies below the ocean surface and on its bed is a world that defies our imagination. The Coral Triangle, a reef network that spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor, has more than 76 per cent of the world’s reef-building coral species and 35 per cent of its coral reef fish species. This coral treasure will be doomed unless the world cuts its carbon emissions by an average 25 per cent in another 10 years. We have been hearing about the doomsday scenarios for years. But what makes the latest WWF warning pertinent is it comes when over 80 countries were debating climate changes and oceans in Manado, Indonesia. It appears that policy makers and the scientific community have at last realised the need – or importance – for including oceans in the climate talks scheduled to be held in Copenhagen in December.

Participants at the World Ocean Conference have adopted a declaration promising to address some of the issues raised at the meet. These include reducing pollution of oceans; sustainable management of fisheries, protection of mangroves, wetlands and coral reefs. But the declaration is non-binding on participating countries. If previous declarations and agreements are any indication, they are being observed more in letter than in spirit. Oceans’ role in climate changes goes beyond the vagaries of weather. They are an important source of food and provide livelihood for millions of people in coastal areas. An equal number of people are dependent on ocean riches directly or indirectly. Seas and oceans also contain millions of tonnes of oil and minerals. They are home to thousands of marine species. The oceans’ existence, particularly their water level, is intrinsically linked to our life on the earth. If their level goes up due to melting of glaciers and Polar caps, which scientists have warned happening because of climatic changes, most of the coastal cities and low-lying islands will go down under the sea. Once we understand how climate changes affect oceans, and by inference our survival, we see the imperative need to include them in any future environmental talks or protocols.

Before reaching agreements, what is more important is, maritime countries should strive to lessen ocean pollution. That is not difficult given the kind of technology available and every country possesses. It is common that many countries release industrial effluents without treating them into the sea. Similarly, coastal towns and cities let the highly polluted sewage and toxic waste into the ocean. The contaminated sea water kills fish and all marine life in the surrounding area and the people who consume tainted sea food fall sick. Over-fishing is another problem that causes depletion of stocks and endangers species. That is already happening. The issues discussed at the ocean conference should not be left there itself. The countries that have attended it should follow them up to the next round of climate talks for action. Otherwise, the lofty statements made in Indonesia remain empty promises.

UNESCO supports planned world ocean conference in Manado

UNESCO has pledged its support for the World Ocean Conference (WOC) to be held in Manado from May 11 to 15, 2009 as part of efforts to deal with global warming.

"Several member states of UNESCO have expressed their readiness to participate in WOC in Manado, as their response to the threat of environmental and marine degradation," North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Sarundajang told the press here on Friday.

Sarundajang attended the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Forum, the 41st Session of the UNESCO Executive Council, in Paris from June 24 to July 1, 2008.

Some 50 countries attending the UNESCO forum expressed their support for the Indonesian government initiative to organize WOC because marine environmental preservation is crucial for the whole world, he said.

The governor and Indonesian Ambassador to UNESCO Aman Wirakartakusumah was asked to present the plans for WOC at the UNESCO meeting.

They also held a meeting with UNESCO World Heritage Center deputy director Kishore Rao to report on what North Sulawesi had done to prepare its Bunaken Marine Park as a world marine biodiversity site.

First Official UN Day For Ocean Awareness

It’s official, today is the first UN designated World Oceans Day. The concept for World Oceans Day was proposed at the 1992 Earth Summit and has been unofficially celebrated every year since then. 17 years later official designation by the U.N. was finally given and is considerate by ocean conservationists as a significant step in conserving and protecting our world’s ocean.

Each year the event organizers designate an official theme and this year they picked “one ocean, one climate, one future”. The offical website, TheOceanProject.com, explains;

The concept of a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Ocean Project has been working closely with the World Ocean Network for the last six years to promote and coordinate World Ocean Day events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations and agencies, universities, schools, and businesses. Each year an increasing number of countries and organizations have been marking June 8th as opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

With the World Ocean Network, The Ocean Project also developed and widely circulated a petition to the United Nations urging them to officially recognize World Ocean Day. With help from our Partner organizations, tens of thousands of people from all parts of the world signed online or paper copies of the petition. Your participation in all of this made a real difference!

While official U.N. designation is not going to change things overnight it is an important step in improving the health of our world’s ocean. Now we need to capitalize on this fresh momentum! We hope you will be involved in planning or participating in a World Oceans Day celebration near you in June.

For those not able to get off work to attend, google has created a few great visualizations to celebrate the wonders of the underwater world. Here is the link: World Oceans Day Visulizations by Google

And for Maritime History buffs it is also the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage on the sailing ship Onrust