[Kabar-indonesia] Activists say coastal damage exacerbating disasters [3 articles]

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: Forest encroachment investigated in Jambi; and Damaged river 
embankments rebuilt

The Jakarta Post 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Activists say coastal damage exacerbating disasters

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Environmental activists are calling on the government and the public to halt 
the degradation of marine resources in order to prevent the kinds of disasters 
that have already caused suffering for millions of people.

Riza Damanik, campaign manager for marine and coastal areas at the Indonesian 
Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said the rapid damage to coastal areas has 
left 750 villages along some 81,000 square kilometers of the country's 
coastline subject to chronic erosion. Indonesia has the world's second longest 
coastline.

"These villagers are also hit by increasingly frequent floods. In 2003 alone, 
some 12,000 villages were inundated, which is a sharp increase from 1999, 
when 7,000 villages were affected by floods," he said.

A study by Walhi showed that 90 percent of the disaster-hit villages were 
located in areas where coral reefs and mangrove forests were damaged.

The 2005 State of the Environment report says that of the country's 51,000 
square kilometers of coral areas, only 5.8 percent are well-preserved, a 
decrease from 2004 when 6.8 percent were in good condition.

Meanwhile, about 57 percent of the country's 9.2 million hectares of mangrove 
forests are in critical condition.

Experts say mangrove trees could halt erosion and mitigate the negative 
impacts of large sea waves on coastal areas, where some 16 million Indonesians live.

"These villagers are suffering from ecological disasters, a natural result of 
our accumulated failures in preserving the environment and managing marine 
resources," Riza said.

He blamed the government for not stopping the conversion of coastal areas 
into big fishing ponds, which has decreased the ability of coastal areas to 
mitigate the impacts of disasters.

"Last year, my study estimated that fish farming areas totaled 800,000 
hectares, increasing at an average rate of 14 percent per year," he said.

Marine and Fisheries Ministry spokesman Aji Sularso said the government was 
fully aware of the situation and had drawn up various community-based programs 
to improve conditions.

"We are working not only to increase yields from the fishery industry but 
also to practice preservation," he said.

Among dozens of programs created by his office, Aji said that the Coral Reef 
and Management Project and Marine Coastal Resources Management Project, both 
funded by foreign donors, had been successful at sustaining marine resources.

As for the fish farming industry, he said it was up to local administrations 
to regulate them.

"In line with the decentralization system, some conservation programs are now 
under the regional administrations' authority," he said. 

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The Jakarta Post 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Forest encroachment investigated in Jambi

JAMBI, Jambi: The Jambi Prosecutor's Office is investigating the encroachment 
of 2,275 hectares of state forest in the province by plantation company Muaro 
Kahuripan Indonesia (Makin) Group.

The Jambi Forestry Office has declared four of the firm's directors suspects 
in the case for illegally converting 790 hectares of forest in Tungkal Ulu, 
West Tanjungjabung, and 1,485 ha of forest in Kumpeh, Muarojambi, to oil palm 
plantations.

"They have violated the 1999 Forestry Law," Jambi Forestry Office head Gatot 
Moeryanto said.

Gatot said the large-scale palm oil plantations at the two locations were 
established in 2003, but authorities had not known about them until fires swept 
through the areas between 2003 and 2005.

State investigators from the Forestry Ministry were previously handling the 
case.

Yahya Rahman, who heads the prosecutor's office, said the case would be 
thoroughly investigated, but the forestry office needed to provide the necessary 
documents first.

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The Jakarta Post 
Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Damaged river embankments rebuilt

YOGYAKARTA: A number of river embankments that were damaged in the May 27 
earthquake have been fortified in preparation for the rainy season.

"If the embankments are not rebuilt, it will be very dangerous during the 
next rainy season," Yogyakarta Housing and Infrastructure Office head Eko Suryo 
said.

Eko said strengthening the structures was essential because otherwise, if Mt. 
Merapi erupted again, there would be nothing to stop lava from reaching 
residential areas.

"Many embankments have been damaged or have cracks in them," he said, adding 
that the embankments held back the Winongo, Gajah Wong and Code rivers.

"The most crucial embankment is on Code River because it passes through 
densely populated areas."

Eko said the embankments would be rebuilt before the start of the rainy 
season, which generally lasts from September to March.

He said budgetary funds for projects that were not urgent, like building 
sidewalks and putting in pedestrian crosswalks had been used to speed up work on 
the embankments.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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