Sunday, March 18, 2012

UMS to collaborate with Japanese varsity on marine science, aquaculture

 Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on Tuesday took another step on marine conservation through its collaboration with Kinki University of Japan to initiate an international seminar on marine science and aquaculture.
UMS Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) Director Dr. Saleem Mustafa said, the seminar acts as a platform for government departments and academicians to exchange knowledge about the marine ecosystem and development of aquatic food resources through sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.
The three-day event was launched by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, at the Promenade Hotel here, Tuesday.
He was represented by Assistant Minister Datuk Ellron Alfred Angin.
Saleem said the event started as an annual seminar series in 2003 named 'Annual Seminar on Marine Science and Aquaculture', focusing on contemporary issues and efforts to address them.
"Due to increasing number of participants and diverse backgrounds they come from, there was a need to bring the broader issues of global importance into the scope of discussion.
"Thus the annual seminar was transformed into an international event," he said, adding that the theme this year is 'Sustainable Development and Management of Aquatic Resources in a Changing Climate'.
Towards this end, he thanked the National Oceanography Directorate under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for sponsoring the event as well as welcomed the State Fisheries Department who recently joined the seminar.
Meanwhile, Masidi expressed hope that the seminar would examine the pressure of climate change on the marine ecosystem and holistically address the challenges facing the production and supply of safe seafood to society.
He acknowledged the rapid attention growth towards environmental conservation in Malaysia, especially Sabah due to its vast coastline, hence the interest in climate change effects on the marine ecosystem is understandable.
"As a minister dealing with three interrelated matters - tourism, culture and environment, I understand that environment is important for culture and tourism to flourish.
"Of course, societies need to adapt to the changing environment, and international seminars such as this one are necessary to examine all the pertinent issues related to environment in terms of security and well-being of human society.
"Ignorance of environmental issues at global level in the past has created an enormous damage that science is discovering today, and establishing the interconnectedness of the world's ecosystems and human activities.
"I intend to support the development of new perspectives of socio-ecological systems that respond to climate as well as social and economic stresses," he said.
At the event, BMRI also launched their newsletter called 'Surge' that aims to provide information on marine resources to all sections of society. 


GreenSabah: Environment is definitely important for culture and tourism, people of all walks of life needs to play their part in conserving environment. It is a good opportunity for UMS to collaborate with the Japanese Varsity in studying the aquaculture and marine science

4 comments:

Anak Sabah said...

Semoga kerajasama di antara UMS dengan Jepun akan membawa impak yang positif untuk membangkitkan pengajian sains marin di Sabah.

Anak Sabah said...

Setuju dengan Green Sabah bahawa melindungi alam sekitar kita memerlukan kerjasama dan sokongan daripada semua lapisan masyarakat dan bukan hanya satu golongan kecil sahaja.

Anonymous said...

Sememangnya kerjasama antara UMS dan universiti di Jepun akan membawa manfaat kepada penyelidikan dan pembangunan kepada kedua2 belah pihak. Semoga lebih banyak kerjasama yang dilaksanakan dalam pelbagai bidang di masa akan datang.

Eli Ja said...

Hopefully to see more awareness can be taught to the public on the importance of conserving the environment hence make the environment be better.

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