Activists commemorate Earth Day<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Buleleng\/Surabaya\/Kendari<\/p>\n
Students and environmentalists across the archipelago
\ncommemorated Earth Day over the past three days with various
\nactivities, including cleaning up coral reefs.<\/p>\n
In Buleleng regency, Bali, activists with the World Wide Fund
\nfor Nature (WWF) and other NGOs cleaned up coral reefs near
\nMenjangan Island here. WWF's West Bali site leader I Made Iwan
\nDewantama said on Friday that the cleanup was aimed at saving 810
\nhectares of coral reefs from starfish attacks or crown of thorns
\n(Acanthaster plancii).<\/p>\n
\"We are still investigating whether the attack since January
\nhas something to do with the change in climate in the area,\" said
\nDewantama on the sidelines of the Earth Day commemoration in
\nBuleleng.<\/p>\n
During the coral reef cleanup on Thursday and Friday, the
\nactivists from WWF, the Nature Conservacy, officials from West
\nBali National Park and others had taken out some 140 starfish.<\/p>\n
The starfish generally attack the coral reef by covering the
\ncoral reef and destroying it, and later they eat the algae inside
\nthe coral reef, said Deny Suhernawan Yusuf, an activist and a
\nlecturer at Udayana University.<\/p>\n
The starfish were widely spread in the coral reef near
\nMenjangan island in 1998, when some 1,000 starfish were
\ndiscovered in the area. The West Bali National Park led the
\ncleanup of the coral reef, and in order to speed up the measure,
\nthe National Park authority paid local residents Rp 100 for each
\nstarfish they captured. The starfish attack subsided, but
\nsomehow, they returned last January.<\/p>\n
In Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi, students,
\njournalists and NGO activists staged a protest in the city to
\ncommemorate Earth Day, which falls on April 22, demanding that
\nthe government take harsh measures against illegal loggers. They
\nalso lashed out at the government and lawmakers, who have
\napproved a law on water resources that has led to the
\ncommercialization of water. Separately in the city, dozens of
\nstudents also commemorated Earth Day by planting mangrove trees
\nnear the beach.<\/p>\n
Similarly, protests to commemorate the Earth Day were also
\nheld in Surabaya on Wednesday and Thursday.<\/p>\n
The students focused their protest on river pollution, which
\nthey claim has reduced the quality of life of Surabayans.<\/p>\n
The students demanded that the government take stern measures
\nagainst companies and individuals that released hazardous waste
\ninto Surabaya rivers. They also demanded that the government
\nimpose sanctions on companies that do not have waste processing
\nfacilities.<\/p>",
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