Casuarina trees create hope for coastal villagers

Casuarina trees create hope for coastal villagers

Sri Wahyuni and Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Until five years ago, the coastal areas along the southern
beaches of Bantul Regency were dry and infertile.

No plants seemed to be able to survive the strong, burning
wind and the land lay parched and barren. Agricultural efforts in
the area were sporadic and often failed.

However, thanks to a reforestation program initiated by
Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, the nine-kilometer stretch
of coast from Samas Beach in the east to Pandansimo Beach in the
west is now lush and green.

Thousands of casuarina, locally known as cemara udang, now
cover the area up to two km inland. The agricultural fields just
behind the boarder area are also much greener.

"Before the cemara udang trees were there, we never had good
harvests. Now the wind is held back by the trees and our plants
can grow well," Ponijo, 37, a villager of Kewaru Beach in
Poncosari, told The Jakarta Post.

Casuarina are hardy trees with thick branches that shade the
fields and protect crops and other vegetation from onshore winds.

A team of experts from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) under the
coordination of Sutikno, a professor at the university's School
of Geography, initiated the planting of casuarina along Bantul
coastal areas about five years ago.

The trees were originally stop coastal erosion plaguing the
area, with sandy beaches gradually advancing up to five km inland
into formerly fertile areas.

"Experiments had been done by planting various vegetation such
as gliricidia, nyamplung, ketapang and other species of
casuarinas other than cemara udang, but all ended up in failure,"
a member of the team, Suhardi, a professor at UGM's School of
Forestry, told the Post.

On the brink of desperation, the team finally found that
cemara udang, a species of casuarina native to Madura Island, was
a good wind barrier. More seedlings were then planted along the
barren beaches in Samas, turning them green and fertile and a
comfortable place to live and visit.

A bigger effort to plant the tree started in 2000 involving
local participation.

Association of Samas Fishermen chairman Rudjito, recalled that
at first they planted some 700 seedlings in his area. The
following year they planted 1,500 more.

More cemara udang were planted since and the trees have become
an inseparable part of the villagers' lives. Almost all families
there have them, planting them in their yards, fields, and along
the village's street.

"We now have thousands of cemara udang trees here. In Samas
alone, I suppose, the plantations cover an area of some five
hectares of land." The beginning of the rainy season was the best
time for planting, he said.

The success in Samas has encouraged other regions to plant the
trees. In Kewaru Beach, planting started in 2003 with 25
seedlings.

All grew well and the following year another 1,000 seedlings
were planted in a wider area. Seven hundred were planted this
year.

The green view of cemara udang plantations now are visible
along the coastal areas from Samas Beach to Pandansimo Beach and
further to the west, covering a distance of nine km and are
between one km to two km thick.

"As a wind barrier, cemara udang has turned previously useless
fields into productive ones," said Suhardi, adding that the trees
were also good at protecting tsunami-prone areas.

Thanks to the trees, he said, the villages behind the cemara
udang plantation had now turned into relatively comfortable
areas.

Although the beaches remained close and the thundering sounds
of the waves from the sea could be clearly heard, the strong and
devastating winds that contained a high concentration of salt
were no longer felt.

Suhardi was adamant the government and other stakeholders in
the community should cover other coastal areas with the trees.

"We have some 81,000 kilometers of beaches of the same
character throughout Indonesia. I believe that planting a cemara
udang barrier along them would protect the area from possible
devastating natural disasters like tsunamis and it would also
create jobs," he said.

Planting could regenerate 20 million hectares of additional
productive fields across the country that could be developed into
agricultural areas, aquiculture sites and even tourist
attractions, he said.

"Once the cemara udang grows well in an area, other vegetation
that previously could not grow there will follow."

Suhardi said these areas would also ease pressure on the
country's national forest parks, which were being illegally
logged and cleared by local farmers.

"In other words, we don't need to exploit the forest areas,
many of which are already badly damaged, but create a new
ecosystem instead to expand agriculture and improve our
productivity," he said.