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.