Geopark Maros Pangkep resmi ditetapkan sebagai UNESCO Global Geopark

Keindahan blue fire di Kawah Ijen. (Istimewa

Geopark Maros-Pangkep adalah sebuah kawasan taman di wilayah Sulawesi Selatan yang terbentang di 2 kabupaten yaitu Kabupaten Maros dan Kabupaten Pangkajene Kepulauan. Geopark ini telah resmi ditetapkan sebagai salah satu UNESCO Global Geopark dalam Sidang Dewan Eksekutif UNESCO ke-216 yang berlangsung di Paris, Prancis.

Pusat Pendidikan, Keilmuan, dan Kebudayaan PBB (UNESCO) menetapkan Geoprak Maros-Pangkep sebagai UNESCO Global Geopark (UGGp). Keputusan ini diambil melalui Rapat Dewan Council Geopark UNESCO di Satun, Thailand.

Gubernur Andi Sudirman Sulaiman menyampaikan menyambut baik dan menyampaikan rasa syukur atas capaian ini.

"Alhamdulillah Geopark Maros-Pangkep dalam rapat Dewan Council Geopark UNESCO di Satun Thailand telah disetujui dan direkomendasikan sebagai anggota baru UNESCO Global Geopark,"

Ia mengapresiasi Dinas Pariwisata Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan dan seluruh pihak terkait atas rekomendasi UNESCO ini.

Geopark Maros-Pangkep (Foto: Dokumentasi BP Geopark Maros-Pangkep)

“Terima kasih kepada Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan, Pemerintah Kabupaten Maros, Pemerintah Kabupaten Pangkep, Badan Pengelola Geopark Nasional Maros-Pangkep, serta dukungan dan kerja keras semua pihak serta lapisan masyarakat Maros dan Pangkep,” sebutnya.

Nantinya, penetapan resmi akan dilaksankan melalui Sidang UNESCO pada Maret 2023 di Paris, Perancis.

Sebelumnya, UNESCO telah melaksanakan sejumlah assesmen melalui kunjungan dua evaluator UNESCO Global Park. Dalam kesempatan tersebut, Gubernur telah menyampaikan potensi Geopark ini serta dukungan Pemprov Sulsel dan Pemkab Pangkep dan Maros.

Geopark Maros-Pangkep memiliki keistimewaan berupa landscape dengan tipe tower karst yang menjulang tinggi yang tersusun dari batuan gamping yang sangat khas. Menjadi salah satu karst kelas dunia dengan keindahan, keunikan flora dan fauna, nilai-nilai ilmiah dan sosial budaya dan salah satu kawasan karst terluas di dunia. Sebagai taman bumi dapat dikelola untuk kepentingan konservasi, edukasi, dan pembangunan pemberdayaan masyarakat secara berkelanjutan.

Kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep, Sulawesi Selatan menjadi destinasi wisata bagi peserta Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) 2023 yang dihadiri sedikitnya 35 negara sahabat.

"Kami bersyukur kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep ini yang sudah resmi mendapat pengakuan dari UNESCO menjadi salah satu tujuan wisata peserta MNEK 2023," kata General Manager (GM) Badan Pengelola Maros Pangkep UNESCO Global Geopark (MPUGGp) Dedy Irfan Bachri di Makassar, Sabtu, 03/06/2023.

Peserta MNEK 2023 selama empat hari pada 5-8 Juni 2023 memiliki agenda yang padat, termasuk kunjungan ke sejumlah destinasi wisata seperti Benteng Rotterdam, Museum Balla Lompoa di Kabupaten Gowa dan kawasan Karst Rammang-Rammang yang menjadi bagian dari Geopark Maros-Pangkep.

Danpomal Lantamal IV Makassar sebagai pihak penyelenggara bekerja sama dengan Pemerintah Kota Makassar selaku tuan rumah telah mempersiapkan berbagai agenda.

Salah satunya adalah city tour yang dibagi dalam tiga kelompok yakni destinasi biru dengan tujuan Fort Rotterdam, Museum La Galigo dan Museum Kota Makassar.

Untuk destinasi hijau tujuannya ke Museum Balla Lompo, Fort Somba Opu dan Museum Pattingalloang.

Sedang destinasi merah ke Taman Wisata Alam Bantimurung dan kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep.

Sementara kegiatan sebagian besar dipusatkan di Kota Makassar, untuk kelancaran transportasi dan arus lalulintas yang akan dilewati peserta MNEK 2023, pihak Dinas Perhubungan Kota Makassar telah mematangkan rekayasa lalulintas.

Kepala Dishub Kota Makassar Aulia Arsyad dalam keterangan terpisah di Makassar, mengatakan,pihaknya sudah berkoordinasi dan bertemu langsung dengan penyelenggara kegiatan untuk mematangkan rekayasa lalu lintas. Salah satu site Geopark Maros-Pangkep yang sudah mendapatkan pengakuan dari Lembaga Dunia UNESCO adalah kawasan wisata karst Rammang-Rammang di Kabupaten Maros, Sulawesi Selatan dan menjadi salah satu destinasi bagi peserta MNEK 2023. Antara/ Suriani Mappong

Tercatat, ada puluhan situs warisan geologi yang dapat menjadi destinasi wisata menarik di sepanjang kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep. Selain untuk tujuan wisata, tentunya tempat-tempat tersebut juga dapat menjadi sarana edukasi.

Berikut ini 7 daftar destinasi wisata terpopuler di Geopark Maros-Pangkep yang dapat menjadi tujuan wisata bersama keluarga.

1. Rammang-rammang

Desa wisata Rammang-rammang Foto: ANTARA FOTO/ARNAS PADDA

Kawasan wisata ini menawarkan sejumlah pilihan aktivitas menyenangkan yang bisa membuat liburan semakin sempurna.

Beberapa aktivitas liburan yang bisa dinikmati antara lain menyusuri sungai dengan perahu jolloro di tengah pemandangan pohon nipah dan bakau, serta menyaksikan keindahan tebing karst. Tidak hanya itu, pengunjung juga bisa keseruan wisata desa di kawasan tersebut.

Kawasan wisata Rammang-rammang berada di Desa Salenrang, Kecamatan Bontoa, Kabupaten Maros, Sulawesi Selatan. Jarak dari pusat kota Makassar ke objek wisata ini sekitar 40 kilometer ke arah utara dan membutuhkan waktu tempuh kurang lebih 2 jam.

2. Air Terjun Bantimurung

Air Terjun Bantimurung (Foto: Fitraya Ramadhanny)

Air Terjun Bantimurung berada tepat di Dusun Bantimurung, Desa Jenetaesa, Kecamatan Simbang, Kabupaten Maros. Destinasi wisata ini juga termasuk dalam kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep.

Sudah sejak lama objek wisata ini menjadi primadona bagi wisatawan untuk mengisi waktu liburan. Tidak hanya oleh wisatawan lokal, tempat ini juga banyak dikunjungi oleh wisatawan asing.

Keunikan Air Terjun Bantimurung adalah bentuknya yang tidak memiliki palung utama. Aliran air yang deras, jernih, dan sangat segar sehingga membuat siapa saja betah berlama-lama menikmati aliran air terjun ini.

Ketinggian Air terjun Bantimurung mencapai 15 meter dan lebar 20 meter, aliran debit airnya sekitar 500 liter per detik. Air terjun ini tak pernah kering dan mengalir sepanjang tahun.

3. Air Terjun Lacolla

Air Terjun Lacolla (Foto: jadesta.kemenparekraf.go.id)

Air Terjun Lacolla bisa menjadi pilihan destinasi wisata menyenangkan untuk menikmati liburan bersama keluarga. Destinasi wisata ini juga termasuk salah satu geosite Geopark Maros-Pangkep.

Lokasi Air Terjun Lacolla tepat berada di Dusun Malaka, Desa Cenrana Baru, Kecamatan Cenrana. Air Terjun Lacolla disebut-sebut merupakan salah satu air terjun terindah di Kabupaten Maros.

Air terjun ini terdiri dari empat tingkatan. Di bagian bawah air terjun terdapat bebatuan besar yang bisa dimanfaatkan pengunjung untuk terapi air terjun atau berteduh di bawahnya.

4. Pegunungan Karst Maros

Pegunungan Karst Maros Foto: (Robert Adolf Izak/d'Traveler)

Pegunungan Karst Maros adalah satu destinasi wisata paling populer di Geopark Maros-Pangkep. Kawasan ini tercatat sebagai kawasan karst terbesar dan terindah kedua di dunia setelah China.

Daya tarik utama dari kawasan karst Maros ini karena memiliki keunikan yang tidak ditemukan di kawasan karst lain di Indonesia. Pegunungan karst di Maros ini memiliki bentuk unik dan khas, bentuknya bertingkat-tingkat sehingga biasa disebut menara karst.

Kawasan ini merupakan sebuah rangkaian pegunungan atau perbukitan karst yang terletak di sebelah utara Kabupaten Maros. Pegunungan karst ini memiliki lanskap yang sangat indah, berbentuk seperti tower dengan koridor sangat panjang.

Destinasi wisata ini bisa menjadi pilihan tempat liburan yang unik bersama keluarga. Panorama alam dan suasana asri di kawasan wisata ini membuat para wisatawan merasa jauh lebih tenang.

5. Taman Purbakala Leang-leang

Taman Prasejarah Leang-Leang di Kabupaten Maros (ANTARAFOTO/Arnas Padda/nz) Foto: ANTARA/ARNAS PADDA

Taman Purbakala Leang-leang merupakan salah satu destinasi wisata di Geopark Maros-Pangkep yang tak kalah menarik untuk dikunjungi. Destinasi wisata ini menyajikan wisata edukasi tentang kepurbakalaan.

Saat berkunjung ke tempat ini, wisatawan dapat menyaksikan banyak gua prasejarah yang menyimpan peninggalan kehidupan pra sejarah.

Jejak kehidupan pra sejarah ini ditandai dengan lukisan berupa gambar babi rusa yang sedang melompat, puluhan gambar telapak tangan yang ada pada dinding-dinding gua, terdapat pula 32 bekas telapak tangan yang ditemukan di goa Pettae.

Selain lukisan prasejarah, terdapat juga beberapa benda laut berupa kerang yang menandai bahwa gua tersebut juga pernah terendam dan dikelilingi oleh laut.

6. Taman Kupu-Kupu Bantimurung

Kupu-kupu di Taman Bantimurung Foto: (moehammad bakrie/detikcom)

Destinasi wisata selanjutnya di Geopark Maros-Pangkep yang dapat menjadi pilihan tempat berlibur adalah Taman Kupu-Kupu. Tempat wisata ini juga dijuluki sebagai The Kingdom of Butterfly (kerajaan kupu-kupu).

Lokasinya berada di kawasan Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung, Maros. Di tempat wisata ini, pengunjung akan dimanjakan dengan pemandangan kecantikan berbagai spesies kupu-kupu.

Ada sekitar 240 spesies kupu-kupu yang hidup di kawasan itu. Beberapa spesies unik bahkan ada di Taman Kupu-kupu ini, seperti Troides Helena Linne, Troides Hypolitus Cramer, Troides Haliphron Boisduval, Papilo Adamantius, dan Cethosia Myrana.

Saat musim-musim tertentu, ribuan kupu-kupu akan muncul bersamaan, salah satunya saat musim kemarau.

7. Danau Kassi Kebo

Danau Kassi Kebo Foto: (widiarini/d'Traveler)

Destinasi wisata selanjutnya di kawasan Geopark Maros-Pangkep yang bisa dikunjungi adalah Danau Kassi Kebo atau biasa juga disebut Danau Toakala. Danau ini merupakan sebuah danau alami berukuran mini yang berada di tengah kawasan Taman Nasional Bantimurung-Bulusaraung.

Udara di kawasan sekitar danau terasa sangat segar. Air danau ini juga tampak unik dengan warna biru kehijauan. Danau Kebo dikelilingi tebing-tebing terjal dan dihiasi hamparan pasir putih di tepiannya.

Selain disuguhkan pemandangan alam yang memukau, pengunjung juga akan menemui berbagai jenis kupu-kupu saat berkunjung ke tempat ini. Danau ini merupakan habitat utama dari kupu-kupu yang ada di Bantimurung.

Russian Forces Repel Ukrainian Attacks in Two Directions

©Sputnik/ Konstantin Mikhalchevsky/ Go to the mediabank

Russian forces have repelled enemy attacks in the south Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, destroying tanks, armored vehicles and manpower, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.

"In the south Donetsk direction, the advanced units of the Vostok group of forces repelled an enemy attack in the Makarovka area. A tank, armored combat vehicles and manpower were destroyed.

Having suffered losses, the enemy retreated," the spokesperson said. In the Zaporozhye direction, another Ukrainian attack was repelled and the enemy retreated having suffered losses in manpower and equipment, the spokesperson added.

In the South Donetsk direction, Russian forces have also destroyed over 50 Ukrainian militants and seven armored vehicles, the defense ministry spokesperson told Sputnik

Russian Military Destroys Storm Shadow Missile Depot in Western Ukraine

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukraine was planning to strike Crimea and other territories with HIMARS and Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

The Russian armed forces have destroyed a depot with Storm Shadow cruise missiles in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"On June 23, a warehouse with Storm Shadow cruise missiles was destroyed at a Ukrainian airbase near the village of Starokostyantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region, in response to a strike on a road bridge over the Chongar Strait," the ministry said in a statement.

On May 11, Ukraine was confirmed to have received its first long-range cruise missiles, which were sent by the United Kingdom. The 250km-range Storm Shadow missiles came with a condition that they would be used only "within Ukrainian sovereign territory."

The Russian Defense Ministry claims Ukraine has violated this condition as its strikes have resulted in civilian casualties in the Lugansk People's Republic, which Russia considers to be part of its own territory since referendums in September 2022.

Air Raid Sirens Sound in Multiple Regions of Ukraine

Air raid warnings were issued in several regions of Ukraine late on Saturday night, according to air raid data from the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.

Air raid sirens went off in the Ukrainian regions of Sumy, Poltava, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, as well as the Kiev-controlled parts of Zaporozhye region, at around 19:50 GMT on Saturday, the ministry’s online map showed.

On the night from Friday to Saturday, air raid warnings were in effect across the entire territory of Ukraine. Ukrainian media reported that explosions were heard in several regions of Ukraine in the early hours of Saturday.

Ukrainian media reported after midnight that explosions were heard in the Ukraine-controlled city of Zaporozhye during the night.

Precision strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure have been carried out by Russia since October 10 (two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge).

In February, the head of Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo said that direct damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused by Russian strikes may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, with economic losses ranging in billions.

Scott Ritter: Ukrainian Counteroffensive Turning Into 'Suicide Mission'

The long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive that kicked off on June 4 has bogged down, with Moscow projecting Ukrainian losses at over 13,000 troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles. Ex-US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter has told Sputnik that NATO knew the counteroffensive would fail from the start, and explained why.

Ukrainian officials admitted this week that Kiev's counteroffensive against Russian forces is going "slower than desired," with Ukraine's Western sponsors admitting privately that the assault is "not meeting expectations on any front," and that Russian defensive lines have proven well-fortified and too difficult to breach. Some Ukrainian officials remain defiant, with the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces announcing Friday that "everything is still ahead" and that the past three weeks have just been attempts to "probe" Russian defenses for weak spots.

The counteroffensive, which Russian United Nations ambassador Vassily Nebenzya characterized as "suicidal" on Friday, has featured military planners in Kiev throwing waves of troops, tanks and armored vehicles against elaborate Russian defenses consisting of infantry trenches, anti-personnel and anti-tank minefields, anti-tank dragon’s teeth and earthen beams. Russia has also secured air and artillery superiority, which seemed to have nullified Kiev’s NATO-provided intelligence capabilities.

The counteroffensive "never had a chance to succeed," and those who planned it knew it, Scott Ritter told Sputnik’s New Rules podcast.

"And so if that’s the case, you have to ask yourself, why did this go forward? And I think it’s clear that this counteroffensive never had a legitimate military purpose. It was always done for political reasons," Ritter said, stressing that it’s important to remember that NATO, in its quest to "hurt" Russia by pouring tens of billions of dollars into Ukraine, doesn't actually care about Ukrainians.

"It was known that [heavy Ukrainian casualties] were going to occur, which means that NATO never cared about the Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian soldiers, that NATO was always willing to sacrifice Ukrainian manpower to achieve a political objective, which means to shape the perception about the viability of continued assistance. That will, of course, be discussed by NATO when they convene their summit in Vilnius on July 11. And that's the harsh fact. This counteroffensive never had a chance to succeed. NATO knew this, but they let it go forward, which means they don't care about those 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers that have sacrificed everything for such a futile cause," Ritter said.

The 13,000 troop estimate comes from Russian Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev, who cited the numbers at a meeting of the Russian Security Council this week. Patrushev said Ukraine has lost 246 tanks, including 13 supplied by the West, 595 armored fighting vehicles, 279 artillery and mortar systems, 42 multiple rocket launchers, two anti-aircraft missile systems, four helicopters, over 260 drones and 424 vehicles over the past three weeks. Commenting on the losses, President Putin said Kiev’s Western allies seem to have cynically "decided to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian."

Ghosts of Afghanistan and NATO's Reason for Being

Elaborating on the “politics” behind the counteroffensive, Ritter said it’s important to keep in mind that relatively recently, in August 2021, NATO and the US “suffered one of their greatest defeats up until that time,” perhaps “their greatest defeat,” with the disastrous defeat in and retreat from Afghanistan.

Ritter said that defeat "caused a lot of people in Europe" to reconsider NATO’s purpose and question its reason for existence. "If one of the goals of NATO is to create this unbreakable bond between the United States and its European partners, then Afghanistan showed that that bond is easily broken, that the United States is fully capable of walking away from a commitment that NATO has made," he said.

Accordingly, Ritter noted, for the political elites who depend on structures like NATO, the European Union and the G7 and seek to hold on to power, the defeat was the "wrong direction," and required for global events to be “redirected” to prevent the further disintegration of the alliance, and instead try to ensure its expansion.

"Ukraine became that issue. This was a deliberate provocation on the part of NATO to provoke Russia, to create the sense of crisis that would give relevance, renewed relevance to NATO. So when people say, 'what is the purpose to be achieved by throwing tens of thousands of Ukrainians into an early grave, to sacrifice billions of dollars' worth of military equipment, much of it Western-provided, what is gained from this?' - what is gained is NATO being able to continue to cast Russia as a threat worthy of a revived NATO, to justify the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of military rearmament that would be necessary to transform NATO from the broken down military alliance that existed prior to the initiation of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine to this vision that people like Jens Stoltenberg and others have articulated of a renewed, revitalized, expanded, powerful NATO," the observer said.

The alliance "needs" the Ukrainian conflict to continue, and may even be looking forward to Kiev suffering a loss in the conflict, Ritter emphasized. “They need, in many ways a Ukrainian defeat, because a Ukrainian defeat allows them to say that the Russian military that’s capable of defeating this Ukrainian force is a Russian military that can only be confronted by an emboldened, empowered, united NATO,” he said.

Counteroffensive According to NATO Doctrine

Elaborating on the factors he said helped stall the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Ritter said that the Russian defensive line created in Zaporozhye, Kherson and the Donbass wasn't "just any fortified position," and that for Ukraine's offensive to breech the layered, fortified Russian positions to succeed, Kiev, in accordance with NATO doctrine, would have had to suppress Russia’s ability to "interdict, disrupt or otherwise bring harm to [its] assaulting force," and to prevent Russian air power, artillery and electronic warfare from intervening.

The problem, Ritter said, is that this would have required Kiev to "have certain military capabilities" which simply "do not exist."

"There is no Ukrainian air force capable of clearing the skies. The Russians have ensured in the lead up to this counteroffensive that they have suppressed Ukraine's air defense system to a degree which the Ukrainians cannot use air defense to defend the area of interest to prevent Russian aircraft from imposing their will. The Ukrainians have insufficient artillery to suppress Russian artillery, and the Ukrainians don't have adequate electronic warfare capability to jam Russian communications," he explained. In other words, "all the things that would have to occur for any assault force to have a chance don’t exist. And NATO knew this."

"They've also been told that Russian command and control is not effective. That the Russian generals are very lethargic, very slow to respond, or probably drinking and as a result, aren't able to respond to a decisive thrust by the Ukrainians. They were told that it doesn't matter about Russian artillery supremacy, they will be able to jam Russian communications so that the Russians can't coordinate. And that it doesn't matter about the Russian air force because the Russians had an air force back in September and October (during the so-called Kharkov and Kherson offensives, ed.), but the rapid pace of Ukrainian advance negated that. This is what the Ukrainians were told and it was all a lie. This was a suicide mission from the start. NATO knew this from the start and that's the saddest reflection of all this, that NATO's has deliberately misled their erstwhile ‘Ukrainian friends’ to carry out an attack which was as suicidal as the charge of the Light Brigade back in the Crimean War," Ritter said.

'It's Only Going to Get Worse'

Asked to comment on recent Western media reports that Ukraine’s staggering losses have forced authorities in the country’s west to dig up old graves from earlier wars to make room for new casualties, Ritter predicted that its only "going to get worse for Ukraine" as time goes on, and their military continues to be ground up in the proxy war with Russia. “The longer this war goes on, and I'm not talking about years, I'm talking about the coming weeks and months – more pressure is going to be put on Ukraine to generate new forces," he predicted.

"As you hear right now, the need to do a mobilization to get 70,000 new troops up and running in as shorter period as possible. Why? Because Ukrainians know that the 60,000 that were trained by NATO are going to be destroyed. Now, where are those 70,000 going to get their training? How good is this training going to be? What is the quality of the officer corps that's going to be commanding them, the non-commissioned officers? The answer is they're not going to have good training. Their officers, well, they might be motivated, but poorly trained, incapable of doing complicated military tactics and operations. The same thing with their non-commissioned officers. You're going to have a unit of men that barely knows how to get up in the morning, get dressed and stand in formation. And definitely, doesn't know how to fall in on technologically advanced Western equipment and use it in the most sophisticated manner on the battlefield against an enemy who is everything the Ukrainians aren’t," Ritter summed up.

Indonesia jadi tuan rumah ajang budi daya perikanan Asia Pasifik 2024

Foto:Istimewa

Indonesia kembali menjadi tuan rumah untuk perhelatan Asian Pacific Aquaculture (APA) 2024, ajang budi daya perikanan bagi negara-negara Asia Pasifik yang akan diselenggarakan di Surabaya, Jawa Timur.

Direktur Jenderal Perikanan Budidaya, Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan (KKP), Tb Haeru Rahayu, mengatakan, gelaran acara ini merupakan kali kedua bagi Indonesia. Dengan lokasi di kota yang sama pernah digelar acara internasional tersebut pada tahun 2016 lalu.

"Alhamdulillah, Indonesia kembali dipilih sebagai tuan rumah acara APA pada tahun 2024," ujar Direktur Jenderal Perikanan Budi Daya Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan (KKP) Tb. Haeru Rahayu dalam keterangan resminya, Sabtu.

Dipilihnya kembali Indonesia menjadi tuan rumah, lanjut Tebe, karena Indonesia merupakan salah satu produsen terbesar produk perikanan, terutama perikanan budi daya, sehingga Indonesia bisa menjadi negara yang menarik minat para investor sektor perikanan, terutama dari luar negeri.

“Dengan potensi sumber daya alam yang dimiliki Indonesia. Potensi untuk meningkatkan produksi perikanan budidaya sangat besar. Maka dari itu, Indonesia menjadi magnet bagi investor luar negeri untuk sektor perikanannya,” ujarnya.

Tebe berharap gelaran acara yang merupakan kali kedua bagi Indonesia ini memberikan keuntungan, baik bagi investor asing maupun pasar domestik di Indonesia.

"APA 2024 menjadi momentum bagi Indonesia untuk meningkatkan investasi di sektor perikanan. Otomatis akan menjadi penopang dan meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi di Indonesia," tambahnya.

Menurut dia, dipilihnya kembali Kota Surabaya karena merupakan lokasi yang sangat memadai. Di samping itu, tersedia berbagai kuliner serta akses dan sarana transportasi yang mendukung.

“Surabaya tempat yang tepat karena nanti ada sekitar ribuan orang yang akan hadir disana,” paparnya.

Selain itu, di Surabaya juga banyak masyarakat yang melakukan kegiatan pembudidayaan ikan, serta banyak perguruan tinggi dengan program studi budi daya perikanan. Dengan demikian, harapannya banyak warga yang aktif dan berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan bertaraf internasional tersebut.

Selain itu, yang tidak kalah penting di Surabaya juga banyak masyarakat yang melakukan kegiatan pembudidayaan ikan, serta di kota yang berjuluk kota Pahlawan itu pula banyak perguruan tinggi dengan program studi budidaya perikanan. Sehingga diharapkan banyak masyarakat yang aktif dan berpartisipasi dalam kegiatan bertaraf internasional tersebut.

Saat ini juga, Surabaya sebagai salah satu provinsi yang menyumbangkan angka produktivitas di bidang perikanan budidaya yang sangat signifikan.

“Kami berharap dengan adanya acara bertaraf international seperti APA ini animo masyarakat lebih besar, bukan hanya di Surabaya saja tetapi di daerah lain tentunya,” paparnya.

Saat ini, tambah dia, Surabaya sebagai salah satu provinsi yang menyumbangkan angka produktivitas di bidang perikanan budi daya yang sangat signifikan.

Sementara itu, penyelenggara APA Iwan Sutanto menambahkan bahwa APA 2024 yang bertema Aquaculture - Driving the Blue Economy ini adalah kegiatan pameran dan konferensi internasional akuakultur terbesar di Indonesia. Indonesia telah sukses menyelenggarakan APA pada tahun 2016.

"Atas kesuksesan APA 2016, Indonesia akan kembali mendapatkan kehormatan menjadi tuan rumah pada tahun 2024," kata Iwan.

Adapun tema yang diusung pada APA 2024 adalah “Aquaculture - Driving the Blue Economy”. Nantinya menghadirkan berbagai exhibitor dan juga pembicara baik lokal maupun internasional, untuk menghadirkan informasi dan teknologi terkini terkait perkembangan industri akuakultur.

Sesi konferensi selama 3 hari akan mendiskusikan mulai trend global akuakultur hingga teknologi budidaya mulai dari udang, ikan air tawar, ikan air laut, ikan hias hingga rumput laut. Penyelenggara juga menyediakan total sebanyak 232 booth untuk pameran dan ditargetkan dihadiri hingga 6.000 pengunjung baik dari dalam maupun luar negeri.

“Dengan penyelenggaraan APA 2024 ini selain menjadi forum bertemunya para stakeholder, juga diharapkan dapat berkontribusi terhadap peningkatan produksi dan minat investasi perikanan budidaya di Indonesia,” tandasnya.

Sebagai informasi, rangkaian kegiatan APA 2024 diantaranya seminar dan pameran. Topik seminar yang akan digelar terkait seluruh aspek budidaya antara lain pakan, penyakit, lingkungan, teknologi & sistem budidaya. Begitu juga pamerannya, antara lain pakan alami, pakan buatan, water treatment, sarana produksi, alat laboratorium, dan keramba jaring apung.

Foreign Leaders Express Solidarity With Russia Amid Wagner Mutiny

©Sputnik / Vitaly Belousov

On Friday, Wagner PMC chief Evgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of launching a surprise missile attack against his men, and called for the ouster of its leadership. The MoD dismissed the allegations as an provocation, and the Federal Security Service opened a criminal case charging Prigozhin with armed mutiny.

Several world leaders, among them Russia’s closest allies and partners, have offered support for the Kremlin amid the deadly standoff between the Russian military and Prigozhin’s Wagner group.

Belarus

Belarus, Russia’s Collective Security Treaty Organization ally and Union State partner, has offered full support for Moscow, emphasizing that Minsk has always been and remains Russia’s close ally.

“Belarusians and Russians are brotherly peoples. Our states are bound by a political union. And we cannot remain aloof from events taking place in the south of Russia,” Belarus’s Security Council said in a statement Saturday.

"Any provocation, any internal conflict in political and military circles, in the information field and in civil society is a gift to the collective West. Even if these parties are not responsible for the origins of such scenarios, they will not miss the opportunity to advance them and take charge," Minsk emphasized.

"There has never been anything worse in Russia’s history than in a time of turmoil, which is destructive and senseless in its essence," Minsk said, adding that the differences that led to the current crisis aren’t worth the potentially “catastrophic” consequences and losses that "emotional decisions and illegal actions" may cause.

“Belarus was and remains Russia’s ally, and fully shares the goals and objectives of the special military operation,” the Belarusian Security Council said.

Presidents Putin and Lukashenko spoke by phone on Saturday, with the Russian leader informing his Belarusian counterpart about “the situation in Russia,” according to Lukashenko’s press service.

Turkiye

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Moscow, and said Ankara is ready to provide any assistance it can to resolve the situation.

“President Erdogan stressed the importance of acting in a common sense manner. During talks (with Putin), it was emphasized that no external power should take advantage of events in Russia. In this context, President Erdogan said Turkiye is ready to contribute to the speedy resolution of events in peace and tranquility,” the Turkish president’s office said in a statement.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, another of Moscow’s allies within the CSTO, stressed the importance of “constitutional order” being restored in Russia.

"President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke by phone with the Russian president. Vladimir Putin informed him of the situation in the country. Tokayev said that the ongoing events are Russia’s internal affair. Constitutional order and the rule of law are essential for the maintenance of law and order in the country. This is the basis for the security of society and its successful development. President Putin thanked Kazakhstan for its understanding of the current situation," the Kazakh president’s press service said.

Iran

Russia’s Iranian partners expressed similar sentiments, with Tehran emphasizing its support for the "rule of law."

"Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani considers the recent incident in Russia the nation’s internal affair, and added that Iran supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation," Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a Telegram post.

Abkhazia

Abkhaz President Aslan Bzhania expressed his nation’s "full support" for Russia. "In connection with the attempted armed rebellion undertaken by the leadership of the Wagner Private Military Company, I declare my full support for the actions of Russian President and Armed Forces Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin to establish law and order. I am convinced that Putin’s determination and wisdom will lead to the successful resolution of the events of the last days in accordance with the constitution and laws of the Russian Federation," Bzhania said.

Abkhazia "will continue to fulfill its allied obligations to Russia" under "any circumstances," the president said, urging any Abkhaz nationals in the special operation zone “not to succumb to provocations or take part in illegal actions."

Kenya

Kenyan Foreign Minister Dr. Alfred N. Mutua expressed his nation's "solidarity with the Russian leadership as they strive to achieve total stability and order," and said his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, had informed him that the Russian government was "in control and that 'everything will be fine'."

What are the Americans and Europeans Saying?

Publicly at least, Washington and Brussels have taken a wait and see approach, with US National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge telling Sputnik that the US is "monitoring and consulting with allies," with President Biden said to have been briefed on events. A European Commission spokesperson similarly told reporters that Brussels is "monitoring the situation," adding that the EU considers events in Russia an "internal matter." EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell spoke with G7 foreign ministers "to exchange views" on the situation, and said he was "coordinating inside the European Union" and had "activated" a "crisis response center" ahead of Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting. "Our support to Ukraine continues unabated," Borrell said.

In Case You Missed What's Happening

Wagner PMC leader Evgeny Prigozhin announced Friday that he and his 25,000 men were going to "sort out" what happened to their comrades in arms after accusing the Russian military of launching airstrikes against a Wagner encampment. The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement late Friday denying launching any strikes, and accused Wagner of an "informational provocation." The FSB has charged the PMC boss with attempting to incite an armed mutiny, a charge which could land him up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He has refused to turn himself in, and said any attempts to approach his forces would be met with deadly force.

Prigozhin has had a much-publicized feud with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for months, accusing the minister of starving Wagner of ammunition, charging him with incompetence and corruption, and leveling personal attacks against his family. Shoigu did not dignify these allegations with a response. Wagner fighters refused to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry after it ordered all volunteer detachments to do so in early June.

Wagner forces began operating in the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine over a year ago, and fought alongside regular Russian forces to liberate the Donbass city of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) in a brutal house-to-house slog that lasted eight months, tying down tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops as Russia mobilized its reserves.

Russian MFA warns Kiev against creating serious accidents at Zaporozhye NPP

©AP Photo / Kateryna Klochko

"The consequences of such a reckless policy will be extremely sad, including for Washington, Maria Zakharova said"

Moscow is warning the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors against creating serious accidents at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Saturday.

"We once again warn Kiev and the Western sponsors who support it against creating serious accidents at the ZNPP, and urge the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its leadership to take advantage of the agency’s expert presence at the site to record all attacks carried out by Ukraine instead of turning a blind eye to them and clearly say who is to blame for what is happening and where the real security threat to the facility is coming from," the statement reads.

The diplomat said that the allegations by the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors about Russian threats to the Zaporozhye NPP were aimed at discrediting Moscow.

"We view allegations by officials representing the Kiev regime and its overseas sponsors about Russia creating threats to the Zaporozhye NPP as a vile provocation. This is yet another attempt to discredit Russia, ascribing the intention to us that we don’t have and trying to cover up their own criminal - and, in fact, terrorist - plans to create an emergency that would endanger the lives and health of the local population and residents of European countries," Zakharova noted.

She emphasized that while the Kiev regime was working hard to spread disinformation about nuclear risks allegedly coming from Russia, it was the current Ukrainian authorities "that for months have been endangering the security of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant."

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Washington and its satellites seek to seize every opportunity to create and promote horror stories about the alleged "Russian nuclear threat."

"Washington prefers to ignore the obvious. This is a common situation where the US and its satellites seize every opportunity to create and promote horror stories about the ‘Russian nuclear threat.’ That said, the US continues to deliberately raise the stakes and generate strategic risks, involving its NATO allies in this dangerous activity. The consequences of such a reckless policy will be extremely sad, including for Washington," the diplomat concluded.

Kiev Covers Up Plans to Create Emergency at Zaporozhye NPP by Blaming Russia - Moscow

Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom said on Friday that its head Alexey Likhachev and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi had discussed during a meeting in Kaliningrad on Friday the issues of ensuring nuclear safety of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) and Grossi's proposals in this regard.

Ukraine's accusations against Moscow are covering up Kiev's plans to create an emergency situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP), Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.

"This is yet another attempt to discredit Russia, to attribute non-existent intentions to us, and at the same time to cover up their criminal and, in fact, terrorist plans to create an emergency situation that could endanger the lives and health of both the population of the region and the residents of European countries," Zakharova was quoted as saying by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Moscow considers statements by Kiev's representatives about threats to the NPP, allegedly created by the Russian side, as a "vile provocation," she said.

Moscow is warning Kiev against incidents at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and is calling on the International Atomic Energy Agency to record all cases of attacks on the facility, Zakharova said.

According to her, the Ukrainian authorities are using any excuse to "sow disinformation about nuclear risks allegedly emanating from Russia, when in fact they are their main source."

"In the current circumstances, we once again warn Kiev and the Western curators supporting it against possible serious incidents at the ZNPP and call on the IAEA and its leadership, using the presence of experts of this organization directly at the plant, to record all cases of attacks from the Ukrainian side, not to turn a blind eye to them and clearly state who is responsible for what is happening and where the threat to the safe functioning of this facility really comes from," Zakharova was quoted as saying by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

She added that repeated attempts had been made to persuade Kiev to refrain from provocations, including through the mediation of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

"However, the Ukrainian side chose the path of escalation a long time ago and is not ready to move away from it. One of the latest examples is Ukraine's refusal to support the recommendations on strengthening the nuclear and physical security of the plant made by the IAEA director general during a briefing to the UN Security Council on May 30. It should be noted that the Ukrainian authorities have always blocked Grossi's reasonable initiatives," Zakharova said.

Located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, the Zaporozhye NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by number of units and energy output. It went under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident. On October 5, the Zaporozhye NPP was placed under the control of Russian institutions in line with instructions by President Vladimir Putin.