Hyacinth overgrowth ruins Ambarawa livelihood<\/p>\n
Ressi Fadjar Himawanti, The Jakarta Post, Semarang<\/p>\n
Thousands of farmers in the zone of Rawapening, Java's largest
\nnatural lake in Ambarawa district, Semarang regency, Central
\nJava, have suffered considerable losses of income this year as
\nthe water is submerging hundreds of hectares of surrounding rice
\nfields.<\/p>\n
Water hyacinth, locally known as eceng gondok, has covered
\nthree fourths of the lake's surface, causing floods particularly
\nduring the rainy season. While normally a hectare of land
\ncultivated by Surdi (45), a farmer in the district's Tambakbayan
\nvillage, can produce seven tons of paddy, "Now even in the dry
\nseason the output has dropped to five tons," he said recently.<\/p>\n
Another farmer, Trisno (51), complained about his decreasing
\nharvests due to rat-infested fields. "It's hard to eradicate the
\nrats because they are hidden under hyacinth leaves," said Trisno,
\nalso living near Rawapening, which includes eights villages in
\nfour districts.<\/p>\n
Other farmers around the lake, like Zhugin (50) and Maarif
\n(68), put fishing nets in the water basin. They told The Jakarta
\nPost that their catch had decreased substantially in the last two
\nyears, from around 20 kilograms to only three kilograms daily.
\n"Hyacinth has increased the lake's fish population but it is more
\ndifficult to catch under the leaves," said Maarif.<\/p>\n
Semarang Regent Guritno meanwhile said out of Rawapening's
\ntotal surface area of 2,670 hectares, more than 75 percent has
\nbeen blanketed by water hyacinth, leaving only around 200
\nhectares open, thus posing a threat to the livelihood of 29
\ngroups of 2,200 local farmers and fishermen.<\/p>\n
Guritno also referred to the high rate of sedimentation as
\nnine rivers emptying into the lake carried debris of erosion and
\ndeforestation besides other agricultural and household waste. A
\nsurvey team has predicted that Rawapening will dry up within the
\nnext 10 to 15 years.<\/p>\n
Guritno added that Rawapening's flow rate reached 65 million
\ncubic meters and its stream provides water for 200,000 hectares
\nof fields in the regencies of Semarang, Grobogan and Demak as
\nwell as the cities of Semarang and Salatiga. The same source also
\nsupplies energy for the Jelok hydro power plant with an installed
\ncapacity of 32,980 KW and the Timlo plant with 25,000 KW.<\/p>\n
Joko Sutrisno, head of the provincial environment impact
\ncontrol agency, told The Jakarta Post amid a ceremony declaring
\nthe local community's hyacinth control drive at Bukit Cinta,
\nBanyubiru, Semarang recently that this plant caused a high rate
\nof lake water evaporation.<\/p>\n
The average degree of evaporation is more than 10 percent of
\nthe lake's annual flow rate, according to Sutrisno, while the
\nfast growth of hyacinth will result in shallowing and high
\ncontent of organic materials, which make algae flourish and turn
\nsediment into peat.<\/p>\n
Peat utilization by a company, PT Dieng Jaya, on Dieng
\nhighland in Wobosobo for growing straw mushrooms has been
\ndiscontinued, whereas dryland vegetable planting by farmers in
\nGetasan, Bandungan and Salatiga has proceeded without
\nconservation, leading to erosion in the wet season.<\/p>\n
The rivers carrying pesticide residue from the vegetable
\nplanting area have raised the content of trace elements in
\nRawapening's sediments, which in turn causes eceng gondok to grow
\nfaster. The use of hyacinth leaves for handicraft products even
\nspeeds up the plant's vegetative regeneration.<\/p>\n
Sutrisno disclosed that hyacinth on the lake surface had been
\ncleared during the Dutch colonial administration in 1931,
\nfollowed by further efforts in 1947 and 1952. The Central Java
\nwater resources management board (PSDA) has done the same on a
\nroutine basis, but the growth of this water plant remains beyond
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
As the largest water reservoir in Central Java, Sutrisno
\nemphasized the necessity of conserving Rawapening. Apart from
\nfavorably affecting the climate for agriculture, the lake also
\nserves to control floods from the upstream of Tuntang river.
\nUnless curbed by the lake, Demak and Grobogan areas would be
\nseverely flooded.<\/p>\n
Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said on the occasion the best
\nway of overcoming the problem was to control eceng gondok because
\nthis plant, while harming the interests of farmers and fishermen,
\nhad favored craftsmen by increasing the value of their products.<\/p>\n
He therefore indicated that for the handicraft industry, water
\nhyacinth would be maintained so that its total eradication should
\nbe avoided.<\/p>\n
Sutrisno suggested that the hyacinth area in Rawapening should
\nbe zoned to reserve several hectares for the industry but this
\nportion retained should be controlled, while the rest must be
\neliminated so as not to harm agriculture and fishing.<\/p>\n
Rawapening conservation has in fact been under Semarang
\nregency's planning with a Rp 30.2 billion allocation for five
\nyears, comprising Rp 16.2 billion for hyacinth control and Rp 14
\nbillion for nine-river dredging and reforestation of over 200
\nhectares.<\/p>\n
The provincial PSDA provides Rp 700 million annually for
\nRawapening water control, and the United Nations Development
\nProgram (UNDP) has made available US$1.7 million or around Rp 170
\nbillion through several non-government organizations engaged in
\nlake conservation.<\/p>\n
In 2003, the provincial administration has budgeted Rp 320
\nmillion for Rawapening conservation and the Semarang regency has
\nalso allocated Rp 600 million for the same purpose.<\/p>\n
The various funds for the conservation of this vital lake,
\nhowever, are not being utilized in an integrated fashion. That is
\nalso the case with the efforts undertaken by different
\nstakeholders. Consequently, the lake community has not yet
\nenjoyed any positive effect of the endeavor and much of the money
\nis being wasted due to a lack of cooperation or coordination.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hyacinth-overgrowth-ruins-ambarawa-livelihood-1447893297",
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