Mangrove forests turned into shrimp ponds and squatter camps

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Shrimp farm companies have again complained over land clearance conducted by local residents that is impeding their operations and endangering the surrounding environment.

Agus Ismail, from PT Wahyuni Mandira, a shrimp farm company said recently that some 12,000 hectares of mangrove forests in Ogan Komering Ilir regency, South Sumatra, had been cleared by residents in the past few years to make way for traditional shrimp ponds and squatter houses. About 80,000 squatters, or about 40,000 households, are living in the area that was once a mangrove forest. They have even formed two villages, Pinang Indah and Sungai Sibun, said Agus.

The mangrove forest formerly spanned three kilometers wide from the coast, with a length of 40 kilometers.

He said loggers have been coming to the area since 1999 to clear the mangrove forests. The company shrimp farm is no longer protected by the mangrove woodlands, and is now directly bordering the traditional shrimp farms.

"As a result, wastes from the traditional farms infiltrate our canals and spread various kinds of diseases," said Agus.

He said that due to illegal land clearance in the greenbelt area, the coastal area along the east coast of Sumatra has also been badly eroded.

"It has clearly threatened shrimp cultivation. We can also be accused by shrimp importers of not adhering to proper environmental standards," said Agus.

He said that in general, the land clearers were not residents of the area, but rather from areas such as Menggala (Tulangbawang regency, Lampung), Metro (Lampung) and Labuhan Maringgai (East Lampung).

"We cannot do anything about it because we don't want to get involved in a clash with them. Until now there has been no effort from the local administration or the police to stop the illegal logging," he said.

Agus' company was not the only victim. As many as 2,800 hectares of mangrove forest, once enclosing the PT Central Pertiwi Bahari shrimp farm in Central Lampung regency, have also been plundered by residents. Over 800 families have cleared away the mangrove forest and turned it into traditional shrimp farms.

Director of Lampung's Indonesian Environmental Forum, Mukri Friatna, acknowledged that 85 percent of the 160,000 hectares of mangrove woodland in Lampung has been severely damaged due to illegal logging since 1998. Of this, 12,000 hectares are located on the east coast greenbelt area near the Mesuji River mouth in Tulangbawang regency, Lampung, bordering Ogan Komering Ilir in South Sumatra.

"The rate at which mangrove forests are being destroyed is very alarming, as these forests form the area's greenbelt. The role of the mangrove greenbelt is vital in protecting the east coast of Tulangbawang from severe erosion, particularly during the change of season period," said Mukri.

According to Mukri, the depth of the mangrove forests on the east coast of Tulangbawang was between one to 1.5 kilometers from the coastline in 1999. It is now only 50 to 100 meters.

He said that his office, in cooperation with other environmental organizations, has approached land clearers requesting that they manage the forests with care. They are also making efforts to form a Mangrove Community group with the aim of educating people not to cut down mangrove trees.

According to Mukri, the Indonesian Environmental Forum along with the Sumatra Mangrove Network had recently urged the central government to immediately re-affirm its authority in managing mangrove forest areas, which thus far has become a tug-of-war between the Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.

"The provincial administration, in this case the governor and the legislative body, should immediately draft regulations on the management and conservation of mangrove forests in an integrated and sustainable manner, and should involve all the stakeholders," he said.

The country's total area of mangrove forests is 3.54 million hectares and is considered the biggest in the world, comprising 18 to 24 percent of the world's mangrove forests.

Nigeria is second with a total area of 3.25 million hectares, followed by Mexico with 1.42 million hectares and Australia with 1.16 million hectares. The total area of mangrove forests in the world at the moment is 17.5 million hectares.