Jakarta and its mangroves

Andrio Adiwibowo, Jakarta Post 12 Dec 07;

Even for many biologists, mangrove forests are still viewed as wastelands. Yet, the tidal flood late last month in Jakarta reminds us that if we don't respect these salt-water tolerant plant communities, it can turn our backyards into the wasteland.

Approximately 14 years ago, a team from the ecology laboratory at the Biology Department, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, made environmental assessments on the coastal areas of Jakarta and warned of the possibility of tidal floods.

The suggested solution was first to maintain mangroves as the core zone, and second to provide a buffer zone. Based on forestry regulations and conservation laws, the vegetation in this buffer zone should consist 60 percent of native mangrove plants, and the rest plants that can be utilized by the surrounding people.

This classic combination can guarantee the economic and ecology interests remain in harmony for the long term. If the plan is implemented, a repeat of the recent floods can be avoided.

Nevertheless, the plan was not implemented. Instead of providing a buffer zone, development encroached into the core zone, which was covered over by concrete.

A thesis in 1984 recorded the area of intact mangrove as 175 hectares. In 2004, a postgraduate thesis conducted in the same area found only 43 hectares remained. And it will keep shrinking, rather than increasing.

Just 25 percent of the mangrove forest remains. This means we are now three times more likely to see large floods than in the past and, ironically, we have no protection, are doing nothing, ignoring the warnings, just sitting and waiting.

Many explanations can explain the disaster and everybody will agree that all have one thing in common, which is they are caused by human enterprise. The recent flood is not a stand-alone disaster.

First, it is the loss of the mangrove forest. At the regional scale, it is linked to condition in the front yard of Jakarta, which is Jakarta Bay and the Thousand Islands archipelago. At the distance of 10 kilometers from Muara Angke to Pulau Untung Jawa, the sea floor has been clogged by sedimentation coming from the bay, ranging from 30 cm to 1 m in depth.

The dark color of the bay versus the living green color of the healthy sea captured by satellite supports this fact. As a result, the sea is losing its depth, and hence an increasing sea level. To the north, the coral reefs are each of the islands in the Thousand Islands chain has been destroyed, leaving no protection.

A scientific study reported remnant reef coverage ranging from just 5 to 30 percent. Not only have we lost the reefs, but also islands due to illegal sand mining. This provides a "toll way" for the massive sea current and facilitates the tide.

At a global scale, the mother of this disaster is, as we know, climate change. This is the living proof of global warming. The earth becomes hotter, the sea level rises and the land sinks. Looking at recent conditions, Jakarta Bay is a sitting duck for high tides and even tsunamis.

Since the colonial era, mangroves have been considered to play an important role in the development and the growth of the city. Jakarta and Rotterdam have one thing in common; some portion of both cities are located beneath sea level.

Nonetheless, the Dutch felt Batavia was far better off because it was already equipped with natural protection, mangrove forest, which they knew should be kept undisturbed and intact.

Most big cities in Indonesia, especially in Java, are located and developed in coastal areas. These cities are prone to natural disasters. Nevertheless, they made a common mistake.

They concentrated all their vital facilities near the coast, for instance, airports and power plants. Ironically, at the same time, they changed the coastal landscape as well.

This change could take the form of modest shrimp ponds to big real estate developments. In the name of development, they followed the basic rule, which is everything that doesn't have economic value should be gotten rid of, including, unfortunately, mangrove forests.

Since protecting mangrove forests is the same as protecting the whole country, the management should be on the national level. Therefore, the management, especially the cost, should not be borne completely by North Jakarta. The other municipalities, East, West, Central and South Jakarta, should also have to pay.

The ecological scenario is the developed north will convert back developed areas into mangrove forests, which means the north will lose economic opportunities and revenue. In this situation, the state together with the other municipalities in Jakarta should replace and subsidize the cost by providing free access to the education and health systems for people living in North Jakarta.

Mangroves can provide not only ecological value but also economic and even political value. By planting mangroves, and considering the length of Indonesia's coasts, we can offer a massive carbon emission service and debt swap, as well as strengthen our position on the global scale.

The writer is a lecturer in environmental management at the Department of Biology, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia. He can be contacted at Andrio7897@yahoo.com.