BREAKING: Bali airport to start welcoming foreign travelers on Oct. 14

Indonesia has set a specific date for the reopening of Bali to international travelers, as one of the country’s top officials announced this afternoon that the province’s airport will start welcoming foreign visitors on Oct. 14.

The long-awaited announcement came from Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, who stressed that foreign visitors must quarantine for a minimum of 8 days upon arrival, and are expected to show proof of hotel booking for this purpose, among other requirements.

“There are several countries we will be open to: South Korea, China, Japan, [United Arab Emirates], and also New Zealand,” Luhut said during a virtual press conference.

Further details have yet to be announced at this point, but as have been the case with previous major announcements regarding COVID-19 restrictions in Indonesia, they should be expected from other officials in the next few days.

During the press conference, Luhut also reminded Indonesians to refrain from “excessive euphoria” amid the loosening of restrictions, as the country’s COVID-19 numbers continue to decline.

Source - Coconuts

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UN for first time places day’s focus on threats to undersea ecosystem

THE UNITED NATIONS has identified over-fishing and islands of plastic pollution as the major threats not only to ocean biodiversity but also to the livelihoods of billions of people who rely on bountiful seas.

The importance of marine biodiversity to the global economy and food security was highlighted on World Wildlife Day yesterday, which had as its theme “Life below water: For people and planet”. 

The UN expressed grave concern over the unsustainable exploitation of fish stocks and plastic pollution.

The World Wildlife Day website noted that this was the first time the theme focused on life underwater. The objective was to persuade people to recognise the significance of marine biodiversity and its crucial importance to humanity, it said.

 People were encouraged to keep the marine ecosystem healthy so that future generations can also benefit from the rich sea life.

The oceans are home to at least 200,000 identified species and scientists estimate that millions more marine species have yet to be discovered.

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 People were encouraged to keep the marine ecosystem healthy so that future generations can also benefit from the rich sea life.

  The oceans are home to at least 200,000 identified species and scientists estimate that millions more marine species have yet to be discovered.

Thanks to this abundance, United Nations Development Programme administrator Achim Steiner pointed out, humanity has been able to rely on marine and coastal resources for millennia. The rich biodiversity continues to sustain the lives of some three billion people, providing them with food and nourishment.

Steiner said the value of marine ecosystem services and resources in the global market is estimated at US$3 trillion per year – about 5 per cent of global GDP

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However, the bounty of the seas is in decline, he stressed, as human activities such as unsustainable exploitation of marine resources and pollution threaten the survival of many species.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist at Kasetsart University, said marine wildlife in Thai waters is suffering too due to over-fishing and plastic pollution.

Thon believes the Thai fishing fleet is too large given the limited stocks remaining. He calculated that, if every fishing net in use were tied end to end, the chain would be 10 times longer than the entire coastline. He recommended stricter fishing restrictions in ecologically vulnerable areas and scaling down the fishing fleet to prevent over-exploitation of marine resources.

Thon said discarded plastic floating in the sea was a silent killer of marine biodiversity. Last year alone, he said, at least 128 endangered marine animals died along Thai shores after ingesting plastic waste. Meanwhile scientists verified that “micro-plastics” now contaminate the entire marine food chain, ending up in our seafood dishes.

“I think Thailand is coping well,” he said. “The government recently clamped down on illegal, unreported and unregulated [IUU] fishing and the Pollution Control Department is working hard to ban single-use plastic to try and stop the flow of plastic waste into the sea.

“Nevertheless, the most important thing to effectively help us overcome these threats to the sea is raising public awareness, because we’re all part of the problem and we need to work together to solve it.”
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Source - TheNation

 

Thai official: 5 reported missing from sunken boat are alive

PHUKET, Thailand — Five people reported to have been missing from a tour boat that sank in a storm off the southern resort island of Phuket are alive, Thai authorities said Monday, though it's unclear if the five survived the sinking or never got on the boat.

Phuket Gov. Norrapat Plodthong said authorities are trying to verify their details and some of them may have left Thailand.

Norrapat said the development came after new information emerged from Thai immigration and the Chinese Embassy.

The new information also showed there were 89 tourists, 87 of them Chinese, on the boat, instead of the previous figure of 93, he said.

The number of people who are missing has been lowered from 14 to 10, including the five who are alive but whose whereabouts are unclear, he said. The death toll remains at 42, including a body still trapped under the wreckage.

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The double-decker Phoenix capsized and sank late Thursday afternoon after it was hit by 5-meter (16-foot) waves in one of Thailand's worse tourism-related disasters since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed thousands.

Officials said all of the dead were Chinese comprising 13 children, 18 women and 10 men. The age and sex of the body still under the wreckage wasn't known.

Navy officials on Monday were attempting to flip the boat to retrieve the body and check for other possible victims. Special equipment has been brought in to lift up the boat, which is sitting some 45 meters (148 feet) beneath the surface, officials said.

Tourism is a vital part of the Thai economy, with the World Bank estimating the Southeast Asian nation generates about 12 percent of its gross domestic product from tourism receipts. Chinese tourists are a key driver of the industry, accounting for 9.8 million of the record 35.38 million tourists to visit the country last year.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the country's military ruler, expressed his "profound sadness" in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the letter released by the foreign ministry Monday, Prayuth said a full investigation is underway to find the cause of the tragedy and assured Xi his government is determined to ensure such incidents would not recur.

Prayuth arrived in Phuket on Monday to observe the operations and will visit Chinese relatives and survivors at a hospital.

Police said the captain of the Phoenix has been charged with "careless conduct leading to death" and could face more than three years in jail.

The captain of another boat that capsized on the same day and the manager of a travel agency that chartered the boat have also been charged for being careless leading to injuries. All the passengers from the second ship were rescued.

Tourism Minister Weerasak Kowsurat, who is in Phuket, has said the government will "spare no one" and will bring all those responsible to justice. Families of each victim could receive up to 1.4 million Thai baht ($42,000) in compensation, officials said.

Source - ChinaDaily