Abrasion looms over Lampung eastern beach<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N.
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nSukadana, Lampung Timur<\/p>\n
Thousands of people's homes and hectares of fish ponds along
\nthe eastern shore of Lampung could be submerged in seawater
\nwithin two years as a result of the massive clearing of mangrove
\nforests by unauthorized fish farmers.<\/p>\n
Mangrove forests on the eastern coasts of Lampung and
\nTulangbawang have been widely destroyed by about 4,000 fish
\nfarmers who illegally cleared the forests for fish ponds.<\/p>\n
These farmers have cleared a total of 40 kilometers of
\nmangrove forests along the coastline over the past five years,
\naccording to the Lampung chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the
\nEnvironment.<\/p>\n
The head of the Walhi chapter, Mukri Friatna, urged the
\nprovincial administration to replant the mangrove forests.
\nOtherwise, he warned, all of the fishponds and thousands of homes
\nalong the coast would vanish within two years.<\/p>\n
He said the distance between the shore and most coastal
\nvillages used to be more than one kilometer, with the two
\nseparated by mangrove forests.<\/p>\n
Because of the destruction of the mangrove forests, that
\ndistance has shrunk to between 100 meters and 200 meters.<\/p>\n
\"Just take a look at Muara Belukang village. It is only 100
\nmeters from the seashore. I'm afraid the waves will engulf about
\n200 houses there this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Local fish farmers, who are also fishermen, have complained
\nabout smaller catches as a result of the destruction of the
\nmangrove forests.<\/p>\n
\"Besides breeding fish, we also earn money by fishing. When
\nthe forests were still there, we did not have to go far from the
\nvillage to get fish because fish were abundant in the mangrove
\nforests,\" Pendi, a resident of Muara Belukang village, said.<\/p>\n
Mukri said thousands of other fish farmers and fishermen
\nliving in the villages near the coast had also suffered losses
\nbecause of the illegal fishponds.<\/p>\n
He, therefore, urged the Lampung provincial administration to
\ntake firm action to shut down the illegal fish ponds.<\/p>\n
The unauthorized fish farmers came from various parts of
\nLampung. They began cutting down the mangrove forests five years
\nago, when there was a lapse in security following the downfall of
\nformer president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some of the illegal farmers said they cleared the
\nmangrove forests and established fishponds because they could no
\nlonger stand to live in poverty.<\/p>\n
\"We are poor. The situation is very difficult for us, even to
\nget food to eat. Since the crisis we have been eating cassava,
\nbut that is expensive also. So we didn't think it would do any
\nharm to open the fishponds,\" Mijo, 40, an illegal farmer who is a
\nnative of Kuala Penet in East Lampung, said.<\/p>\n
The mangrove forests had functioned as a greenbelt protecting
\nfarmers and villages from the sea.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/abrasion-looms-over-lampung-eastern-beach-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}