Govt to rejuvenate mangrove forests

JAKARTA (JP): The government aims to rejuvenate 150,000 hectares of mangrove forest by the end of the century to offset an annual decline of up to 1.1 percent, an official says.

Director General of Reforestation and Land Rehabilitation Hendarsun Suryanda Sanusiputra said yesterday that rejuvenation efforts, which started in 1975, are expected to curb the destruction of mangrove forests.

In 1982, he said, there were 4.25 million hectares of mangrove forest but only 3.7 million hectares in 1993.

The forests are mostly found on the east coast of Sumatra, the south coast of Java, the south and east coasts of Kalimantan and the south coast of Irian Jaya.

But the areas most subject to destruction are in Java, where there are now only 24,000 hectares of mangrove forest.

"The decrease of mangrove forests and the formation of new barren land along shorelines still occur," Hendarsun said.

He acknowledged that forest rejuvenation -- which involves replanting and nurturing new trees -- is an arduous job, because it requires the active participation of central government, local administrations, non-government organizations and local residents.

"By the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan period in 1999, we aim to rehabilitate 150,000 hectares of mangrove forest, but so far we have only planted 8,165 hectares," he said at the opening of a two-day workshop on the management of mangrove forests.

Hendarsun said the problems facing forest rejuvenation efforts included overlapping government regulations, lack of coordination between government offices, uncertain master plans of shoreline areas and a lack of public awareness.

Mangrove forests have important economic, ecological, sociocultural and aesthetical functions, Hendarsun said.

Mangrove wood is frequently used as a raw material by some industrial firms, but the forests are often cleared for other purposes: to establish housing and industrial estates, agricultural land, fish and shrimp ponds, mining and transportation facilities and city-development projects. (pwn)