Blue Voices

Maritime tourism and fisheries in Indonesia are growing rapidly along with the changing lifestyle of the people. Unknowingly, every tourism and fishery activity has the opportunity to cause negative impacts. What are the negative impacts? Among them are the increase in the volume of waste, pollution, damage to coral reefs, stress on animals, irresponsible fishing practices to a decrease in the number of stocks of fish resources.

The Seafood Savers and Signing Blue programs by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia raise two important issues in supporting the trend in society that is starting to change towards pro-environment, namely tourism and fisheries. The socialization of these two programs was delivered at the Seafood Savers Roadshow and WWF-Indonesia Signing Blue "Towards Sustainable Tourism and Fisheries" at the Rivieria Room, The Luxton Hotel Bandung, Friday evening (19/10/2018) as reported by Jelajahnusa.

The event was attended by General Managers, Executive Chefs, Purchasing Managers and staff of hotels and restaurants in Bandung under the auspices of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI). In addition, also the Indonesian Hotel General Manager Association (IHGMA), Riung Priangan, Indonesian Chef Association (ICA), Indonesian Housekeepers Association (IHKA), ACE Bandung, academic institutions and local media.

In their presentation, WWF's Seafood Savers and Signing Blue conveyed the importance of the role of business actors in the seafood sales chain (buyer) and the tourism business to support environmental conservation efforts in Indonesia. "Buyers (wholesalers, retailers, hotels and restaurants) as serving seafood (seafood) in their business are considered to have a big role in encouraging the consumption of seafood that comes from responsible fishing practices," said Febrina Berlianti, Seafood Market Innovation Coordinator. Therefore, Seafood Savers encourages the commitment of business buyers to improve their seafood buying policies by becoming members of Seafood Savers as part of their support to change for the better.

Meanwhile, on the tourism side, WWF encourages business people to practice responsible marine tourism through the Signing Blue program. With the commitment of tourism providers and tourists to carry out responsible marine tourism activities, this will encourage the creation of a sustainable tourism business for present and future generations. "Signing Blue binds businesses and tourists to jointly encourage the conservation movement to keep moving, while carrying out business practices and tourist activities in a sustainable, fair and equal manner for local communities," said Fritzgerald William Yesaya Wenur, Corporate Engagement for Signing Blue Program . It is hoped that the network of various business actors can be encouraged to continue to increase their role in responsible and sustainable fisheries and marine tourism. Through commitment and joint efforts these players can finally inspire more business practitioners to jointly encourage sustainable fisheries and marine tourism practices in order to maintain the preservation of marine ecosystems and resources.

"Tourism and fisheries are two sides that are interrelated and determine the sustainability of existing resources. The world of tourism, both actors and service providers, is very dependent on the availability of fish consumed, while the availability of fish will determine the continuity of the world of tourism," Adji Santoso, Head of Corporate Partnership WWF Indonesia.

For your information, Seafood Savers is a business-to-business platform initiated by WWF-Indonesia to implement efforts to improve fisheries in Indonesia that refer to the MSC and ASC eco-label standards, while Signing Blue is a WWF-Indonesia initiative for responsible marine tourism in the hope of being able to capture all elements that intersect with marine tourism.

*Visit the original article at https://www.ihgma.com/wwf-gandeng-pelaku-pariwisata-bandung-menuju-pariwisata-dan-perikanan-berkelanjutan/