Mangrove forests turned into shrimp ponds and squatter camps

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.