Indonesian President asks regional leaders to rehabilitate damaged mangroves

Antara 7 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has urged regional leaders to rehabilitate all damaged mangrove forests existing in their respective jurisdictions.

"I urge all regional leaders with wide mangrove forest areas, especially in Sumatra and Java islands, to make more serious efforts to rehabilitate damaged forests and conduct reforestation," the President said here Monday.

The President also hoped regional administrations would allocate sufficient funds to recruit the needed personnel to maintain mangroves forests such as forest rangers.

"Ask the business sector for assistance , and mobilize the local community to conduct forest rehabilitation efforts," he said.

Making a success of environmental preservation efforts was the moral responsibility of 21st century leaders and fulfilment of this obligation required a high sense of responsibility, leadership and common sense, he said.

Mangrove forests were an ecosystem that should be taken care of and preserved by the Indonesian people more seriously, the President said.

Indonesia now had at least eight million hectares of mangrove areas scattered throughout the archipelago but mostly located in Sumatra, Java and some other regions.

"They are very important ecosystems on beaches, If they are damaged, the life of fishes, birds and clear water supply will be disrupted. They also function as barriers against tsunami which can greatly affect life on land," he said.

The President affirmed his commitment to demanding that the nation and people preserve the environment for the sake of their present and future generations.

On the occasion, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Mohammad Gusti Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi and Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam as well as Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

Angke Kapuk Natural Park is one of the country`s natural conservation areas covered by 99.82 hectares of mangrove trees.

The area was designated as a tourism forest and will be used for mangrove reforestation or rehabilitation activities or other natural tourism activities.

Rubbish Angers Minister in Rehabbed Mangrove Park
Camelia Pasandaran & Arientha Primanita Jakarta Globe 8 Jun 10;

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for more work to be done on rehabilitating Indonesia’s decimated mangrove forests and cleaning up Jakarta’s coastline on Monday, while visiting a garbage-covered eco-tourism park.

Zulkifli was accompanying Yudhoyono and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo on a tour of the mangrove reforestation project in the Angke Kapuk Tourist Park in North Jakarta.

The 99-hectare park is a pilot project for urban reforestation but is operated by a private company outside the control of the Jakarta administration.

The minister called for more replanting of mangroves along the Jakarta coast, but seemed particularly appalled by the state of the tourist park.

“Everything is here, mattresses, pillows and all kinds of rubbish. This is the biggest problem stopping rehabilitation from happening,” Zulkifli said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also took note of the litter-strewn park, and also said more needs to be done to clean up the coastline.

“The condition of the rivers around this area is good,” Yudhoyono said in recognition of recent efforts to dredge rivers in the north. “But there is still rubbish.”

Yudhoyono also called on regional leaders to pay greater attention to the destruction of mangrove forests throughout the country. The president said that Indonesia’s once ubiqutous mangrove forests are fading fast, with close to 70 percent of them being destroyed.

“Leaders, especially in Sumatra, Java and other regions that have thick mangrove forests need to seriously conduct rehabilitation and reforestation [programs],” Yudhoyono said.

Peni Susanti, who heads the Jakarta Environmental Agency, said the city has been replanting the mangroves since 2007 and has already planted about 175 hectares around the capital.

The target, Peni said, is to plant 340 hectares of mangroves by 2012, something officials say is already helping protect the coast from flooding.

Zulkifli said Jakarta should aspire to have a clean coastline that is a draw for visitors.

“Within five years we hope to plant 9 million mangrove trees,” Zulkifli said.

“We have planted trees here, as well as at Muara Angke Bay [North Jakarta] and Ancol and in other places. We have to try to rebuild the mangroves on Jakarta Bay, so it is like the old days. It is, however, going to be a hard thing to do.”

“But here our coastal areas are not much more than smelly slums. We need to redress these problems first,” Zulkili said.

But the minister, perhaps still smarting from the filthy welcome afforded him and the president, had a parting shot for the park, saying the planting initiative has been beset by shoddy management.

“It’s been six months since the planting got underway here and there has been minimal growth,” Zulkifli said.

“It is not easy, so we must conduct massive rehabilitation. Jakarta is the face of the republic. If the face is destroyed, how can we expect people to come here?”

The spread of fish farms has been blamed for most of the decline in Indonesia’s mangrove forests.

President: Do not throw garbage into rivers
Antara 7 Jun 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday called on the people not to litter rivers with garbage because it could destroy mangrove forests along the coast lines.

"Again, I ask the people not to throw garbage arbitrarily into rivers because it will destroy our mangrove forests at the sea shores," President Yudhoyono said when he inspected a mangrove forest area in the Muara Angke natural tourist park in North Jakarta.

On the occasion the president said environmental pollution would cause floods , various kinds of disease which would in the long run compel the government to spend a lot of funds on people`s health programs.

The head of state said it was better at the earlier stage to use the funds to save the environment, including mangrove forests, in an effort to save the people from the threat of natural disasters in the future.

"Some parts of the rivers are clean enough but most of them are still littered with garbage," the president said.

During his visit to the Muara Angke park, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

The Angke Kapuk natural tourist park is a 99.82-hectare natural conservation area covered by mangrove forests.

The area has been declared a tourist forest area for mangrove reforestation and rehabilitation and natural tourist activities.

Up to the end of April 2006, some 40 ha of the area had been rehabilitated and reforested with mangrove trees.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the occasion that his office has been cooperating with the Jakarta City Administration for five years to plant at least 9 million mangrove trees in the area.

"We have planted mangrove trees several times here, at Teluk Angke, at Ancol resort, and even at other locations in an effort to make Jakarta green," the forestry minister said.

According to him, mangrove-tree-planting activity should be intensified because environmental damage along the coast of Jakarta Bay had reached an alarming level.

President plants mangrove trees at Angke Tourist Park
Antara 7 May 10;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday morning inspected a mangrove forest area in the Muara Angke natural tourist park in North Jakarta , and planted a number of mangrove trees on the occasion.

During his visit to the Muara Angke park, the President was accompanied by Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

The Angke Kapuk natural tourist park is a 99.82-hectare natural conservation area covered by mangrove forests.

The area has been declared a tourist forest area for mangrove reforestation and rehabilitation and natural tourist activities.

Up to the end of April 2006, some 40 ha of the area had been rehabilitated and reforested with mangrove trees.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said on the occasion that his office has been cooperating with the Jakarta City Administration for five years to plant at least 9 million mangrove trees in the area.

"We have planted mangrove trees several times here, at Teluk Angke, at Ancol resort, and even at other locations in an effort to make Jakarta green," the forestry minister said.

According to him, mangrove-tree-planting activity should be intensified because environmental damage along the coast of Jakarta Bay had reached an alarming level.

"Our greatest enemy is garbage. Like a supermarket, anything can be found along Ancol beach and the coast of Jakarta Bay. On the beach of Ancol and along the coast of Jakarta Bay we can see garbage of any kind, ranging from pillows, mattresses, shoes, sandals, plastic goods, anything," the minister said.

Therefore, he added that mangrove tree planting activity to green Ancol Beach and Jakarta Bay should be made by all parties : government institutions, private institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the people at large.