[Kabar-indonesia] Bantul coastal residents plant mangroves for protection [+U.S. praise]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: U.S. praises Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei for forest conservation 
project 

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Bantul's coastal residents plant mangroves for protection 

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Bantul

Residents of a windswept section of coastline in Bantul, Yogyakarta, are 
borrowing from age-old wisdom to protect themselves from the hazard of erosion.

With the help of an NGO, they planted mangroves along Samas beach to serve as 
a natural buffer from the elements nine months ago. But they then faced 
another problem of marauding buffaloes. 

At a recent community meeting in Baros hamlet, Tirtohargo village, it was 
agreed that a buffalo owner would have to pay a fine of Rp 5,000 (about 54 U.S. 
cents) for each mangrove destroyed. 

"If there's a buffalo trampling on or eating a mangrove, we'll count how many 
plants are ruined, file the report and demand the owner to pay the fine," 
said Warsono, a resident who volunteers to take care of about four hectares of 
the mangrove forest. 

The project was jointly initiated by residents and Relung non-governmental 
organization to serve as a windbreak and curb erosion. 

The grandfather of four said buffaloes had freely roamed the coastline before 
the fine system was implemented, and only 100,000 of the originally planted 
250,000 trees survived. 

"With this deal, and by imposing fines, we hope the trees can survive," 
Warsono said. 

Relung coordinator Muhammad Arif said the pilot project to plant mangroves in 
Opak river estuary in Bantul started in 2003 to determine if they could 
survive. 

The project was continued in 2004 and 2005, with more trees planted to shield 
the coastline from the elements. 

Muhammad said the move was made before the Aceh tsunami in December 2004, and 
no thought had been given to the threat of the giant waves. "But it turns out 
that mangrove can serve as a barrier to waves." 

He said the mangrove forest would provide other benefits, such as a good 
breeding ground for fish and also as a tourist attraction. 

Along with other locals, Warsono has allowed 3,000 square meters of his land 
for the planting of mangrove seedlings. 

Residents plant the seeds in small plastic bags provided by the NGO. They 
receive Rp 50 for each seed they cultivate and Rp 100 for the planting of a tree. 

"Until now, we've planted 400,000 more trees, and spread them to four 
different locations -- Bantul, Kulonprogo, Purworejo and Kebumen," he said. 

Apart from mangroves, residents along the southern coastline, stretching 
about 10 kilometers from Samas to Pandansimo, have also planted thousands of pine 
trees. 

Panijo, a 37-year-old farmer and fisherman in Poncosari, Bantul, said the 
pine trees were proving an excellent windbreak for his land. 

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U.S. praises Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei for conservation project 

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (AP): The United States praised Malaysia, Indonesia and 
Brunei for a new environmental project to conserve 220,000 kilometers of 
equatorial rain forest that straddles their shared border on Kalimantan.

In a statement, spokesman Sean McCormack's office said a US$100,000 donation 
for the project, announced last Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by Secretary 
of State Condoleezza Rice, would be disbursed through the World Wildlife Fund 
and the International Tropical Timber Organization.

The money is to further the project's goals of "combating illegal logging and 
wildlife trafficking," the statement said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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