Limestone quarries ruin Gunungkidul's beauty<\/p>\n
Bambang M and Gigin W Utomo, Contributors, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Hilly Gunungkidul is often stereotyped as a barren land where
\nlife is tough when the prolonged dry spell causes a severe
\ndrought in many subdistricts, notably the coastal south.<\/p>\n
In the world of science, Gunungkidul is internationally famed
\nfor not only its traces of prehistoric man, but also its chain of
\ngorgeous, cone-shaped karst that one Western scientist has said
\nis found nowhere else on the planet.<\/p>\n
The karst cones, green during the wet season and reddish
\nduring the dry, form a chain in the southern coastal areas down
\nto the east, ending in Pacitan, an East Java town bordering
\nCentral Java province.<\/p>\n
\"The cones form wet tropical karst that locals call Pegunungan
\nSewu (Thousand Mountains),\" said E.T. Paripurna, a lecturer at
\nYogyakarta-based UPN Veteran University's School of Geology.<\/p>\n
Composed mostly of carbonate stones, the mountain range starts
\nin Oya River in the subdistrict of Wonosari. It stretches some 85
\nkilometers to Pacitan. With an average width of some 25
\nkilometers, the mountain range covers an area of some 2,000
\nsquare kilometers of land.<\/p>\n
Comprising some 50,000 karst hills, Pegunungan Sewu boasts
\nbreathtaking landscape.<\/p>\n
The conical karst that MacDonald and Partners of the British
\nCave Research Association once referred to as the best in the
\nworld is, in fact, just one aspect of the beauty it offers.<\/p>\n
Gorgeous caves, along with its underground rivers and the
\ngreat varieties of exokarst (surface karst) and indokarst
\n(underground karst) won Pegunungan Sewu the status of a World
\nNatural Heritage Site in 1994 from the International Union of
\nSpeleology.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, all the beauty is in the process of
\ndestruction, as limestone quarrying is a growing industry in the
\nregion.<\/p>\n
It is true that locals have been quarrying limestone using
\ntraditional equipment for as long as people can remember, but
\nmajor concern began only in the 1990s when big business arrived
\nwith sophisticated technology. The large-scale exploitation of
\nkarst is all legal. The businesses have the requisite permits
\nfrom the Gunungkidul regency government.<\/p>\n
The karst is used as a component in various products, such as
\nfertilizer and cosmetics, and also for making works of art like
\nstatues.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists fear that if the current trend continues,
\nthere will be no karst hills left because the regency government
\nsees the quarrying project as a major source of income as part of
\nthe regional autonomy. Gunungkidul, which has a population of
\n736,000, is among the poorest regencies in Indonesia with a per
\ncapita income of Rp 1.3 million (about US$153).<\/p>\n
\"Limestone quarrying is a business with good prospects that
\ncan jack up local government income,\" said Sumedi, chief of
\nGunungkidul government economic affairs office.<\/p>\n
Sumedi's view explains why the local administration has been
\nallowing investors to exploit the karst. So far, 13 companies
\nhave entered the business.<\/p>\n
So, over the past few years, the beautiful karst hills have
\ndisappeared, one by one. In many places, there are pathetic
\nsights to be seen: lime hills being blasted.<\/p>\n
Many companies are so negligent they have abandoned their
\nquarries without refilling the resultant pits once the hills have
\nbeen removed. They simply ignored the government's requirement
\nthat the pits be refilled and trees be planted there.<\/p>\n
The businesspeople also ignored a legal requirement for an
\nenvironmental impact assessment before starting their project.<\/p>\n
The exploitation of the conical karst hills has undeniably
\ncaused damage to the environment. Many have questioned if the tax
\nrevenue is worth all the environmental destruction.<\/p>\n
In the 2002 budget, the income from karst quarrying was set at
\nRp 132 million, far below the Rp 640 million from tourism.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists say that the removal of the limestone hills,
\nwhich hold water during the rainy season, will only worsen the
\nannual water crisis in the region because the rainwater will seep
\ninto the many underground streams and empty into the sea.<\/p>\n
Signs of the disappearance of groundwater have been obvious
\nin, for example, Kajar village, near the main town of Wonosari,
\nwhere locals have found it difficult to obtain water after the
\nkarst hills in the region were quarried.<\/p>\n
However, deputy head of Gunungkidul water supply company
\n(PDAM) Isnawan said that the quarrying activities had not yet
\naffected the water sources PDAM manages but was sure that they
\nwould eventually be affected in the future.<\/p>\n
Other negative impacts of the quarrying activities include an
\nincrease in the level of lime in the groundwater that most
\nresidents consume.<\/p>\n
Under increasing pressure to review its quarrying policy, the
\nGunungkidul administration is working in partnership with Gadjah
\nMada University to identify zones: which areas may be exploited
\nand which not.<\/p>\n
Paripurno said that karst quarrying should be carefully
\nmanaged and only limestone in flat areas should be allowed, while
\nexploitation of hills should cease.<\/p>\n
\"Caves and places where underground streams run should not be
\nquarried,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Gunungkidul administration has also been advised to take
\ngood care of the karst hills and turn them into tourist
\nattractions, which would be more sustainable and profitable, as
\nprevious experience has shown.<\/p>",
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