Scientists worry about coastal destruction<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The ecology of the Indonesian coastal zone is in danger due to
\nnon-sustainable development in both upland and marine areas,
\noceanographic experts said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
According to Jan Sopaheluwakan of the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI), the coastal zone -- the meeting point between
\nland and ocean -- is rich with natural resources but prone to
\nenvironmental damage.<\/p>\n
\"To save the coastal area we need an integrated approach which
\nincludes sustainable development from the mountain tops to the
\nbottom of the sea, as well as the empowerment of the people,\" he
\nsaid during a two-day symposium held by LIPI.<\/p>\n
Another speaker at the symposium, Dietrich G. Bengen of the
\nBogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), underlined that Indonesia's
\ncoastal zone was originally characterized by its vast mangrove
\nforests and coral reefs.<\/p>\n
The coastal zone is unique because it has become the container
\nof either human litter or the sand and sediment brought to the
\nsea by rivers, and because of its multiple use where everybody
\nhas access to its exploitation with no regulations to control it,
\nsaid Bengen.<\/p>\n
\"Now such exploitation has caused problems, especially because
\nmost of big cities in the country lie in the coastal area,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Data from 1995 showed that the mangrove forests, mostly
\ncovering the 81,000 square kilometers of the country's coastal
\nzone, had been reduced to only 2.5 million hectares from 4.2
\nmillion hectares in 1985.<\/p>\n
The damage either resulted from construction, off-shore mining
\nor sea pollution.<\/p>\n
The latest data in 2000 revealed that 70 percent of the
\ncountry's 85,000 square kilometers of coral reefs had been badly
\ndamaged by sea pollution, the rampant use of explosives in
\nfishing and the exploitation of the reefs' economic value.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, coastal zone damage
\nhas caused abrasion. This situation can also be seen along the
\neastern coast of Java, with the loss of mangrove forests being
\nthe main reason.<\/p>\n
The exploitation of the coastal zone has been blamed for the
\nflooding in Jakarta earlier this year and a decrease in the
\ncapital's land surface.<\/p>\n
Sopaheluwakan said scientists in the Indonesian Consortium on
\nCoastal and Marine Research (ICoMar) would begin an expedition
\nalong the Mahakam Delta in East Kalimantan, called the \"hot spot\"
\nof coastal zone destruction despite the province's status as the
\ncountry's richest, in terms of natural resources.<\/p>\n
\"In our recommendation to the government, we will ask the
\ngovernment to stop the exploitation of the coastal zone until
\nrehabilitation is undertaken and perpetrators (of the
\nexploitation) are prosecuted under the law,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/scientists-worry-about-coastal-destruction-1447893297",
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