Lake Tempe hit by sedimentation

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.