Marine Biotechnology in Indonesia

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More than 75% of Indonesia is coastal and marine; it has the second-longest coastline after Canada. As an area of great biodiversity, it has great promise for marine biodiscovery. A recent paper describes numerous new molecules found in Indonesian marine invertebrates and microbes . The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is responsible for marine biotechnology.

National strategy for biotechnology

A national science and technology policy was established in 1990, with biotechnology as one of the priorities. An Indonesian Biotechnology Consortium has been founded, bringing over 30 institutes together, which formulated a national biotechnology strategy programme in 2004.

Some activities were proposed after 2000, including a ‘Bio-Island’ in Rempang, intended to be a special economic zone for research and commercialisation of biotechnology (including marine biotechnology) and a Bio-park in Serpong West Java as a centre for biodiversity exploration, biodiscovery, culture collections and gene banks. These were to be government-supported, through the Ministry of Science and Technology.

National strategy for marine biotechnology

There is no obvious national strategy for marine biotechnology.

Centres of marine biotechnology research

A number of Universities have groups involved in marine biodiscovery and biotechnology, including those of Diponegoro, Gadjahmada, Sam Ratulangi, and Bogor Agricultural Institute, the Marine Fisheries Agency’s Ekowati Chasanah Research Centre for Marine and Fisheries Product Processing and Biotechnology. The University of Diponegoro’s Center for Tropical and Coastal Studies is a partner in the EU-funded project MARINE FUNGI, which is aiming to isolate new anticancer drugs from marine fungi.

Infrastructures

The Department of Marine Affairs and Fisheries established a scientific forum for Indonesian Marine Biopharmaceuticals in 2005, as a network of researchers, government and industry.

Disclaimer

This draft country profile is based on available online information sources and contributions from various country experts and stakeholders. It does not aim nor claim to be complete or final, but should be considered as a dynamic and living information resource that will be elaborated, updated and improved as more information becomes available, including further inputs from experts and stakeholders.

The information on this page is based on information initially compiled by Meredith Lloyd-Evans (BioBridge) as part of the CSA MarineBiotech Project activities (2011-2013).