Indonesia Oceanic Cetacean Program - Significance of cetacean research in Indonesia

Indonesia
Oceanic Cetacean
Program

Significance of cetacean research in the Indonesian Archipelago

I. The major factors of importance to consider

II.The ecological significance of Indonesia's island passages

I. The major factors of importance to consider

	Indonesian waters have an exceptional cetacean diversity. At least thirty different cetacean species inhabit Indonesian waters - several of which are rare and endangered. More than one third of all known whales and dolphins species worldwide can be found in the Indonesian Seas.
	Cetacean habitats include major rivers, mangroves, coastal and open ocean environments - In Indonesia these are often in close proximity.
	Indonesia is uniquely located as the only equatorial region worldwide where tropical oceanic exchange of marine life occurs.
	In eastern Indonesia, numerous deep inter-island channels are suspected to be of major importance to migratory cetaceans which include these passages in their local and long-range movements between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

II. The ecological significance of Indonesia's island passages

	Indonesian island straits and passages form an important migration corridor network for large cetaceans travelling from the Pacific Ocean and Eastern Indonesian seas to the Indian Ocean, and vise versa.
	In addition, residential whale and dolphin populations are also likely to use these corridors as part of their home range.
	These straits and passages are also highly sensitive bottlenecks to numerous other species of large migratory marine life such as green, hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles, mantas and whale sharks.
	Local activities such as destructive fishing practices and gill netting near the straits can result in regional environmental impacts on cetacean populations and large marine ecosystems.

For more information on Indonesia's cetaceans download the Komodo Cetacean Program Info Sheet or any one of these files (Acrobat Reader 4.0 PDF)

The most recent Komodo National Park Cetacean Survey Report
(KNPCetaceanSurveyReport1999.pdf - 145 Kb).
An overview of the potential environmental as well as the socio-economic impacts of submarine tailing placements (STP) by mining operations in Indonesia:

STP Statement of Concern
(STP and Cetaceans.pdf - 115 Kb).
Additional notes on STP impacts
(STP and Cephalopods - 23 Kb).

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