Managing East Aceh's mangroves a dificult task
Managing East Aceh's mangroves a dificult task
LANGSA, Aceh (JP): It's never easy to manage natural resources; balancing people's needs and the goals of conservation.
For the local administration of East Aceh, the question is how to keep what's left of the regency's 75,000 hectares of mangrove forests intact without taking away the only livelihood of the people living in the area.
Mangrove forests grow along 165 kilometers of East Aceh's tidal zone which borders the Strait of Malacca and North Sumatra.
Mangrove forests prevent coastal abrasion and saltwater intrusion while protecting coastal seas from land pollution and high winds. They are also the ideal sheltering place for various types of fish.
In East Aceh, however, the forests are now threatened by thousands of kilns that use mangrove wood to produce export- quality coal, and large coastal fish ponds, which are made by clear-cutting mangrove forests.
Jaswin Polim, the head of the local forestry office, admitted in a recent interview that data on the rate of mangrove depletion and the number of coal kilns and fish ponds in the area was deficient.
The only certain information, he said, was that the fish ponds and wood-cutting activities have so far depleted mangrove forests by 27,000 hectares.
He later hinted that something other than the issue of conservation and people's welfare made his office uncertain about how to solve the problem.
"There is a government regulation which actually prohibits people from cutting mangrove wood for coal... But the local administration imposes a fee on the coal produced by the kilns -- which means the practice is considered legal," he said.
Jaswin said there have been numerous efforts to close down the kilns, but little progress has been made.
"The reality is that the people have been told to stop, but they won't. It's a culture they have had for hundreds of years," he said.
Despite the seemingly solid bond between the local people and the coal business, Jaswin pointed out that the kilns, and the favorable prices mangrove coal on the world market, have never increased the locals' standard of living to a decent level.
"The people have never escaped poverty," he said.
The construction of the kilns, he said, are financed by rich city people -- known as tauke -- who also pay the locals to cut wood and operate the kilns.
"I have heard that there is actually an association of owners of coal kilns. This means their actions are recognized and supported by the local administration," Jaswin said.
But the forestry official refused to elaborate further, insisting it was "not in his jurisdiction".
To solve the problem without touching on the "sensitive issue" disclosed by Jaswin, the local administration and the Ministry of Forestry's subsidiary, PT Inhutani IV, have resolved to start an integrated pond-mangrove project in Tanjung Keramat village, near the Telaga Muku river.
Project
Jaswin said the project will allow the people to continue using mangroves for their livelihood, without the worry that the forests will be wiped out completely.
Endro Siswoko, the manager of state-owned PT Inhutani IV's East Aceh sub-unit, explained that the "silvo-fishery" project aims to provide the locals with fishpond techniques that make use of mangrove trees.
In the long run, he said, it is expected to show that clear- cutting mangrove forests causes more disadvantages than benefits.
Endro pointed out that locals now have to travel three to four hours in small motor boats and search deep into the forests to find the right sized mangrove trees for the coal kilns.
"Mangroves lining the outer side of the forests, which can be seen from the river, are small and are only good for firewood," he said.
Furthermore, he added, coastal fishponds have also become unproductive because the trees are rapidly disappearing.
Inhutani is also replanting and "patching up" gaps in the depleted mangrove forests under an assignment from the Ministry of Forestry.
The assignment involves rehabilitating 12,400 hectares of mangrove forests which had once been part of concessionaires owned by PT Bakau Selat Malaka and PT Kabindo.
The two private firms failed to manage the forests in an environmentally-sustainable manner, causing the revocation of their concessions in 1992. Inhutani took over in 1993.
Endro said that in 1994/1995 Inhutani replanted and patched 100 hectares of mangrove forests.
He said that in both 1995/1996 and 1996/1997, Inhutani aims to replant 500 hectares. The project includes mangrove species Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera parviflora and Ceriops tagal.
Endro said the rehabilitation project, which involves sowing mangrove seeds, employs 100 villagers and gives them an additional income of Rp 5,000 (US$2.20) a day.
He was reluctant to comment on the coal kilns, insisting that Inhutani's mission was only to provide the local people with an alternative livelihood.
"That is the local administration's business. What Inhutani is concerned about is the conservation of the forests and ensuring the project benefits the people," he said. (pwn)