Oil spill hurts ecosystem in resort islands<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto and Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency revealed on Friday
\nthat the pollution in the Thousand Islands had dealt a severe
\nblow to the ecosystem and tourist potential of the resort
\nislands.<\/p>\n
\"The current oil spill is the fifth incident within the past
\neight months, and the worst, with a larger ecosystem and greater
\narea severely affected by the incident,\" the agency's director,
\nKosasih Wirahadikusumah, told reporters at City Hall.<\/p>\n
Kosasih said that tar balls and oil spills, both of which
\nconstituted hazardous waste, had damaged the coral reefs and
\nmangrove forests, particularly around the islets.<\/p>\n
\"The management of the Thousand Islands National Marine Park,
\nhas reported that the pollution has damaged one third of the
\ntotal area of the park, or at least 7.7 hectares,\" Kosasih
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
According to Kosasih, 20 groups of krapu fish farmers, 60
\ngroups of seaweed farmers and 100 groups of fishermen had
\nreported losses due to the pollution. The agency also reported
\nthat the population of Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys
\nimbricata), which lay their eggs along the coast, had also been
\nhalved.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Tourism Agency also reported that occupancy rates
\non the resort islands had plunged by 70 percent on average over
\nthe past eight months, Kosasih said. \"Many tourists canceled
\ntheir trips or shorten their stays.\"<\/p>\n
Daniel Abimanju Carnadie, the manager of Bubbles Dive Center,
\nsaid that he saw signs of tar balls as far back as 1990, when he
\nfirst started diving in the Thousand Islands.<\/p>\n
\"We used to see tar balls once or twice a year back then, but
\nnowadays we see them more often,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the Office of the State Minister for the
\nEnvironment was still working to find the source of the latest
\noil spill.<\/p>\n
Thousand Islands regent Abdul Kadir hinted earlier that the
\nsource of the pollution might be leaking oil pipes built in 1968,
\nwhich are currently operated by the China National Offshore Oil
\nCorporation, or oil rigs.<\/p>\n
\"We are also looking to see whether the offshore loading and
\nunloading of oil tankers operating in Jakarta Bay contribute to
\nthe pollution,\" Kosasih added.<\/p>\n
As in previous incidents, the CNOOC along with fishermen around
\nthe bay have been removing the tar balls from the sea manually.
\nThey have collected three tons of tar balls so far.<\/p>\n
I-BOX
\nOil spills affecting the Thousand Islands<\/p>\n
Dec. 28, 2003
\nTar balls and oil affected 78 islets out of the total number of
\n87 islets in the Thousand Islands National Marine Park. CNOOC and
\nPertamina cleaned up the area and removed 220 tons of tar balls.<\/p>\n
Apr. 24, 2004
\nPollution in the form of tar balls and oil affected 37 islands.
\nAt least 80 tons of pollutants were removed from the sea.<\/p>\n
May 2, 2004
\nTar balls and oil found to the northeast of Pramuka islet as far
\nas Peniki islet.<\/p>\n
May 5, 2004
\nSmall tar balls found around Pari, Panjang and Kelapa islets.<\/p>\n
Oct. 1, 2004
\nTar balls and oil found from Kotok Kecil, Kotok Besar, Semadaun
\nand Panggang islets as far as Pramuka islet.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/oil-spill-hurts-ecosystem-in-resort-islands-1447893297",
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