Lake Tempe hit by sedimentation

Yusrianti, Contributor, Makassar, South Sulawesi

Lake Tempe, in Wajo regency, is attractive to both domestic and foreign tourists for its beauty.

The eutrophic lake, whose presence leads to the formation of tidal agricultural land, is a haven for species of fish rarely found in other lakes. At present, however, Lake Tempe, registered as a unique site, is like a mother who has been taken ill.

The valley of Lake Tempe, located some 210 kilometers (km) northeast of Makassar or about five hours drive from this city, lies in the central part of South Sulawesi, encompassing Wajo, Sidrap and Soppeng regencies.

In geological terms, it lies exactly on the lithosphere of the Australian and Asian continents with a number of rivers emptying into it. These rivers are the Billa, which flows from the north, the Walannae from the south and the Batu-Batu, Belokka and Lawo from the west. Water flowing into this lake is channeled out again to the east toward Bone Bay through the Cenrana River.

Sessu Sennang, a lake expert, said that Lake Tempe was undergoing a natural siltation process, due mainly to sediments carried by the rivers that empty into the lake.

Environmentalists attribute the rapid sedimentation to deforestation and unchecked mining activity in the area.

As a result, the lake has been losing its natural charm while the irrigation and agricultural potential related to it has also degenerated. Likewise, the beauty of its surroundings is also in jeopardy.

Freshwater fish, including the bungo, a species found only in this lake, are now endangered. Earlier, the lake used to be home to an abundance of freshwater fish, resources that locals were heavily dependent on for their livelihood. As a result, thousands of fishermen's families face the loss of their livelihood.

Back in the 1970s, Lake Tempe was able annually to supply 40,000 tons of freshwater fish to Java. Other freshwater produce, such as prawns of various types and crabs, were sold both domestically and abroad. Today, however, this freshwater produce stands at only about 15,000 tons per year.

Worse still, the lake, which is a source of pride and hope for the people in Soppeng, Wajo and Sidrap, is also potentially dangerous. In the wet season, it threatens the locals with flooding and landslides. In May 2002, for example, floods and landslides claimed several lives and inflicted on the community losses amounting to billions of rupiah. In the dry season, the supply of water for farmland irrigation is disrupted, as the lake, by then only about 0.5 meters (m) to 1 m deep, is virtually dry.

An integrated study on Tempe Lake, conducted by Nippon Koei in December 1997, reaffirms the need to restore the function of the Lake Tempe area by building a barrage or mobile dam to regulate the height of the lake's water level and normalize the Cenrana River, to control the flow of water to the sea.

It seems that the administration of Wajo regency has responded to this need by proposing the normalization of the Cenrana River in the area from Tampangeng Bridge to the direction of Bone Bay, over a distance of 64.3 km, and the construction of a mobile dam located about 600 m above Tampangeng Bridge. This proposal, unfortunately, has sparked controversy.

Implementation of this proposal will be disadvantageous to bungka toddo and pallawang, two kinds of fishing activity carried on only in the dry season. A bungka toddo fishermen, Laupe, said that construction of a mobile dam would put dozens of bungka toddo operatives out of business and leave hundreds of people unemployed.

"Construction of this mobile dam will mean the loss of our jobs," he said.

Bungka Toddo is a location within the lake controlled by fishermen who grow water plants where fish take shade and gather. It is also at this location that the fish both breed and feed.

Pallawang, which means "ornament" in the local language, is a location that the fishing community rents from the local administration for two years under a scheme more or less like that of bungka toddo. The differences are that in the case of pallawang the fishermen do not grow water plants, and the location is controlled only when it is under water.

In the past, pallawang was a site controlled by rulers/kings. During the wet season, it was the place where fishing took place, but in the dry season, it would become farmland on which to grow food crops.

A mobile dam, instead, will benefit fishermen using pallanra, a kind of seine opened at night and then lifted at dawn, pappanambe, the bait placed at river banks and the edge of the lake at night, or pajjala, a net set up in a river.

Clearly, there are limits to dealing with Lake Tempe's problems. Many discussions have been organized to find ways to save the lake and the livelihoods of the people there.

The latest effort was a conference in Wajo in 2002, involving representatives from Wajo, Soppeng and Sidrap regencies, at which they agreed on a number of issues.