Expert blames landslide on environmental damage

Expert blames landslide on environmental damage

CILACAP, Central Java (JP): A leading marine expert has blamed
the recent floods and landslides here on environmental
destruction in the forms of erosion, sedimentation and
deforestation in the regency.

Biologist Rubiyanto Misman, who is also the rector of
Purwokerto-based Jendral Soedirman University, said a quick
bypass of Citanduy river at Segara Anakan lagoon and mangrove
here could be the short-term solution to the floods.

"A river bypass can be made to divert the river flow so that
sediments will go straight to the open sea," Rubiyanto said
during a cruise on the Baruna Jaya IV research vessel here on
Tuesday.

For a long-term solution, people's awareness on the importance
of environmental preservation must be raised, including mangrove
reforestation and an end to illegal lumber, Rubiyanto said.

The professor is representing Indonesia in the ecosystem
research jointly conducted with the Marine Ecosystem Center of
Bremen University in Germany.

Landslides in three Cilacap districts last week claimed at
least 33 lives, with material losses estimated at Rp 2 billion.

Cilacap is the largest regency in Central Java, having 225,000
hectares of territory. Situated in the southwestern tip of the
province the regency is home to some 2 million people.

It hosts two important places, namely the Segara Anakan
estuary and the Nusa Kambangan island which has the last tropical
forest in Java.

Activities in the hinterland have rapidly changed the physical
layout and ecology of Segara Anakan lagoon, which Rubiyanto said
had aggravated the flooding.

He said in 1903, the lagoon was 6,450 hectares wide but
dwindled to 4,290 hectares in 1971 and shrunk to only 1,400
hectares in 1994.

The Indonesian and German marine scientists completed on
Tuesday their DM 1.5 million research on the marine ecosystem
here, one of three explorations in the country's major sea zones.
Known as PRE-JIGSE project, the series of research were meant to
examine the biochemical fluxes in the Indonesian sea.

Through a thorough study of the biochemical fluxes, a more
accurate prediction of the El Nino weather phenomenon and global
climate changes could be conducted, director general of Sea
Research and Exploration Indroyono Soesilo said. (edt)