Mangrove forests destroyed

Mangrove forests destroyed

PROBOLINGGO, East Java: Probolinggo regency has lost at least 25 hectares of mangrove forests in the past 10 years due to development of fish hatchery ponds.

Regent Pamoedji said his administration has been facing the dilemma of giving priority to the need to raise funds or the need to protect the region's ecology, Antara reported.

He said the regency administration has required the pond owners to replant mangrove trees along some 200 hectares of coast in Probolinggo but most have neglected their obligations, citing technical and financial problems.

Probolinggo now still has 339 hectares of mangrove forests.

A group of farmers from Gendi district in Probolinggo won the national Kalpataru environmental award in 1982 for its success in preserving mangrove forests in the area.

Nurhadi Siswoyo, a senior regency administration official, said the presence of mangrove forests along the northern coastline is essential to maintain the coastal ecosystem.

He proposed a campaign to protect the mangrove forests. (emb)