Nana Rukmana and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post 10 Dec 09;
The rate of mangrove forest destruction is growing at an alarming rate on the northern coast of Java, especially in Indramayu regency, West Java, leading to extensive coastal erosion.
Lack of government policy and public awareness toward mangrove conservation have further extended the area of damage along West Java's northern coast.
"Damage to mangrove forests has allowed sea water to easily hit and erode the coast in Indramayu. The coastal erosion will worsen as long as the beach is not protected by mangrove forests," said local Labor and Environment Foundation (YBLH) environmentalist, Yoyon Suharyono, on Tuesday.
Indramayu is a regency with one of the longest coastlines in West Java, stretching 114 kilometers. According to Yoyon, mangrove damage in Indramayu has spread along 60 kilometers, or more than 50 percent of its coastline, with a sharp rise in the last five years.
Yoyon said coastal erosion had damaged a number of homes in fishing settlements along the coast, including fish and shrimp farms run by local residents.
"It has caused considerable material losses on the part of residents," he said.
He added the worst extent of coastal erosion had taken place along the coast between Juntinyuat and Sukra regencies.
According to him, mangrove damage on a large section of the Indramayu coast can be blamed on the lack of attention from the government and coastal communities.
"The lack of development policies on conservation concepts shows that the government lacks initiative on effective environmental management," said Yoyon, adding coastal communities were also to blame for poverty and economic hardship.
In Cilacap regency, Central Java, the Pertamina state oil and gas company's Refinery Unit (RU) IV has responded to the crisis in Segara Anakan lagoon area as thousands of hectares of mangrove swamps have been buried under rapid sedimentation.
Only around 700 hectares of the area's original 6,400 hectares of mangrove forests remain. "We have attempted to save the crucial areas by reforesting barren areas with mangrove trees. The number is not a lot but at least we have made steps *in the right direction*," said Pertamina RU IV spokesman Kurdi Susanto in Cilacap on Monday.
He added the Cilacap office of Pertamina had started growing 10,000 mangrove seedlings in a one-hectare area in the Segara Anakan lagoon area.
"We have begun and will continue until next week," Kurdi told The Jakarta Post.
He hopes other groups concerned with environmental issues will join the cause to save Segara Anakan lagoon. "The mangrove reforestation activity is part of our corporate responsibility to save the environment," said Kurdi.
"We have long been involved in various discussions on saving Segara Anakan and we are finally aware that the area is *extremely fragile* and must be saved. We are proving it now," he added.
He said that, according to marine experts, Segara Anakan lagoon area is a breeding ground for rare marine animal species and a place on which thousands of fishermen depend.
Segara Anakan Area Management Agency (BPKSA) head Supriyanto confirmed that Segara Anakan area had shrunk by up to 90 percent of its original size due to severe sedimentation from the Citanduy and Cimeneng Rivers in West Java and Central Java.
"An average of 1 million cubic meters of mud *is washed into* Segara Anakan annually, threatening marine ecosystems," Supriyanto said. The massive volume of silt that sets in the lagoon, according to Supriyanto, comes from Ciamis, Tasikmalaya, Kuningan regencies and Banjar mayoralty in West Java and Cilacap and Banyumas regencies in Central Java.
Segara Anakan, located around Nusakambangan Island in Cilacap, is home to 26 mangrove species and hundreds of shrimp and fish species.
