Coral destruction goes on in Bali<\/p>\n
Pariama Hutasoit, Contributor, Serangan Island, Bali<\/p>\n
Surfers crowd Serangan beach, Bali, enjoying breezy waves while
\nother visitors leisurely sip their canned drinks at the nearby
\ncafes.<\/p>\n
Not far from them, an elderly couple, Wayan and his wife, were
\nbusy sawing hard sea corals near the shores. Their bodies were
\npartly submerged in the water. Once in a while the seawaves
\ndashed against their dark and wrinkled skins.<\/p>\n
The old couple were concentrating on their job, ignoring busy
\nactivities around them.<\/p>\n
\"We received a bulk of order from someone who wants to build a
\ntemple,\" Wayan said. \"If there is no order, we won't go to the
\nsea,\" his wife added.<\/p>\n
The couple, just like other Serangan Island residents, were
\njust trying to make ends meet by catching and sawing sea corals
\nas they did not have any other option. At least 100 former
\nfishermen and boat people have to give up their previous jobs
\nsince PT Bali Turtle Island reclaimed the island in 1996.<\/p>\n
The company, whose operations were temporarily halted by the
\ngovernor of Bali last year but have again commenced after an
\nenvironmental impact study concluded it could start operating
\nagain, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The project has affected the local people's lives -- socially
\neconomically and environmentally, since many of them lost their
\nproperties and daily incomes because of the reclamation.<\/p>\n
For instance, fishermen who used to catch aquarium fishes
\ncould no longer find proper locations since most of the coral
\nreefs have been destroyed and part of the seawaters turned into
\nland. Mangrove forests, home to millions of fish and shrimps,
\nwere cut off to make way for the project.<\/p>\n
Boat people saw no bright future either since the project has
\ndirectly linked the once separated Sarangan island to Bali. With
\nthe new development, residents and visitors no longer need water
\ntransport to reach the island.<\/p>\n
Now, many local people see coral reefs as an immediate and
\neasy way out to earn money.<\/p>\n
\"We realize that our activities will destroy the marine
\necosystem, but we are just uneducated fishermen with no skills to
\nfind other jobs,\" complained one of boat owners, Wayan Senter.<\/p>\n
But many of them prefer to close their eyes when facing this
\nbleak reality. To make things even worse, the local
\nadministration does nothing to prevent further coral reef
\nexploitation, or takes no action against developers which have
\ncreated huge environmental and social problems on the island.<\/p>\n
Most of the fishermen catch hard coral, which they thought
\nalready dead. However, it is hard for them to distinguish dead
\nand living corals. Many times they saw living corals, which they
\nonly identify as Karang tombong to illustrate its physical
\nappearance. Karang tombong or hard coral is the one which is
\neasily cut and has white stripes like coconut meat, which is
\ncalled tombong in Balinese language. Each slab of coral reef
\nmeasuring 30x15cm is sold at between Rp6,000 and Rp7,000.<\/p>\n
The fishermen, who usually take the corals during low tide, do
\nthis as a side job, while others rely on this work to survive.<\/p>\n
In the past, hard corals were only taken to build big temples
\nbut now, demand is high. Many people want to use them to build
\ntemples, houses and offices. Demand for hard corals come from
\nDenpasar, Badung regency to as far as Karang Asem in East Bali.<\/p>\n
\"High demand of hard corals certainly causes environmental
\ndamage to the sea,\" explained Windy, a marine scientist at
\nBahtera Nusantara Foundation.<\/p>\n
Living or dead corals are important to maintain the balance of
\nmarine ecosystem and they prevent seawaves from eroding the land.
\nThe coral reefs are home to millions of marine species.<\/p>\n
\"Even dead corals will one day become alive again because many
\nnew corals which live on the dead ones will form new corals,\"
\nWindy said.<\/p>\n
If the fishermen take out both dead and living corals, soon,
\nthere will no more new corals. \"And this is very dangerous,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another crucial problem is sea erosion. Clear example can be
\nseen in Tanjung Benoa and Candi Dasa beach in Karang Asem.<\/p>\n
Excessive exploitation of the corals will also result in
\ndecreasing amounts of fish and other marine habitats. \"It is not
\nstrange they (local fishermen) could not catch the fish here,\"
\nWindy said.<\/p>\n
Based on a study carried out by the foundation in 2001,
\nSarangan was a small island, which was previously rich in coral
\nreefs.<\/p>\n
\"The present condition is so different. There are only a few
\ncoral reefs left here after the reclamation project,\" Windy said.
\n\"The locations are scattered on some spots near the Benoa
\nharbor.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/coral-destruction-goes-on-in-bali-1447893297",
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