09 Jun Coral Triangle Day Marked with Series of Activities Raising Awareness Against Plastic Waste in Nusa Penida

CTC is once again honored to collaborate with partners for this year’s Coral Triangle Day celebrations, an annual, open-sourced event that brings together individuals, organizations, and establishments on one special day of the year to shed light on ocean conservation and the numerous ways to protect and conserve the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity – the Coral Triangle.

Coral Triangle Day is celebrated every June 9 in the six countries of the Coral Triangle – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This year’s theme is “Curbing Marine Debris, Reduce Your Plastic Waste?”

In line with the theme, CTC hosted a series of outreach activities in Nusa Penida to raise awareness on plastic pollution and how it affects our marine and coastal environments. The activities included a beach clean up, a quiz competition for school children, and an underwater clean up and to cap of the week, CTC held a special Wayang Samudra performance for the community.

Wayang is the famed Indonesian traditional shadow puppet theater that has been in existence for more than a thousand years while Samudra, which comes from Sanskrit, means ocean. Wayang Samudra illustrates how we can engage and inspire a wider audience to care for oceans and our marine resources using creative methods such as artistic performances and traditional story telling. Puppeteers from Institut Seni Indonesia Denpasar performed this year’s Coral Triangle Day Wayang Samudra.

Held in Pura Dalem Ped, over 300 people attended the performance led by Klungkung District Regent I Nyoman Suwirta. Deputy Director of Small Islands Ecosystem Management Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Indonesia Andi Rusandi and BPSPL Denpasar Head Suko Wardono. Prior to the performance, local leaders also signed declaration against plastic waste.

Drawing from a collection of 25 characters, Wayang Samudra performances features fish as the main characters and shines the light on various ocean issues such plastic waste and marine debris. “Wayang Samudra brings marine creatures to life and helps the audience relate to the issues on a more personal level,” CTC Executive Director Rili Djohani said.

Rili notes that plastic pollution is a critical issue requiring all sectors to work together to find a solution.  . “Mismanaged plastic waste negatively impacts the health of our marine environment, our food security, and our tourism industry which depends on healthy oceans to prosper,” she said. “We need to work together to increase awareness and forge stronger collaboration among different sectors so we can p   rotect our oceans and all those who depend on it,” she added.

This year’s Coral Triangle Day activities were organized in collaboration with the Nusa Penida Management Unit, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries – BPSPL Denpasar, Friends of the National Park Foundation, Lembongan Marine Association as well as schools and local leaders in Nusa Penida.