Aceh's coral reefs harmed after tsunami

JAKARTA: Poachers and local fishermen have begun exploiting the coastal waters and coral reefs off Aceh as local security officers remain paralyzed in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunami, environmentalists said on Tuesday.

They said they have seen several acts of environmental exploitation taking place along the Aceh coast, such as the illegal construction of shrimp ponds and destruction of coral reefs.

"I saw it happen in Sabang. A local businessman was destroying reefs with huge rocks in order to catch fish. That's unlawful," Frank Momberg of Fauna and Flora International (FFI) told a discussion themed: Joint Initiative for Caring for Acehnese and North Sumatran Coral Reefs.

Out of a total of 85,707 square kilometers of coral reefs in the whole of Indonesia, Aceh is home to around 5,846 square kilometers, filled with hundreds of species.

Momberg said he also received a report from a colleague working for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Aceh that several people in the northern part of the province had built shrimp ponds just five meters from the coastline.

"They have the guts to do that because there were no Navy or Water Police personnel patrolling the area. All their boats had been destroyed by the tsunami," said the director of FFI Program Development for the Asia Pacific. --JP