Antara 22 Mar 10;
Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - Some 70 percent of the total 25,688 hectares of mangrove forest in Pohuwato district, Gorontalo, were damaged, a source of the local community said.
"The opening of fish ponds in Pohuwato has contributed to the damage of mangrove forests in he area," Iwan Abbay, chairman of the local community concerned about the condition of the mangrove forests area, said here on Monday.
Iwan said Pohuwato district were used to own a large scale of mangrove area. In fact, Pohuwato was claimed as the biggest buffer zone for Tomini bay area which includes Gorontalo province and half part of North Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi provinces respectively.
According to data from local managing board for river basins s (DAS) in 2007, of the total 25,688 hectares of mangrove forests in Pohuwato district, 14,017 hectares were heavily damaged and 7,546 hectares slightly damaged. Only 4,123 hectares of the mangrove forests are still on good condition.
Mangrove forests protect coastal areas against erosion, storms (hurricanes), and the tsunamis. The mangrove`s massive root system is efficient at dissipating wave energy. Likewise, they slow down tidal waves so that sediment is deposited as the tide comes in, leaving all except fine particles during low tide.
In this way, mangrove crops build their own environment. Because of the uniqueness of mangrove ecosystems and the protection against erosion that they provide, they are often the object of conservation programs including national Biodiversity Action Plans.
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