Ternate, N Maluku - The municipal government of Ternate, capital city of North Maluku province will develop the region into a science tourism destination especially relating to history, flora and fauna.

     Ternate mayor Syamsir Andili made the remarks here on Sunday, adding that Ternate has many historial legacies that can become science tourism objects, such as Portuguese and Dutch forts.

     In addition, other objects include the Ternate Sultanate heritage such as the Sultanate mosque, the Sultanate Palace and Al-Quran (Muslim holy book) handwritings.

     The flora and fauna which may be interested to science tourists are various kinds of parrots and Ternate typical plants such as coconuts, ginger and durian.

     Apart from that, the oldest clove in the world (400 years old) is also found in Ternate, Andili said, adding the clove which was popularly called Afo Clove often became an object of expert research.

    "A former world botanist heritage of Alfred Russel Wallace is also found in Ternate. Wallace, who conducted a research on the flora and fauna in North Maluku a few hundred years ago, had a house in the Santiong area, Ternate," Andili said.

     The Ternate city administration has turned the Wallace residential house into a Wallace monument that will have a museum for the storage of Wallace relics.

     According to Andili, the Ternate minicipal administration has also built Wallace laboratory in Sasa area where local as well as foreign experts can conduct research of flora and fauna in the North Maluku province.  

-Antara, 25 January 2010-